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Human Activity and the Environment: Annual Statistics
Table 3.57
Invasive species of high threat1 in Canada
Native range
Amphibians
Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
Algae
Dead man’s fingers/Oyster
thief (Codium fragile)
Invasive range
Eastern North America; Southern Vancouver
Island, Southwestern
Southern Ontario
British Columbia
to Florida
Time of invasion
Invasion pathway
Impacts
1930s and 40s
Introduced for farming
Competition for habitat
and food; predation
on native species
Japan
Atlantic Canada,
1996
especially Nova Scotia
Attachment to hulls
of ships, imported
oysters; natural dispersal
Competition with native
species; direct harm
to mussels and oysters;
habitat destruction
Atlantic Ocean
Great Lakes
Discovered 1960,
probably introduced
in 1912
Imported with infected
rainbow smelt
Caused severe mortality
in commercial rainbow
smelt
Florida, Texas, Ontario Ontario, Quebec,
Nova Scotia (lakes)
First spotted
in the 1940s
Illegal dumping by
anglers for sport fishing
Competition with native
species
Sea lamprey (Petromyzon
marinus)
Atlantic Coast, Lake
Ontario and
St. Lawrence Seaway
Upper Great Lakes
Established in all
the Great Lakes
by 1938
Parasitizes native fishes;
contributed to extinction
of several native fishes
Silver carp
(Hypophthalmichthys
molitrix)
China
Great Lakes
(potentially)
1980s and
90s, current
Construction of the
Welland Canal allowed
access past natural
barrier of Niagara Falls
Aquaculture escape
Disease pathogens
Fish parasite (Glugia)
Fish
Chain pickerel (Esox niger)
Fungi
Chestnut blight
Asia
(Cryophenectria parasitica)
Competition for habitat and
food
Eastern North America Late 1800’s
Introduced on Asian
chestnut trees
Destroys native
chestnut trees
Europe
Southern Canada
Kills infected trees
Insects
Beech scale (Cryptococcus
fagisuga)
Imported elm logs;
transmitted domestically
by elm bark beetles
Germany, France
Nova Scotia, Quebec, 1890s
Ontario
Introduced on infested
ornamental beech trees
Damages native beech trees
Pine shoot beetle (Tomicus
piniperda)
Europe, North Africa,
Asia
Ontario, Quebec,
Northeastern U.S.A.
First found in 1992
Imported accidentally
in wood shipping crates
Kills infected trees
Winter moth (Operophtera
brumata)
Europe and Asia
1950 in Nova Scotia,
1977 in British
Columbia
Imported with plant
nursery stock
Defoliation; hybridizes with
native bruce spanworm
Molluscs
Zebra mussel (Dreissena
polymorpha)
Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, British
Columbia
Caspian Sea, Black
Sea
Great Lakes
Discovered in 1988
Ballast water release;
spread by boaters
Plants
Canada/creeping thistle
(Cirsium arvense)
Economic impacts;
phytoplankton
reduction; competition with
native species; attach to
all hard surfaces
Europe and Eastern
Mediterranean
British Columbia,
1600s
Saskatchewan,
Alberta, Manitoba,
Ontario, Quebec,
Newfoundland and
Labrador, Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick and
Southwestern U.S.A.
Introduced by settlers in
contaminated seed stock
Replaces native species;
damages farmland
Common buckthorn
(Rhamnus cathartica)
Eurasia, North Africa
British Columbia,
First recorded in
Alberta, Saskatthe late 1890s
chewan, Quebec,
Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island,
Ontario
Introduced for landscaping; Habitat destruction;
seeds spread by birds
excludes native seedlings
Dog-strangling vine
(Cynanchum louiseae)
Europe
British Columbia,
Ontario, Quebec
Introduced for use as
filling for life jackets
Dutch elm disease
(Ophiostoma ulmi)
1944
1930s
Displaces native plants
See footnotes at the end of the table.
Statistics Canada – Catalogue no. 16-201-X
1
Human Activity and the Environment: Annual Statistics
Table 3.57 – continued
Invasive species of high threat1 in Canada
Native range
Invasive range
Time of invasion
Invasion pathway
Eurasian watermilfoil
(Myriophyllum spicatum)
Europe, Asia,
North Africa
Ontario, Quebec,
British Columbia
1960s
Flowering rush (Butomus
umbellatus)
Europe, temperate Asia Quebec, Eastern and 1897 in Quebec
Southwestern Ontario,
Alberta, British
Columbia, Manitoba,
Nova Scotia
Aquarium and ballast water Replaces virtually all species
release; spread by boaters in wetlands and streams
in which it colonizes
Garden escape; spread
Suspected habitat
by boaters
destruction,
displacement of native plants
Garlic mustard (Alliaria
petiolata)
Europe
Ontario, Quebec,
New Brunswick,
British Columbia
Glossy buckthorn (Frangula
alnus)
Eurasia, North Africa
South and Eastern
First collected in
Ontario, Great Lakes, Southern Ontario
Quebec, Nova Scotia, in 1898
Manitoba
Garden escape
Forms dense stands,
shading out native species
Japanese knotweed
(Polygonum cuspidatum)
Japan
British Columbia,
Manitoba, Ontario,
Quebec,
Newfoundland
and Labrador
Garden escape
Competition with native flora;
infests development areas
and urban sites
1879 in Toronto, Ontario Introduced for cultivation
Late 1800s
Impacts
Replaces native
herbaceous vegetation
Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) Europe and Asia
British Columbia,
First reported in
Saskatchewan,
Canada in
Alberta,
Ontario, 1889
Manitoba, Ontario,
Quebec, Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island
Ballast water release;
contaminated seed stock;
spread by birds
Competition with native
forbs and grasses;
destruction of grazing lands;
poisonous to livestock
Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus Eastern Asia
orbiculatus)
Southeastern Canada 1860s
Introduced for gardening;
seeds spread by birds
Displaces native flora;
outcompetes and
hybridizes with native
climbing bittersweet
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum
salicaria)
Europe and Asia
Coast to coast in
Southern Canada
Early 1800s
Possible intentional;
release; sale as a
garden ornamental plant;
ballast water release
Habitat destruction;
competition with
native plants
Yellow bush lupine (Lupinus
arboreus)
Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast,
British Columbia
Current
Rapidly expanding native
range; widely planted
for ornamental purposes
Changes soil conditions,
reducing viability of
native lupine; hybridizes
with other lupine
1. High threat status as indicated in the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Invasive Species in Canada.
Source(s): Canadian Wildlife Federation, 2003, Invasive Species in Canada.
2
Statistics Canada – Catalogue no. 16-201-X