Zebra muscles progression

Late last fall when it was time to yank docks and lifts there was not a zebra muscle in sight.

Less than a month ago I was pulling a spinner rig around on Prior Lake. I brought the rig back to the boat to re bait it and there was a teeny tiny zebra muscle on the line.

4th of July….The zebra muscles are now very evident as to what they are and they are everywhere in this same area. We did some diving and pulled up all kinds of these devils. Coming to a lake near you soon no matter what the DNR does!

So that’s what they look like.

Every time the DNR checks me at the landing, I tell them, you can inspect me all you want, but science is the only thing that is going to stop the spread of all these things.

Here in central WI, that’s the norm. I really don’t recall what the last body of water I was on that didn’t have them.

Wasn’t there a recently found chemical that made them sterile? Or did the DNRs quiet that down to generate revenue? Hmmmm…..

Zebra mussels at the juvenile state attach to fish gills. So unless the DNR teach fish not to swim there is nothing going to stop it. So many bodies of water drain it the Mississippi… so it will not stop there. Man do they hurt when you step on them. I know REALLY high river flow does kill some of them off.

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Wasn’t there a recently found chemical that made them sterile? Or did the DNRs quiet that down to generate revenue? Hmmmm…..

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There is some stuff that they can use in a contained area like intake valves and pools. I don’t remember anything about sterilizing them. I think it made them digest themselves or something weird like that.

There really isn’t much of incentive for the DNR monetarily. For the amount of man hours and cost that could be spent elsewhere, it’s not like a goldmine. If they wanted to use it as a revenue source, we’d be hearing about a lot more fines and a lot less warnings.

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Zebra mussels at the juvenile state attach to fish gills.

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I thought that as well at one time. But Zebs are one of the few that don’t attach to fish gills as a main form of transportation.

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When zebra mussels are larvae, less than 3 weeks old, they float in the water and move with the current. After three weeks, they settle down in the river or lake to find a good hard surface upon which to attach. Generally, they will never move again, unless, of course, this good hard surface is a boat that moves them or they get knocked off.

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whatever they put in the Croix sure seems to be working.

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whatever they put in the Croix sure seems to be working.

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<snicker>

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Wasn’t there a recently found chemical that made them sterile? Or did the DNRs quiet that down to generate revenue? Hmmmm…..

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You don’t really believe that – do you?

The DNR is made up of guys like you and me, they crunch number and try to fill budget gaps. It’s not Dr. Evil in his lair on the side of a mountain trying to skeam ways to soak every person for every last penny. C’MON MAN

Personaly, I think the Zeb’s have helped Pool 8. I can’t speak for what they have done to any lakes though.

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Zebra mussels at the juvenile state attach to fish gills. So unless the DNR teach fish not to swim there is nothing going to stop it. So many bodies of water drain it the Mississippi… so it will not stop there. Man do they hurt when you step on them. I know REALLY high river flow does kill some of them off.

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Sorry Run&gun but you are not correct in your statement.
Native mussel gocidia attach to the gills of fish. Zebra mussel veligers do not they are free floating/swimming and do not require an intermediate host like our native mussels do.

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Personaly, I think the Zeb’s have helped Pool 8. I can’t speak for what they have done to any lakes though.

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Add the St Croix, Pool 3 and 4 to that list.

Unless a person isn’t happy with better light penetration that helps weeds grow and gives Bass, Bluegills and other species that thrive around weeds a better environment.

Over the past 5 years there has been a HUGE increase in the overall panfish population and size structure-especially bluegills-on Pool 4 IMO. Now if only most of these spots held consistent ice throughout the year

It would be kind of funny if they did a study and found Zeebs actually improved the quality of the fishery. If average fish were bigger than fish in similar water without Zeebs.

Actually it wouldn’t be funny, because then people actually would start spreading them on purpose.

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Over the past 5 years there has been a HUGE increase in the overall panfish population and size structure-especially bluegills-on Pool 4 IMO

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Not just your opinion.

According to our friends Lake City DNR office the last sampling showed 70 times the record amounts sampled and 500 times the normal amount.

Before we all get busy touting the virtues and benefits of ZM, we may want to do a little more research.

