1. Michigan’s Most Unwanted How to identify Michigan’s invasive species and why we should worry

3. Can you identify the invaders? Suspect #1Suspect #2 Suspect #3 Suspect #4

4. Can you identify the invaders? Dame’s rocket (invasive)Fireweed (native) Foxglove (exotic) Purple loosestrife (invasive)

5. How about this suspect list? Suspect #1Suspect #2 Suspect #3 Suspect #4

6. How about this suspect list? Canadian fly honeysuckle (native) Multiflora rose (invasive) Autumn olive (invasive) Michigan Holly (native)

7. Who’s the invader? Suspect #1 Suspect #2 Suspect #3 Suspect #4

8. Who’s the invader? Round Goby Brook Trout Freshwater Dam Lake Whitefish

9. Who’s the invader? Suspect #1 Suspect #2Suspect #3 Suspect #1Suspect #3

10. Who’s the invader? Purplestem Angelica (Angelica atropurpurea) Poison Hemlock (Conium maculatum) Hairy Angelica (Angelica venenosa) Suspect #1Suspect #3

11. Why should we care? Economic impacts $$$ Impacts on native species and biodiversity Habitat alteration

12. Dichotomous Keys Made Easy A dichotomous key is a reference tool used mainly in biology. It allows the user to determine what an organism is by answering numerous questions that have only two possible answers.

13. 1 Object is a shade of green…go to 2 1’ Object is a shade of blue…go to 4 Decide how to separate what you are identifying into two groups by picking one character

14. Then choose one group and repeat…further dividing this group into two smaller subgroups 2 Object has 3 sides…triangle 2’ Object has 4 side…go to 3

15. Then choose another subgroup and further divide this into an even smaller subgroup 3 Object sides are all equal length…square 3’ Object has sides of two different lengths…rectangle

16. Repeat this pattern until all objects are identified 4 Object has rounded edges…circle 4’ Object has points…go to 5 5 Object has 5 sides…pentagon 5’ Object has 10 sides…star

17. Jelly Bean Key

18. Make your own key!

19. Examine your plant samples - Decide how to break them up into groups to identify them Example of first grouping: 1 Plant is woody…go to 2 1’ Plant is herbaceous…go to 3

20. Lamprey Eels Great Lakes invader – Threaten commercial fishing