Some links to more information on non-native species
Invaders of Washington Waters
| Both Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife maintain websites with information on the European green crab, which is present on the Washington coast, but not yet in Puget Sound. |
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Spartina, a shoreline plant from the East Coast, has become a major nuisance species in Washington. For information on Spartina and other invasive plants, go to the Puget Sound Action Team website, or Department of Ecology's page, Puget Sound Shorelines. You can also find information on nuisance aquatic plant species at another Department of Ecology site. |
| The purple varnish clam, a recent arrival to Washington, is now found on beaches in many parts of Puget Sound. At this site you can learn more about this species. |
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| At the Puget Sound Expedition site you can find a listing for all non-native species found in dock and nearshore habitats in Puget Sound during this Sound-wide scientific survey. This site also tells when each species was first found in the Sound and how it's thought to have arrived. |
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At the Western Region Non-Indigenous Species site you can search the western states by species, to find out which states a particular species has invaded. Or you can search by state, to learn which exotic species are present in that state.
Problem Exotics in other Coastal Regions
| You can find out about efforts to stop the spread of the freshwater Zebra Mussel, which has caused enormous damage in rivers and lakes of the eastern part of the US. |
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| An invader to estuaries in California, the Chinese Mitten Crab is described in this site maintained by the California Department of Fish and Game. |
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Sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus |
At the site invasivespecies.gov you can find articles on a long list of exotic plants and animals, both terrestrial and aquatic, which have caused ecological problems around the country. |
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