Based on the benthic oxygen demand data and previous reports of low DO in rivers infested with zebra mussels, we believe the low DO in portions of the Mississippi River main channel during June and July was likely influenced by zebra mussel respiratory activity, decomposition of waste products and decaying zebra mussels. Reduced river flow and warm water conditions during mid- to late June would have contributed to a greater DO deficit during this time in reaches with high zebra mussel infestations.

Zebra mussel-induced water quality impacts were also believed to be responsible for unusually water quality conditions in the river during August and September of 1997. Unusually low chlorophyll concentrations and high light penetration was observed at LD 9 during this time. This was particularly apparent in early September when chlorophyll a concentrations were about 2 ug/L and light penetration (1% depth) was 3.5 m. In contrast, chlorophyll a was about ten fold greater upstream at LD 8 (Figure 2e) during this time and light penetration was substantially lower. Ratios of dissolved nutrients (soluble reactive phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen and silica) to chlorophyll a were also unusually high at LD 9 based on long term data for this site (Sullivan and Endris, 1998). Zebra mussel-induced nutrient conversions (particulate to dissolved forms) and phytoplankton consumption would be expected to contribute to high nutrient to chlorophyll ratios.

dnr.wi.gov/org/water/fhp/papers/p1/misszmdo.htm

I’m not touting the virtues of Zeebs

So Zebs are stupid?

Old info…

Presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the
Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee
Rock Island, IL
March 1998

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We believe more data are needed to verify zebra mussel-induced water quality impacts in the river. A detailed DO, suspended solids, chlorophyll and nutrient budget in a river reach with high zebra mussel-infestation may provide another means for assessing their impacts on water quality. River monitoring agencies need to better coordinate their monitoring efforts and quickly share information should unusually water quality conditions reappear. More pool-wide information is needed on zebra mussel densities and spatial coverage to better evaluate their impacts in the Mississippi River.

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I think this thread proves nobody really understands the cause and effects or how to control them.

But, like Chicken Little said……….”the sky is falling, the sky is falling.”

Buzz

Thanks for throwing a little sense into this discussion. Changes in water clarity may seem like a good thing. But when you throw an animal with the reproductive potential of the zebra mussel into an ecosystem it greatly changes the flow of energy and changes what that ecosystem can and cannot support. Usually these long term chages are not a good thing.

Keeps the Asian Carp at bay too.

Even if Zeebs meant better catch rates and bigger fish, I would still want everyone to do what they could “within reason” to stop the spread.

I can’t stand seeing anything that is not native in an ecosystem. I want lakes and rivers to be like they were for thousands of years. I know most people would say, “Duh, that’s a given”.

So much energy wasted on something that cannot be stopped.

Invasive species has been a way of life as long as I can remember. And I dont remember anything that arrived ever going away. (brown trout, rainbow trout, salmon, cardinal, carp, asian beetle, jap beetle, starlings, house sparrow, pheasant, hungarian partridge, etc etc on and on.

yes I’d also rather see the Dakota’s, western MN, and eastern MT full of sage grouse and prairie chickens instead of chinese pheasants
makes me wonder how many residents of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed district would agree ?

Interesting discussion, so if they cannot be stopped will all these money being spent on “Inspectors & Inspections” at both the State & Local level be wasted?

How many people here have snagged a few or mass of weeds and found a few to many Zebra Mussels attached to them?

I recall someone posting a photo of this last year from Mille Lacs and now was told same thing have been found on Minnetonka.

My big question now is how long (1, 2, 5 or 10 years) before they are found to have infested a certain West Metro Lake near Minnetonka with a POWERFUL & WEALTHY Lake Association, especially since a friend witnessed a homeowner pull up, identify himself to the Inspector as a Lakeshore home owner and was given the go ahead to launch without being inspected (This happened within the last week. He did not have his camera or phone along to catch/video this incident)?

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It would be kind of funny if they did a study and found Zeebs actually improved the quality of the fishery. If average fish were bigger than fish in similar water without Zeebs.

Actually it wouldn’t be funny, because then people actually would start spreading them on purpose.

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Tinfoil hat time:

The snooty lakeshore owners already have this study and it’s true that zeebs improve the fishery. By keeping zeebs out of “their lake” people won’t even want to come to their lake any more and they can just let the public access degrade and crumble and then close it.

I think we should get Jesse Ventura to investigate this one.