Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Annual Reports
    • Board of Directors
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Internship
    • Service Area
    • Staff
  • Our Waters
    • Great Lakes >
      • Lake Superior
      • Lake Michigan
      • Lake Huron
      • Lake Erie
      • Lake Ontario
      • Great Lakes Water Use and Diversions
      • Great Lakes Water Levels >
        • Historic, Current, and Projected
        • Influences on Great Lakes Water Levels
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • International Upper Great Lakes Study
    • Groundwater
    • Inland Lakes >
      • Adams Lake
      • Bass Lake
      • Beals Lake
      • Lake Bellaire
      • Ben-Way Lake
      • Birch Lake
      • Black Lake
      • Burt Lake
      • Lake Charlevoix
      • Clam Lake
      • Clear Lake
      • Crooked Lake
      • Deer Lake
      • Dog Lake
      • Douglas Lake - Cheboygan County
      • Douglas Lake - Otsego County
      • Elk Lake
      • Ellsworth Lake
      • Lake Geneserath
      • Lake Geneva
      • Hanley Lake
      • Huffman Lake
      • Intermediate Lake
      • Lancaster Lake
      • Lance Lake
      • Larks Lake
      • Long Lake - Cheboygan County
      • Marion Lake
      • Millicoquins Lake
      • Mud Lake
      • Mullett Lake
      • Munro Lake
      • Nowland Lake
      • Paradise Lake (Carp Lake)
      • Pickerel-Crooked Lakes
      • Round Lake
      • Scotts Lake
      • Silver Lake
      • Sixmile Lake
      • Skegemog Lake
      • Spring Lake
      • St. Claire Lake
      • Susan Lake
      • Thayer Lake
      • Thumb Lake (Lake Louise)
      • Torch Lake
      • Twin Lake
      • Walloon Lake
      • Wildwood Lake
      • Wilson Lake
      • Wycamp Lake
    • Rivers and Streams >
      • Bear River >
        • Photos of Bear River
        • Bear River - Videos
      • Boyne River
      • Crooked River
      • Eastport Creek
      • Horton Creek
      • Jordan River
      • Kimberly Creek
      • Maple River
      • Milligan Creek
      • Minnehaha Creek
      • Mullett Creek
      • Pigeon River
      • Stover Creek
      • Sturgeon River
      • Tannery Creek
    • Watersheds >
      • Black Lake Watershed
      • Burt Lake Watershed
      • Cheboygan River Watershed
      • Lake Charlevoix Watershed >
        • Lake Charlevoix Watershed Advisory Committee
        • Lake Charlevoix Watershed Protection
      • Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed >
        • ERCOL Watershed Plan DRAFT
        • ERCOL Watershed Committee
      • Little Traverse Bay Watershed >
        • Little Traverse Bay Shore Survey
        • Little Traverse Bay Watershed Committee >
          • LTBay-Survey
        • Road Stream Crossing Inventory
        • Little Traverse Bay Stormwater Basins
        • Little Traverse Bay Protection and Restoration Fund
      • Larks Lake Watershed
      • Mullett Lake Watershed
      • Pickerel-Crooked Lakes Watershed
      • Walloon Lake Watershed
    • Wetlands >
      • Types of Wetlands
      • Benefits of Wetlands
      • Wetland Losses and Threats
      • Wetland Flora and Fauna
      • Wetland Regulations
      • Wetland Permitting
      • Wetland Identification and Delineation
      • Wetland Resources
      • Wetlands Near You
  • Our Work
    • Watershed Management Plans >
      • Burt Lake Watershed Management Plan
      • Cheboygan River Watershed Habitat Partnership Conservation Area Plan
      • Duncan-Grass Bay Watershed Plan
      • Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed Management Plan
      • Grand Traverse Watershed Management Protection Plan
      • Lake Charlevoix Watershed Management Plan
      • Larks Lake Watershed Plan
      • Little Traverse Bay Watershed Protection Plan
      • Lower Black River Watershed Initiative
      • Mullett Creek Watershed Management Plan
      • Mullett Lake Watershed Management Plan
      • Paradise Lake Management Plan
      • Pickerel Crooked Lakes Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Plan
      • Stover Creek Watershed Management Plan
      • Tannery Creek Watershed Management Plan
    • Inventories and Surveys >
      • RSX Inventories
    • Monitoring Programs >
      • Comprehensive Water Quality Monitoring
      • Lake Monitoring >
        • Lake Characterization and Trophic Status
        • Volunteer Lake Monitoring Forms
      • Stream Monitoring >
        • Volunteer Stream Monitoring Forms
      • Avian Botulism Monitoring
    • Policy and Advocacy >
      • Federal Policy Initiatives
      • State Policy Initiatives
      • Local Policy Initiatives >
        • Bay Harbor Update >
          • History of Bay Harbor and East Park
          • Frequently Asked Questions
          • Contamination and Remediation Timeline
    • Restoration >
      • Road Stream Crossings >
        • Minnehaha RSX
        • Click Road/Stream Crossing Restoration
        • Tannery Creek Stream Crossing
