Discovery of exotic Phragmites in Florida

Bill Overholt1, Michael P. Sowinski2, Don C. Schmitz2, Jeffrey Schardt2, Vicky Hunt3, Daniel J. Larkin3 and Jeremie B. Fant3

1University of Florida 2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

3Chicago Botanic Garden

Outline • Phragmites diversity

• Why we are interested in Phragmites

• 2010 Survey

• Recent find in Lake Seminole

• What it means

P. australis

P. frutescens

P. karka P. mauritianus

P. jaonicus

Phragmites species

History of Phragmites australis in North America

• Found in 40,000 year old sloth dung

• Artifacts made of Phragmites from 1400 years ago

• Herbarium records from 1800s indicate its presence in the US, but not common

• Early 20th century evidence of expansion in the coastal northeast

Introduction of new genotypes

• First evidence of introduction in 1880 when Phragmites was found growing in Philadelphia where ships’ ballast was off-loaded

• In 2002, Saltonstall conducted genetic studies on Phragmites from the USA and several other countries and reported the presence of a European invasive type in the Atlantic coastal area and the Midwest.

Phragmites australis, a.k.a. ‘Native types’

Phragmites australis, a.k.a. ‘Gulf Coast’

Phragmites Australis, a.k.a. ‘Eurasian’

Saltonstall et a. 2002. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 99: 2445-2449.

Blue Cypress Lake

Little Sawgrass Lake

Chocktawhatchee Bay

Caloosahatchee River

2010 Survey

518 samples collected from 102 locations • Florida (69) • Alabama (4) • Mississippi (4) • Georgia (2) • South Carolina (5) • Louisiana (16)

Thanks to:

– Kelli Gladding (FWC)

– Matt Phillips (FWC)

– Ryan Hamm (FWC)

– Brent Bachelder (FWC)

– Erica Van Horn (FWC)

– Michael Sowinski (FWC)

– Stephen Hight (USDA/ARS)

Legend

^ Haplotype M

! Haplotype I

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40 miles N of FL border on I 95

62 miles west of FL border on Petit Bois Island

Williams, D. A., M. Hanson, R. Diaz and W. A. Overholt. 2012.

Determination of common reed (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex

Steudel) varieties in Florida. Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 50:

69-74.

Tried to get the word out….

Mississippi River Delta, South of New Orleans Dauphin Island, Alabama

Eurasian type Gulf Coast type

Gulf Coast type

Eurasian type

Eurasian Phragmites near Darien, GA

But, then things got more complicated…

Mississippi River Delta

North America, introduced

North America, native

South America

Gulf Coast, land-type

Europe

Africa/Mediterranean

Senegal

South Africa

Australia/Asia

P. mauritianus

P. frustescens

P. karka

P. japonicus

Phragmites in the Gulf Coast Phragmites type

Distribution Origin Genetic makeup

Other names Distinguishing characteristics

“Gulf Coast” Florida to Texas (and South America)

African hybrid between African P. mauritianus and Old World P. australis

Land type, P. australis sub-species berlandieri, Haplotype I

Tall, smooth stem, loose, droopy panicle, short or absent ligule hairs

“Eurasian type”

Widespread invasive in North America

Europe P. australis EU type, haplotype M, short form

Short, ribbed stem, compact panicle, sparse hairs at ligule

“Delta type”

Mississippi River Delta

North African/ Mediterranean

P. australis Haplotype M1, Med Tall, ribbed stem, compact panicle, dense hairs at ligule

“Greeny types”

Mississippi River Delta

North America, Danube River Delta, Spain, South Africa, tropical Africa

P. austalis and P. mauritianus

Greeny 1, Haplotype M Greeny 2, Haplotype AD Greeny 3, Haplotype AI

Short, similar to EU type, greenish/blue color

Lambertini et al. 2012. American Journal of Botany 99: 538-551 Hauber et al. 2011. Estuaries and Coasts 34: 851-862

Greeny type

Delta type

Gulf Coast

Courtesy of Carla Lambertini Aarhus University, Denmark

Competitiveness of various types of Phragmites

• North American vs. Eurasian – Comparison of photosynthesis of exotic and native haplotypes in a Maryland

tidal marsh showed that the exotic had 51% greater photosynthesis than the native types. The native performed better than the exotic under low N (Mozdzer and Zieman 2010).

• Gulf Coast vs. Eurasian – Experimental plantings of Gulf Coast and Eurasian Phragmites in a Louisiana

marsh revealed that the exotic occupied 82% of plots after 14 months, compared to 18% for the Gulf coast type (Howard et al. 2008).

• Delta vs. Eurasian – Photosynthesis of Delta type > Eurasian type (Nguyen et al. 2013)

Odd Phragmites found by Michael Sowinski in October, 2013 Lake Seminole, Pinellas Co.

Gulf Coast type • Smooth • Shiny

Lake Seminole type • Finely ribbed • Dull

Identified as the Eurasian type by the Chicago Botanic Garden

The three types of Phragmites that may be in Florida

Type Stem texture

Panicle form Height

Gulf Coast type (a.k.a. ‘Land type’)

Smooth, shiny Open, drooping Tall

Eurasian

Ribbed, dull Compact, erect Short

Delta Ribbed, dull Compact, erect Tall

Panicle

Gulf Coast • Open • Drooping Delta/Eurasian

• Compact • Erect

Gulf Coast • Smooth • Shiny

Delta/Eurasian • Finely ribbed • Dull

Ribbing on the stem

April 3, 2004 DOQQ

January 10, 1999 DOQQ February 14, 1995 DOQQ

7,776 m2 10,770 m2

15,910 m2

27,114 m2

January 2, 2012 Google Earth

27,114 m2

Expansion of Gulf Coast populations

Ammonium in Apalachicola Bay 2002-2007 Data from: National Estuaries Research Reserve System,

y = -1.2 x 10-5 + 0.487, P=0.02

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Ammonium = -1.2 x 10-5 (date) + 0.487, P=0.02

Phosphates

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phosphates = -9.9 x 10-6 (date) + 0.385, P=0.0002

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nitrates = 8.58 x 10-5 x (date) - 2.95, P=0.03

Figure 2. Effect of hurricane frequency on P. australis growth.

Bhattarai GP, Cronin JT (2014) Hurricane Activity and the Large-Scale Pattern of Spread of an Invasive Plant Species. PLoS ONE

9(5): e98478. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098478

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0098478

Eurasian Gulf Coast

Response to an increase in atmospheric CO2?

Conclusions

• There are several genetic lineages of Phragmites in the USA, including native types and several exotic types.

• Typical ‘Gulf Coast’ Phragmites is thought to be an ancient introduction of a hybrid of P. mauritianus and P. australis.

• The ‘Delta’ type Phragmites was recently described, and appears to be a relatively recent introduction to the USA. We believe that this is the type that was found in Lake Seminole in 2013 and are awaiting genetic confirmation.

• Eurasian Phragmites has not been found in Florida, but does occur in GA just 40 miles north of the Florida border.

• ‘Greeny’ type Phragmites is of unknown origin, but has not been found in Florida.

• Research shows that exotic Eurasian Phragmites and the ‘Delta’ type may be more aggressive than Gulf Coast type.

• Reasons for expansion of some populations of Phragmites in Florida are not known

Take home message

• Exotic Phragmites has been found in Florida

• If you think you’ve seen exotic Phragmites, report it to FWC

A happy ending for now?