2022-Nov-14
Trying to Reduce Quagga Mussel Mayhem in the Great Lakes
Since arriving in ballast water in the 1980s invasive mussels have literally been sucking the life out of the Great Lakes. Their voracious nutrient filtering has altered the ecology, the food web and is changing the chemical composition of the lakes. Whereas zebra mussels prefer warmer water temperatures and attach to hard surfaces in shallower water, quagga mussels thrive in cooler water and can live deep down on soft, sandy lake-beds. Quagga mussels now number in the quadrillions throughout the Great Lakes, including Georgian Bay.
Freshwater ecologists are trying to find ways to control the impacts of these invasives on multiple fronts and are experimenting with pesticides, parasites, physical removal methods and other techniques that may help restore the balance to the Great Lakes.
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