New And Notable

Recent new arrivals in the USA, courtesy of the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Alert System:

• The brittle naiad, Najas minor, has been reported for the first time in South Dakota, in a lake it has probably been hanging around in since 2003.
• A Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was discovered in the Charles River in Massachusetts. Must have been checking out a free concert, as it was found near the Hatch Shell. The person who discovered it claims he saw more of them in 2006. Uh oh.
• Someone recorded the call of a Rio Grande chirping frog (Syrrhophus cystignathoides) in Louisiana. Normally this species is found only in Southern Texan and Northern Mexico. A range expansion perhaps?
• Puerto Rico has added yet another non-native aquatic plant to its flora: the white water lily (Nymphaea odorata).