Zebra Mussels

[Champ]

Does TR have zebra mussels yet??

If not, I'm sure it's a matter of time.

From KY3.com:

Zebra mussels show up in Lake of the Ozarks

View video

The Conservation Department has found the dreaded zebra mussel in central Missouri's Lake of the Ozark. Fish and wildlife experts are on the lookout for more of the striped shelled creatures, which harm other aquatic life and clog up water intake pipelines that supply cities and power plants.

Officials say boat owners should wash off their watercraft to prevent to prevent the spread of zebra mussels from one body of water to another

[Wayne SW/MO]

They found them in Grand, last year I believe. On the otherside, they say that they may not fare well in warmer waters like LOZ and Grand, we can hope I guess.

[jim m]

haven't seen any but I think they are in Bull Shoals. group of us fished at powersite saturday night and we all had an unusally high amount of cut offs. there were 3 times that I had a fish running with the bait and by the time I picked up the rod the line was already cut. the reason I suspect zebras is you would be fighting a fish and not feel anything but the fish and then your line would be cut cleanly. all together I lost 8 fish to the line being cut

[hoover25]

Does TR have zebra mussels yet??

If not, I'm sure it's a matter of time.

From KY3.com:

Zebra mussels show up in Lake of the Ozarks

View video

The Conservation Department has found the dreaded zebra mussel in central Missouri's Lake of the Ozark. Fish and wildlife experts are on the lookout for more of the striped shelled creatures, which harm other aquatic life and clog up water intake pipelines that supply cities and power plants.

Officials say boat owners should wash off their watercraft to prevent to prevent the spread of zebra mussels from one body of water to another

Fellas,

I worked with zebra mussels throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River basins. Here is my honest opinion: IF they can thrive in LOZ, then we will know very soon. These little buggers multiply so fast.....each female can produce a million babies per year. Lets hope that there are some unknown ecological variables that prevents an outbreak of these nasties. If not, there is nothing that can stop them.

To my knowledge, there are no zebra mussels in any other place in Missouri. That said, my old crew found a dead female in the Meramec a few years ago. AS far as I know, they have not been found since that time.

[Dutch]

haven't seen any but I think they are in Bull Shoals. group of us fished at powersite saturday night and we all had an unusally high amount of cut offs. there were 3 times that I had a fish running with the bait and by the time I picked up the rod the line was already cut. the reason I suspect zebras is you would be fighting a fish and not feel anything but the fish and then your line would be cut cleanly. all together I lost 8 fish to the line being cut

I don't understand about the cut offs. Please explain what you mean to someone who knows nothing about zebra mussels.

[MoCarp]

We had a carp wing ding "cagi" Saturday night on the 'shoals and carp normally make long hard runs, but for some reason we got a LOT of cut offs--Jim suspects line cut off from the zebras "like barnicals" attach to everything and will cut line if its rubbed against, those that fish carp in places with zebras have the same thing happen...we never have had it happen before--if the low water allowed the buggers to get a foot hold because not enough carp where there in numbers to slow the spread "carp eat them big time"

see the below study

sgnis.org/publicat/papers/tucker3.pdf

Predation on zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha)

by common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

John K. Tucker, Frederick A. Cronin, Dirk W. Soergel

Long Term Resources Monitoring Program Pool 26

Illinois Natural History Survey

4134 Alby Street

Alton, Illinois 62002 USA

and

Charles H. Theiling

Ecological Specialists, Inc.

114 Algana Ct.

St. Peters, Missouri 63376, USA

ABSTRACT

We examined the gut contents of 31 common carp (Cyprinus

carpio) collected at Mississippi River Mile 217 in August 1995

for evidence of predation on zebra mussels (Dreissena

polymorpha). We found between 1 and 407 zebra mussel

beaks in 83.9% of the fish we examined. For all fish examined,

common carp contained 118.2 beaks per fish or about 59 zebra

mussels per fish. The survey did not indicate that larger fish

consumed more zebra mussels than smaller fish. Estimated

valve length for zebra mussels consumed ranged from 1.48 to

42.52 mm with a mean 11.79 mm (SE = 0.10 mm). We found

that larger fish tended to prey on larger zebra mussels than did

smaller fish. The general size range of zebra mussels

consumed by common carp overlapped the upper portion of the

size range of young-of-the-year zebra mussels living at the site

and the lower portion of the size range of older zebra mussels

living at the site.

INTRODUCTION

The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is a recent invader of the

Great Lakes and Mississippi River. These mussels attach to available hard

substrates using byssal threads (Eckroat et al. 1993). They filter large

quantities of water for the food and compete with other molluscs for space

and food. Zebra mussels can form dense aggregations on unionid mussels.

