Mussels and Their Impacts to the Great Lakes

[Ryno]

Here's a very lengthy but informative article on how mussels are impacting the Great Lakes, almost 2 decades after their introduction. If you weren't concerned before, you should be now.......

[url "http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=766864"]http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=766864[/url]

[line_dangler]

[font "Times New Roman"][#000000]I would now like to cry. [frown] I don't think there is any worse disaster that could have happened to Lake Michigan. The bigger prolems have yet to come. I guess as the lake gets even more clear the temperatures will eventually climb to more devastating levels.[/#000000][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][#000000]I would like to as then what this means for Utah waters? Will the quagga or zebra mussels thrive better in most waters here? So this means that if they get started here, they will filter out all the food for kokanee and rainbow. I guess they will wipe out the crayfish and the structure that is good for small fish. The worst thing is that you just know these mussels can't be stopped once they arrive. [/#000000][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"]What kind of effect does winter have on these mussels?[/font]
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[lakextackle]

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but if migratory birds frequent these infested waters, is it possible the birds are transporting these creatures instead of boaters? I guess I'm thinking if they can attach so easily to a boat why not a bird?

And is it really possible to entirely decontaminate a boat and trailer, even with high pressure washing? The boat maybe, but to get every drop of water off the trailer; out of the hubs, bunks, frame that fills with water seems unlikey even with the best of intentions.
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[DallanC]

[quote line_dangler]
[font "Times New Roman"]What kind of effect does winter have on these mussels?[/font][/quote]

You dont think it gets as cold as utah in the great lakes???

[quote lakextackle]I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but if migratory birds frequent these infested waters, is it possible the birds are transporting these creatures instead of boaters? I guess I'm thinking if they can attach so easily to a boat why not a bird?
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You bet. Same with boots from all the fall duck hunters. I know lots of people that drive out to the basin, then stop and hunt all the various waters, streams and ponds on the way back. My brother does it alot. Jump shoots ducks on every stream from vernal back to heber in a single day.


-DallanC
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[Ryno]

[font "Times New Roman"]Will the quagga or zebra mussels thrive better in most waters here?[/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"]No reason to believe they wouldn't thrive. They are everywhere else. They've already increased to alarming levels in Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and Lake Havasu. They were only discovered there a year and a half ago.[/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"]So this means that if they get started here, they will filter out all the food for kokanee and rainbow. I guess they will wipe out the crayfish and the structure that is good for small fish. [/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"]They'll reduce zooplankton abundance, because they to feed on phytoplankton (microscopic algae). As zooplankton numbers are reduced, young of the fish will have a more difficult time finding food essential to their development. As you stated, it could spell disaster for kokanee and rainbows in Flaming Gorge. Rainbows forage on zooplankton a good portion of the time, but kokes rely almost solely on zooplankton.[/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"]What kind of effect does winter have on these mussels?[/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"]I'm not sure what their cold water tolerance is, but I suspect it's simply freezing. They're thriving throughout the Mid-west and into Canada, so Utah's water temps wouldn't be an exception. Quagga spawning ceases in the mid-50s so they would get about 6-9 months of suitable water temps to do their thing, depending on what Utah fishery you're looking at.[/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"]Ryno[/font]


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[line_dangler]

[font "Times New Roman"][#000000]Is there absolutey no possible predator to eat these mussels?[/#000000][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][#000000]I remeber watching about the aggressibive algae that was taking over vast areas of the Mediteranian sea in the France and Italy area. They figured out a way to hit it with some kind of bleach underwater. The divers would go in and shoot it. I know this is very expensive but is there something like this for mussles, or is it at least possible?[:/][/#000000][/font]
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[MI_Steelheader]

They have not yet found a solution in Michigan. It's hopeful that the fish populations will not completely collapse, but they have declined and are not likely to return to previous levels.

This is fairly typical with exotic species. Talk to anyone who fished the Gallatin in Montana prior to the introduction of whirling disease.

Some of my favorite places in Michigan have been seriously damaged due to zebra mussels. That doesn't stop me from getting out and fishing though. I just know I won't catch as many.

Certainly if everyone followed all of the protocols on bilge water, cleaning waders and float tubes, etc, the introduction could have been prevented. However, as has been pointed out, it's quite unlikely that everyone will follow all the protocols all the time.

Hopefully someone will come up with a solution. Back in the 60's and 70's the Great Lakes problem was the alewife (a baitfish that made it up the St. Lawrence seaway and Erie Canal). This prompted the introduction of Pacific Salmon and Steelhead to control the alewife population and a tremendous fishery was born. Perhaps someone will find something that eats zebra mussels.
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[Lundman]

Lake Tahoe's solution to the potential threat:

[url "http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080924/NEWS18/80924037&OAS_sitep"]http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080924/NEWS18/80924037&OAS_sitep[/url]
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[pacscrumhalf]

That's a pretty stiff "solution" but at the same time, what can you do?

In the Great Lakes, freshwater drum, yellow perch, and lake sturgeon eat the mussels in massive quantities but still cannot make a dent in the population.

Maybe it might be a good idea for those states dealing with the issue to put out some kind of incentive or reward to whomever finds a viable solution to the problem. Obviously not everyone is a scientist, but the more minds working on a solution, the quicker to finding it.

Just my 2 cents.
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[jacksonlaker]

I used to fish Lake Ontario alot back in the late 80s, early 90s. It was an incredible fishery back then. Kings would run on average 25 to 30 lbs. Now a good fish is a 22. A lot less food. The water is incredibly clear now. This also makes it more difficult for predator fish to forage. You know what is weird is the walleye fishing in the big O has gotten better, while salmon has gone down..I still have freinds that fish there but it is not even close to what is was. It really sucks !!
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[Ryno]

Some year's back, the round Golby was also illegally introduced to the Great Lakes. In it's native range it will actually consume zebra/quagga mussels. Unfortunately in the Great Lakes, it prefers to eat young smallmouth bass and perch. That's the concern with introducing another species or predator. All the research may show they'll consume the over-populated species, but every ecosystem is different, you never know exactly how they'll respond and/or what they'll look for when the forage runs out.

Ryno
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[Ryno]

Muskie fishing is hot there too, I saw a pretty intense fishing show a while back where they were trolling for the toothed-monsters. Alot of the fishing guides have switched species too. I think you pretty much summed it up though. Some species will give, and others will benefit. The lake will always support some threshold of aquatic life, but the composition will change and so will the angling.

Ryno
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