Invasive Species B/C

[maxxxxx]

I'm having trouble identifying common reed and giant reed since they look very alike. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to help distinguish more close up pictures?

I find the main difference being in the stalks. Giant reed has very distinguished leaf grow pattern things (idk how to describe it, lol), and has blobby seeds/flowers. Common reed, on the other hand, usually grows in water, and has more fanlike seeds/flowers.

viewtopic.php?f=227&t=9295&start=30#p302678

[John Richardsim]

It happened last night. My first dream with invasives. Was trying to walk past a pond but there was a mute swan and it had cygnets so it was really aggressive. Thankfully since it was a dream simply fighting it as I went around was a perfectly fine option.

[Piggy]

Also how do you guys differentiate between Japanese Stiltgrass and Water Spinach. For the first practice exam under Invasive Species created by Piggy, Station 16 is identified as water spinach in the answer key but I identified it as japanese stiltgrass... Am I correct or is there something that distinguishes water spinach from japanese stiltgrass?

The shape of the leaf is wider at the base for Water Spinach, however, Stilt grasses leaves are more elongate it seems. If it makes you feel better, I would have prob gotten it wrong too. I mean... it is on the ground. Just now I realized that, Water Spinach can be grown on the ground. My guess is it prefers similar,wet environments like Stiltgrass however.

Sorry about that, I'm pretty sure it's water spinach though (although my source for the image is kind of shady). We've been growing water spinach in the ground for few years now because they're pretty easy to maintain by just watering them a lot and they grow very quickly. I just learned from doing this event that it's an invasive species.

Also, how do y'all usually divide the binder/species up? I use many-tab dividers but they take up an enormous amount of room in the binder and I can't use sheet protectors because then the species information extends beyond the tabs/dividers.

[JasperKota]

Also, how do y'all usually divide the binder/species up? I use many-tab dividers but they take up an enormous amount of room in the binder and I can't use sheet protectors because then the species information extends beyond the tabs/dividers.

I've used small post it notes, or have cut up post it notes to make little tabs sticking out of the binder, labeled with the species. We have it color coded so aquatic animals have blue post-its, plants have green post-its, etc.

[jiggles]

Is there anywhere I can go to see how others are organizing the info on their binder pages? Or even better is there a share site?

Thank you in advance!

[JasperKota]

Is there anywhere I can go to see how others are organizing the info on their binder pages? Or even better is there a share site?

Thank you in advance!

From what I've seen, people don't really post their binders/cheatsheets on scioly.org. You could ask to exchange notes with people though, and some might be willing to share. I think during the Summer Scioly Study Session, sharing binders and cheatsheets are a thing, but usually it's just tests that are released to the public once the session is over.

I arrange my binder by invertebrates/plants/aquatic plants/aquatic animals/land vertebrates, then within that alphabetically by common name. For each species I follow a template (e.g. invasive behavior: [info here]), and have separate pages for identification and distribution maps.

[jiggles]

Is there anywhere I can go to see how others are organizing the info on their binder pages? Or even better is there a share site?

Thank you in advance!

From what I've seen, people don't really post their binders/cheatsheets on scioly.org. You could ask to exchange notes with people though, and some might be willing to share. I think during the Summer Scioly Study Session, sharing binders and cheatsheets are a thing, but usually it's just tests that are released to the public once the session is over.

I arrange my binder by invertebrates/plants/aquatic plants/aquatic animals/land vertebrates, then within that alphabetically by common name. For each species I follow a template (e.g. invasive behavior: [info here]), and have separate pages for identification and distribution maps.

Thank you!

[RareKyurem]

Hey guys! I'm new here. Anyways, where do you guys get your distribution maps? I tried EDD maps but it seems a bit inaccurate.

[John Richardsim]

Hey guys! I'm new here. Anyways, where do you guys get your distribution maps? I tried EDD maps but it seems a bit inaccurate.

I usually use EDDMaps, particularly the "observation vs. literature" maps at the county level. Also USDA PLANTS Database is also nice (can zoom in to the county level), but I think might only use literature (and it only has plants, y'know). There also may be more regional organizations with distribution maps.

Other than that, I just google "[species] distribution map". Sometimes you can get some pretty solid ones by doing that.

[Question]

Are distribution maps just for knowing what states the species has infested? If so, wouldn't it just save more space to list the states? Have there been questions about distribution maps?