The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus): another unwelcome invader in the Mississippi river basin

摘要

Transoceanic shipping ports along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America have long been focal points for the initial entry and dispersion of a variety of nonindigenous aquatic taxa to coastal ecosystems of the United States. Public awareness of the complementary role that inland ports play in the distribution of exotic species to environmentally sensitive freshwater ecosystems of the mid-continent has been heightened in recent years by the introduction of an increasing number of aquatic nuisance species to the Great Lakes. This list of new and invasive taxa includes several species of invertebrates--zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha),quagga mussel (D. bugensis), New Zealand mud snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum), spiny water fleas (Bythotrephes cederstroemi and Ceropagis pengoi)--and fish--ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus), round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), tubenose goby (Proterorhinus marmorattts). These organisms were released into U.S. waters with untreated ballast water discharged byships from foreign ports.