Got Nature? Blog

Quagga mussels, which arrived in Lake Michigan in the 1990s via ballast water discharged from ships, have colonized vast expanses of the Lake Michigan bottom, reaching densities as high as roughly 35,000 quagga mussels per square meter. The invasive species that can have major economic impacts filters up to 4 liters of water per day, and so far seems unaffected by any means of population control. It is also a constant threat to other systems, as it is readily transported between water bodies.

Researchers have long known that these voracious filter feeders impact water quality in the lake, but their influence on water movement had remained largely a mystery.

“Although Lake Michigan is already infested with these mussels, an accurate filtration model would be imperative for determining the fate of substances like nutrients and plankton in the water,” Purdue University PhD candidate David Cannon said. “In other quagga mussel-threatened systems, like Lake Mead, this could be used to determine the potential impact of mussels on the lake, which could in turn be used to develop policy and push for funding to keep mussels out of the lakes.”

For full article and video view Purdue Researchers Get to the Bottom of Another Quagga Mussel Impact.

Resources:
A Field Guide to Fish Invaders of the Great Lake Regions, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG)
Protect Your Waters, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service & U.S. Coast Guard
Profitability of Hybrid Striped Bass Cage Aquaculture in the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
A Guide to Marketing for Small-Scale Aquaculture Producers, The Education Store
Aquaculture Industry in Indiana Growing, Purdue Today
Sustainable Aquaculture: What does it mean to you?, The Education Store
Pond and Wildlife Management website, Purdue Extension
Fish Cleaning with Purdue Extension County Extension Director, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Aquaponics: What to consider before starting your business, YouTube, Purdue Ag Economics
Aquatics & Fisheries, Playlist, YouTube, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG)
University of Illinois Extension and Purdue University Extension