        • Holms Road Stream Crossing
      • Small Dam Removal
      • Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Projects >
        • Zequanox Study
        • NCMC Stormwater Wetland Restoration
      • Shoreline Restoration
    • GIS Data
    • Pharmaceutical Disposal Program (POD)
    • Low Impact Development (LID) >
      • Bioswale
      • Freshwater Center
      • Fertilizing Tips
      • Greenbelts
      • Green Roofs
      • Permeable Pavers
      • Rain Barrels
      • Rain Gardens >
        • Project Rain Garden >
          • PRG-Petoskey Photos
        • Native Plants for Wetter Conditions
        • Native Plants for Drier Conditions
        • Rain Garden Photo Gallery
        • Register Your Rain Garden
    • Stormwater Matters
    • Technical Services >
      • Wetland Determination
      • Project and Site Plan Review
      • Stormwater Studies and Management
      • Septic Evaluations for Shoreline Properties
      • Greenbelt Assessment and Design
      • GIS, Mapping, and Natural Resource Inventories
    • Youth Education >
      • Watershed Academy >
        • Student Presentations
      • WREP
  • HOT TOPICS
    • Aquaculture
    • Aquatic Invasive Species >
      • Alewife
      • Asian Carp >
        • How to Identify Asian Carp
        • Detailed Timeline
        • Recent Events
        • Court Cases and Legal Action
        • Asian Carp Studies and Reports
        • How You Can Help
      • Bloody Red Shrimp
      • Curly-Leaf Pondweed
      • Eurasian Ruffe
      • Eurasian Watermilfoil
      • European Frogbit
      • Flowering Rush
      • Giant Hogweed
      • Golden Mussels
      • Hydrilla
      • Invasive Knotweed
      • Killer Shrimp
      • New Zealand Mudsnail
      • Parrot Feather
      • Phragmites
      • Purple Loosestrife
      • Quagga Mussels
      • Rock Snot - Didymo
      • Red Swamp Crayfish
      • Round Gobies
      • Rusty Crayfish
      • Sea Lamprey
      • Spiney Waterflea
      • Starry Stonewort
      • Stone Moroko
      • Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia
      • Water Hyacinth
      • Wels Catfish
      • Yabby
      • Zander
      • Zebra Mussels
    • Avian Botulism
    • Beach Sanding
    • Clean Boating
    • Climate Change >
      • Preservation and Protection Tools
      • Stormwater Management and Green Infrastructure Tools
      • Wetland Management, Creation, and Restoration Tools
      • Climate Change Summit
    • Coal-Tar Sealants and PAH Contamination
    • Great Lakes Wind Energy
    • Habitat Loss
    • Hydraulic Fracturing >
      • Michigan's Oil and Gas History
      • Hydraulic Fracturing - Concerns
      • Hydraulic Fracturing - Regulations and Exemptions
      • Hydraulic Fracturing - Baseline Testing
      • What we are doing to protect Michigan's Waters
    • Mercury in the Great Lakes
    • Microbeads
    • Native Plants
    • Pharmaceuticals in Our Waters
    • PFAS
    • Pipelines >
      • Pipelines 101
      • Pipelines in Michigan
      • Enbridge Energy Line 5 >
        • Crude vs Oil Sands
        • Alternatives Analysis
        • Risk Analysis >
          • Risk Analysis-QA
        • Agreements between Enbridge and the State of Michigan
        • Straits Tunnel Proposal
      • Pipeline Risks
      • Pipeline Safety
      • Pipeline Regulations
      • Oil Spill Response
      • Pipelines - How Can You Help
      • Our Work on Pipelines
      • Northern Michigan Pipeline Symposium (2014) >
        • Video of Symposium
        • Presentation Summary - PHMSA
        • Presentation - Enbridge
        • Presentation - EPA
        • Pipeline Symposium FAQ
        • Participating Agencies - Pipeline Symposium
      • Northern Michigan Pipeline Workshop (2015) >
        • Video of Workshop
      • Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act
      • Additional Resources
    • Seiches
    • Septic Systems >
      • Septic Question
    • Sewer Overflow
    • Stormwater >
      • Stormwater For Kids
      • Stormwater Glossary
    • Swimmer's Itch
  • Get Involved
    • Photo Contest
    • Advisory Committees
    • Aquavist Network >
      • Antrim County Aquavists
      • Charlevoix County Aquavists
      • Cheboygan County Aquavists
      • Emmet County Aquavists
      • Join the Aquavists
    • Attend an Event
    • Membership and Donations
    • WAVE
    • Volunteer >
      • Volunteer Lake Monitoring
      • Volunteer Stream Monitoring
      • Avian Botulism Monitoring
    • Shop Online
  • News & Resources
    • Download Library
    • Current Reflections Newsletter
    • Press Clippings and News Releases
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Watershed Protection Resources
    • Policy and Advocacy Resources
    • State and Federal Resources
    • Antrim County Resources
    • Charlevoix County Resources
    • Cheboygan County Resources
    • Emmet County Resources
  • Contact Us
    • AIS Reporting
    • Media Resources
    • Map

