Gorton Pond, East Lyme - 2015

Gorton Pond is a 52-acre waterbody located in East Lyme CT. The shoreline is surrounded by several private residences and has a public boat launch at the southern end. Gorton Pond is relatively shallow (0–3 m deep) creating ideal conditions for abundant plant growth. The dredging performed in the 1970’s was apparently of insufficient depth to prevent regrowth of nuisance aquatic vegetation.

Our CAES IAPP 2015 survey of Gorton Pond is a resurvey from 2004. In 2004, 17 aquatic plant species were found thriving throughout much of the pond. Variable-Leaf watermilfoil (Myriophyllum heterophyllum) was the only invasive species found in a few small patches throughout the pond. In 2015, 23 aquatic plant species were found growing throughout the entire pond. In our 2015 survey variable-leaf watermilfoil was the only invasive species found; however, it had spread throughout the entire waterbody and become the most dominant plant.

Southern naiad (Najas guadalupensis) was the most dominant native species and grew intermingled with variable-leaf watermilfoil. Several other native species were common including Robbins' pondweed (Potamogeton robbinsii), western waterweed (Elodea nuttallii), and slender naiad (Najas flexilis). Three varieties of lily pads: watershield (Brasenia schreberi), yellow water lily (Nuphar variegata), and white water lily (Nymphaea odorata) were also commonly found throughout the shoreline. The northwestern cove contained very dense aquatic plant coverage with a large variety of species including snailseed pondweed (Potamogeton bicupulatus), leafy pondweed (Potamogeton foliosus), and floating-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton natans).