 Three years after the first collection in Massachusetts , a study of the area around Spruce Pond in Orange County , New York yielded the first record for U. inflata in New York State . The authors of the study speculate that , unlike the population found in Massachusetts , it is unlikely that the population in Spruce Pond was the result of human introduction because the pond is in a remote area and rarely used . More recently in 2005 , a study in northern New York identified populations of U. inflata in six lakes in the Adirondack Mountains , representing another northern extension of its range . In two of these lakes U. inflata was the most frequently encountered species in 2000 , whereas a census of the lakes found no U. inflata whatsoever in 1983 . This impressive growth in what is probably a new location for the species is similar to the growth patterns of other invasive aquatic plant species . The authors of this study also noted that at one of these sites , many of the native species declined in frequency or could not be found , possibly due to the presence and proliferation of U. inflata . Lab experiments and observations in the field supported the authors ' hypothesis that the presence of U. inflata in Adirondack lake systems damages the natural nutrient cycles that sustain the native flora . U. inflata likely shades out the native flora , specifically Eriocaulon aquaticum , a submersed macrophyte isoetid that releases oxygen into the sediment . In this case , U. inflata could indirectly change the biogeochemical cycle in the Adirondack lakes by hindering the growth of native isoetid macrophytes and subsequently having a negative effect on the proper balance of sediment chemistry . The consequence of this may include enhanced growth of algae and other changes to the ecology of the freshwater ecosystems that it may invade . 
