The first reported invasion of Asian swamp eels (Monopterus albus, ASE) in the continental United States was in the state of Georgia in 1994. This population was first discovered within several ponds on a private nature centre, but the ponds drained via an outflow pipe into marsh habitats along the Chattahoochee River. Our objective was to delineate the current invasion extent of ASE in the Chattahoochee River, Georgia, by sampling juvenile ASE within an occupancy modelling framework. We sampled 111 and 100 sites in 2015 and 2016 respectively, on 10 occasions, each within a 2-km radius of the purported invasion point to estimate the spatial extent of their invasion in this system. Leaf-litter traps (LLTs) were effective at documenting an increase in the invasion extent of ASE, from within 100m of the Chattahoochee Nature Center pond outflow to 1.6km away. Documenting the extent of invasion of this population has proven elusive in the past, but the use of LLTs to target juvenile eels has documented a larger invasion extent than previously known in the study system. The results of this research can be used to develop effective control and management strategies, such as locating potential breeding areas for targeted removal sampling.

中文翻译：

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估计亚洲沼泽鳗（Monopterus：Synbranchidae）在美国东南部改变河流中的入侵范围

亚洲沼泽鳗（Monopterus albus，ASE）入侵美国大陆的首次报道是 1994 年在佐治亚州。 该种群最初是在私人自然中心的几个池塘中发现的，但池塘通过外流管排干进入查塔胡奇河沿岸的沼泽栖息地。我们的目标是通过在占用建模框架内对幼年 ASE 进行采样来描绘 ASE 在佐治亚州查塔胡奇河的当前入侵范围。我们分别在 2015 年和 2016 年对 111 个和 100 个站点进行了 10 次采样，每个站点都在声称的入侵点 2 公里半径内，以估计它们在该系统中入侵的空间范围。枯叶落叶陷阱 (LLT) 可有效记录 ASE 入侵范围的增加，从查塔胡奇自然中心池塘流出的 100 米内增加到 1。6公里远。过去已证明记录该种群的入侵程度难以捉摸，但使用 LLT 来针对幼鳗记录了比研究系统中先前已知的更大的入侵程度。这项研究的结果可用于制定有效的控制和管理策略，例如定位潜在的繁殖区以进行有针对性的清除采样。