Aquatic Invasive Species

First discovered in Lake Ontario in 1982, The spiny water flea, Bythotrephes longimanus was transported from its native Eurasia to North America via ballast water and has spread to almost 50 inland lakes within Ontario province. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H) initiated a citizen science program for monitoring the population of Bythotrephes throughout Ontario.

Stephanie A. Boudreau and Normand D. Yan of the Department of Biology at York University, Toronto have been validating the accuracy of this volunteer-based monitoring program. Boudreau and Yan acquired data from Sugar Lake and Harp Lake. Next they determined the probability that volunteers would collect Bythotrephes at the time of sampling, if the size of the O.F.A.H required nets were sufficient for data collection, whether three sample stations per volunteer and the amount of Bythotrephes in each sample location were sufficient.

They concluded that the citizen science program especially O.F.A.H’s three sample stations requirement was accurate in monitoring Bythotrephes populations

Source: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 91: 17-26, 2004