Page 2

These aggregations have led to decreased unionid density (Gillis and Mackie

1994, Nalepa 1994) or even to complete extirpation of unionid faunas

(Schloesser and Nalepa 1994). Zebra mussels may also have adverse

effects on other molluscs (Tucker 1994a) and other invertebrates (Tucker

and Camerer 1994, but see Stewart and Haynes 1994).

Despite their adverse effects on other molluscs, zebra mussels have

become an abundant potential food for several species of diving ducks in

Lake Erie (Hamilton et al. 1994) just as they are in Europe (Sta_czykowska

1977, Sta_czykowska et al. 1990). Smaller zebra mussels (shell length d8

mm) are also preyed upon by crayfish in the laboratory and possibly in

nature (Love and Savino 1993, MacIsaac 1994, Martin and Corkum 1994). A

number of fish species are known to feed on zebra mussels in Europe

including the bream, Abramis brama (Budzy_ska et al. 1956), the common

carp, Cyprinus carpio (Ivlev 1961, Stein et al. 1975), the pumpkinseed,

Lepomus gibbosus (Spataru 1967), the European roach, Rutilus rutilus

(Budzy_ska et al. 1956, Prejs 1973, Olszewski 1978, Prejs et al. 1990), and

the eel, Anguilla anguilla (De Nie 1982). Several North American fishes are

known or thought to be capable of preying on zebra mussels (French 1993).

However, only one North American fish, the freshwater drum (Aplodinotus

grunniens), has been shown to be a significant predator on zebra mussels in

nature (French and Bur 1993).

Although common carp are known to prey on zebra mussels when other

preferred prey are unavailable (e.g., Stein et al. 1975), there is little

published information regarding routine consumption of zebra mussels by

carp in the United States. Thus, the purpose of this survey was to document

utilization of zebra mussels by the common carp.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Hoover is there any truth to the idea that the water will get to warm, to often, for Zebras to survive over a few years in Missouri?

[CaptainT16]

We currently have them in El Dorado lake just east of Wichita here in KS and they are amazing critters. I went over there a couple of weeks ago and saw all of them when the water was down. They are absolutely everywhere. Kansas Wildlife and Parks as well as most fisherman are very worried about them right now. They eat alot of plankton and other nutrients our lakes have and I was amazed at how they clean the lakes right up. Very clear water over at El Dorado and pretty clear is quite something for a lake in KS. It's sad to see these guys taking over the lakes and downstream. I will say make sure you wear shoes anytime walking around in a lake with them otherwise your feet will show it as well as your fishing line being cut. Not good!

Where did zebra mussels come from?

Zebra mussels are native to the Black and Caspian Sea in Europe.

They arrived into the Great Lakes in 1988 in the ballast water of ships.

Zebra mussels are established in El Dorado Reservoir and the Walnut River below the dam.

Zebra mussels have become widespread throughout the Midwestern US. Click here to see where.

What do zebra mussels look like?

Zebra mussels look like small clams, usually less than an inch long with a D-shaped shell. Usually the shell is yellowish-brown with alternating dark and light stripes.

Zebra mussels use sticky byssal threads to attach tightly to any hard surface.

Why are zebra mussels a problem?

Zebra mussels are a problem because they filter water, up to a liter a day, to eat plankton. Although this filtering action may clear up the water, clear water does NOT mean clean water and the clear water zebra mussels leave behind will often lead to algal blooms that are harmful to people. The clear water can also let UV rays damage fish eggs laid during the spawn.

Larval fish and native mussels rely on this same plankton to survive.

Zebra mussels also clog pipes by forming colonies inside of the pipes. Then the water cannot flow through the pipes as easily.

Nationwide expenditures to control zebra mussels in water intake pipes, water filtration equipment, and electric generating plants are estimated at $3.1 billion over 10 years.

How do zebra mussels spread?

Transport by people is probably the primary vector for the spread of zebra mussels to unconnected waters.

Zebra mussels will attach to a solid substrate and can be easily transported on recreational equipment.

Zebra mussel larvae (veligers) are about the diameter of a human hair and are so small you can?t see them without a microscope.

The veliger floats in a water column for 1-5 weeks and then as it grows it begins to sinks and search for a hard surface on which to live and grow.

It is illegal to release zebra mussels into a waterbody.

How do we control zebra mussels?

Zebra mussels cannot be controlled in the wild.

On intake pipes, chemicals can be used that will kill the larva. If these chemicals were used in an open lake they would also affect fish and native mussels.