Starry Stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa)

Starry stonewort is a submerged aquatic macroalgae with many irregular branches. It is native to Europe and was likely introduced in ballast water to the Great Lakes. Fragments of starry stonewort can easily attach to the fur and feathers of mammals and birds, or attach to boats and fishing equipment allowing it to spread from one water body to another.
Picture
Reports show that Starry stonewort was first found in 1983 at Lake St. Clair, along the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers. Now it occurs in lakes in all Lower Peninsula basins and in Millecoquins Lake of the Upper Peninsula. Michigan has the most reported occurrences of any State.
Picture
Starry stonewort forms a dense, vertically thick mat that completely covers the lake bottom. 
Impacts of Starry Stonewort
Starry stonewort forms dense mats in lakes and can significantly reduce the diversity of other aquatic plants. Dense mats of vegetation can also impede the movement of fish, spawning activity, water flow, and recreational activities.
​
Starry Stonewort Identification
Starry stonewort is soft with a light green hue. It often branches in whorls of 4-6, angled toward the tip of the growth. The branches are separated by long tube-like cells. Small white stars a couple millimeters across adorn clumps of the algae. ​

Starry stonewort is often confused with a native algae called muskgrass or Chara. Muskgrass is similar in appearance to starry stonewort, but is typically more bristly and has a bottom cover less than a foot tall. Muskgrass also lacks the small white stars of starry stonewort.
  • Whorls of 4-6 branchlets/leaves with blunt tips
  • Star-shaped bulbils are produced at the nodes, generally 3-6 mm wide
  • Can reach up to 33 inches
Picture
Invasive Starry Stonewort Identification - Video
In this very helpful video, you will learn to identify starry stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa) and distinguish it from several look-alike species.
A production of the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership.
Watch Video
Picture
Photos: Courtesy of Paul Skawinski, UW-Extension Lakes Program
The Squeeze Test
Starry stonewort is often mistaken for other types of macroalgae like Chara. One test that may be used to distinguish Starry Stonewort from Chara is the “squeeze test.” In Starry Stonewort  the protoplasm inside will pop out of the cell when squeezed. The remaining cell wall becomes a limp straw. In Chara, the protoplasm does not separate easily from the cell wall.
​
What can you do to prevent the spread of this invasive species 
  • Learn to identify Starry stonewort.
  • Inspect and remove aquatic plants and animals from boat, motor and trailer.
  • Drain lake or river water from live well and bilge before leaving access.
  • Rinse boat and equipment with high-pressure hot water (104° F), especially if moored for more than a day, or dry everything for at least 5 days before launching in a new body of water.
  • Report sightings of Starry stonewort to Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council by calling (231) 347-1181 or by
    e- mailing info@watershedcouncil.org . Please note the exact location in which you saw the species. 

OUR ORGANIZATION
Contact
About Us
Staff
Employment

Internships

Annual Reports
MEMBERSHIP & DONATIONS
Membership Donations
Give a Gift Membership
Make a Tribute Gift
Give to our Endowment
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Stream Monitoring
Lake Monitoring
Avian Botulism Monitoring
Youth Education/Outreach

Restoration Projects
​Aquavist Network
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
426 Bay Street
Petoskey, MI 49770 
Phone: 231-347-1181
Fax:      231-
347-5928
info.watershed@watershedcouncil.org

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. 
426 Bay Street, Petoskey, MI 49770

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information herein; however, it cannot be guaranteed. 
Unless otherwise noted, all contents of this website are property of Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council © 2018. All rights reserved.
​

Contact Webmaster
Volunteer Request