This 3-part webinar, hosted by the Invasive Mussel Collaborative, is from December 13, 2023, and it dives a bit deeper into the spread of zebra and quagga mussels. Two Minnesota researchers are presenters. Read more about it and watch it here.
Check out their website for more information about the Invasive Mussel Collaborative.
Death by a thousand cuts! We can become immune to the repeated announcements of new lakes becoming infested with AIS, but we shouldn’t. The season for reporting AIS infestations is not over and we should expect the 2023 numbers will grow.
The 3 species graphed above threaten the recreational value of our public waters, and they keep growing, increasing the annual costs to keep the species under control and the lakes usable.
So far in 2023, we have 6 new infestations of starry stonewort: up from 22 since 2015. That’s a 27% increase this year alone. A troubling growth rate for a very troubling species that is still early in its infestation life cycle.
Zebra mussel infestations year to date are up 17 on a base of 582. If that low double-digit increase holds, it will have been a good year. Be aware that more infestations typically get identified as we pull out boats, docks, and lifts.
Eurasian watermilfoil only racked up 2 new infestations so far, so perhaps it’s trending down. And that’s good.
While waterbody counts may be slowing, you should be aware that most large lakes in Minnesota have 1 or more AIS, and the percentage of Minnesota’s surface water infested with AIS is very high.
Netting that was used for on Lake Koronis as part of a pilot project to control starry stonewort is available for free to a good home.
Each net is 300’ long, 6’ deep, and plastic coated. 4 nets are available: 2 nets have 3/8” holes, 2 nets have 3/16” holes. The nets have floats on the top and weights on the bottom. The nets were decontaminated and have been in storage since 2017. Other details are available.
Contact Kevin@Farnum.info if your lake association can use any of these nets for any purpose.
It’s still early in season for AIS detection, but zebra mussels continue their march through Minnesota. As of June 29, 11 new zebra mussel infested water bodies were added to the MN DNR’s Infested Waters List: 6 in Wright County, 2 in Otter Tail County, and 1 each in Hubbard, Kandiyohi, and Stearns Counties.
In addition to these new zebra mussel infestations, Eurasian watermilfoil was confirmed in 1 lake in Le Sueur County and starry stonewort was confirmed in 1 lake in Kandiyohi County.
Clearer water from zebra mussels? Yes. Healthier water? NO! But do zebra mussels impact the fish we eat? YES!!!
In their 2022 Annual Report, the University of MN AIS Research Lab (MAISRC) reported some startling findings about “how zebra mussels influence food webs supporting walleye and yellow perch, and how food web changes influence mercury concentrations in fish tissue.”
“Mercury in fish tissue was, on average, 66% higher for adult walleye and 91% higher for adult yellow perch in lakes containing zebra mussels compared to those in uninvaded lakes.
On average, mercury concentrations in 16-inch walleye from lakes containing zebra mussels were 0.28 pm, above the 0.2 ppm threshold triggering human consumption advisories by the Minnesota Department of Health.”
This is really a significant finding, and the MN Health Department advisor should be heeded.
For more information, check out this MAISRC project online at z.umn.edu/AIS-walleye
No, this is not news from The Onion, but a research report published in Biological Invasions on March 6, 2023. This was a rare case of a zebra mussel attached by byssal threads to the lateral scales of a 6” lake chub. In the abstract, the authors note that Charles Darwin had previously recognized the potential for this kind of animal-assisted dispersal to occur. Also of note is that in 1882 Darwin published research entitled “On the dispersal of freshwater bivalves”
Here is a great article from Interlochen Public Radio in northern Michigan.
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Education, awareness, personal responsibility campaigns, cleaning stations, and inspections did not stop the spread of AIS in Minnesota lakes and rivers in 2022. Here are the details.
Here are some sobering statistics about 2022’s 53 new AIS infestations from the Minnesota DNR:
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