The spread of zebra mussels can be prevented by draining all of the water from boats, live wells, and bait wells.

Thoroughly inspect your boat's hull and trailer for any zebra mussels and remove.

Wash equipment with 104-degree water (your local car wash hot water rinse), a 10-percent chlorine bleach and water solution, or a hot saltwater solution.

Let equipment sit for 5 days.

Never take fish or plants from one lake and put them in another.

Never dip your bait bucket into a lake or river if it has water in it from another waterbody.

What do I do if I find zebra mussels?

If you find a zebra mussel, do not release it back into the water, note the date and location, and call the Emporia Research Office at (620) 342-0658 or email the Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator.

Public assistance in reporting zebra mussel sightings at new locations is essential to help prevent its spread to other inland lakes and rivers.

[gonefishin]

The state of Mo should stock more Blue Cats and Redear.

Predation on exotic zebra mussels by native fishes: effects on predator and prey

Daniel D. Magoulick* and Lindsey C. Lewis†

SUMMARY1. Exotic zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, occur in southern U.S. waterways in high densities, but little is known about the interaction between native fish predators and zebra mussels. Previous studies have suggested that exotic zebra mussels are low profitability prey items and native vertebrate predators are unlikely to reduce zebra mussel densities. We tested these hypotheses by observing prey use of fishes, determining energy content of primary prey species of fishes, and conducting predator exclusion experiments in Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas.

2. Zebra mussels were the primary prey eaten by 52.9% of blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus; 48.2% of freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens; and 100% of adult redear sunfish, Lepomis microlophus. Blue catfish showed distinct seasonal prey shifts, feeding on zebra mussels in summer and shad, Dorosoma spp., during winter. Energy content (joules g-1) of blue catfish prey (threadfin shad, Dorosoma petenense; gizzard shad, D. cepedianum; zebra mussels; and asiatic clams, Corbicula fluminea) showed a significant species by season interaction, but shad were always significantly greater in energy content than bivalves examined as either ash-free dry mass or whole organism dry mass. Fish predators significantly reduced densities of large zebra mussels (>5 mm length) colonising clay tiles in the summers of 1997 and 1998, but predation effects on small zebra mussels (≤5 mm length) were less clear.

3. Freshwater drum and redear sunfish process bivalve prey by crushing shells and obtain low amounts of higher-energy food (only the flesh), whereas blue catfish lack a shell-crushing apparatus and ingest large amounts of low-energy food per unit time (bivalves with their shells). Blue catfish appeared to select the abundant zebra mussel over the more energetically rich shad during summer, then shifted to shad during winter when shad experienced temperature-dependent stress and mortality. Native fish predators can suppress adult zebra mussel colonisation, but are ultimately unlikely to limit population density because of zebra mussel reproductive potential.

You might find this interesting. Of course since these were caught it has been found that the shellfish are Zebra Mussels.

Amos M. Gay and his new all-tackle world record redear sunfish (shellcracker) from Santee Cooper Diversional Canal, caught in August, 1998. The fish weighed 5 lbs. 7.5 ozs. and topped another fish from the same fishing hole by 3.5 ozs. The fishing hole where Gay caught this fish has produced at least three redear over 5 lbs. It is located where the canal meets Lake Moultrie. The area was intensively sprayed to remove vegetation, and the resulting bare bottom became the perfect home for an unnamed species of Asiatic shellfish. The shellfish are, of course, dinner for shellcrackers, and redear feeding in this area experience phenomenal growth and weight gain. If the shellfish are the infamous zebra mussels, redear appear to offer a perfect solution to control. Reduced zebra mussel expansion and big redear in one package!

Raymond F. Lee's redear would have been a new world record at 5 lbs., 4 ozs., but for Amos M. Gay's even bigger fish (see above) caught just after Lee caught this fish. Both fish came from the Santee Cooper Diversonal Canal near its confluence at Lake Moultrie, South Carolina.

[hoover25]

Hoover is there any truth to the idea that the water will get to warm, to often, for Zebras to survive over a few years in Missouri?

Wayne, you may be right. The last studies that I read showed that the nasties do have heat tolerance....and heat-tolerance within localized populations indicated a selection pressure for increased heat-tolerance.......but even if the selection pressure is strong at a given site, it has not (at least not yet) resulted in an adaptation, as high heat-tolerance is not ubiquitous within the zebra mussel overall population. Zebra mussels "MAY" have insufficient genetic variation for heat-tolerance or gene flow may be too strong for genetic adaptation to occur.

Its a "wait & see" type thing at this point.

I am still hoping and betting on some combination of environmental factors will limit the infestation.