Shell-free Biomass and Population Dynamics of Dreissenids in Offshore Lake Michigan, 2001–2003 (original) (raw)
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Studies of Adult and Larval Zebra Mussel Populations in Conesus Lake, NY
2013
Lake, NY, adult mussels are abundant in every available hard substrate from the shoreline to a depth of about 8-9 m. Living mussels occupy a layer a few cm thick overlying a much thicker base of dead mussel shell material on the lake bottom. 2. All of more than 750 adult mussels examined were zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha. No quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) were found in the seven study sites surveyed. 3. Population densities at depths of 4-9 m ranged from an average low of 6,052 per m 2 to a high of 28, 021 per m 2. On average these numbers were 15.5 % lower than those reported for Conesus Lake populations in 2000.
Changes in the Lake Michigan food web following dreissenid mussel invasions: A synthesis
Journal of Great Lakes Research, 2015
Bottom-up effects Chinook salmon Fish movement to deeper waters Lower food web effects Microbial food web Top-down effects Using various available time series for Lake Michigan, we examined changes in the Lake Michigan food web following the dreissenid mussel invasions and identified those changes most likely attributable to these invasions, thereby providing a synthesis. Expansion of the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) population into deeper waters, which began around 2004, appeared to have a substantial predatory effect on both phytoplankton abundance and primary production, with annual primary production in offshore (N 50 m deep) waters being reduced by about 35% by 2007. Primary production likely decreased in nearshore waters as well, primarily due to predatory effects exerted by the quagga mussel expansion. The drastic decline in Diporeia abundance in Lake Michigan during the 1990s and 2000s has been attributed to dreissenid mussel effects, but the exact mechanism by which the mussels were negatively affecting Diporeia abundance remains unknown. In turn, decreased Diporeia abundance was associated with reduced condition, growth, and/or energy density in alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsonii), and bloater (Coregonus hoyi). However, lake-wide biomass of salmonines, top predators in the food web, remained high during the 2000s, and consumption of alewives by salmonines actually increased between the 1980-1995 and 1996-2011 time periods. Moreover, abundance of the lake whitefish population, which supports Lake Michigan's most valuable commercial fishery, remained at historically high levels during the 2000s. Apparently, counterbalancing mechanisms operating within the complex Lake Michigan food web have enabled salmonines and lake whitefish to retain relatively high abundances despite reduced primary production.
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 1993
. Colonization, ecology, and population structure of the "quagga" mussel (Bivalvia: Dreissenidae) in the lower Great Lakes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 50:2305-2314. An invasive dreissenid mussel given the working name of "quagga" has a present (spring 1993) distribution in the Laurentian Great Lakes from the western basin of Lake Erie to Quebec City, in Lake Erie, quaggas were ColIected as early as 1989 and now are most common in the eastern basin, in Lakes Erie and Ontario, proportions of quaggas increased with depth and decreasing water temperature. In the eastern basin or Lake Erie, quaggas outnumbered zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) by 14 to 1 in deeper waters (> 20 m). In Lake Ontario, quaggas were observed at depths as great as 130 m, and both quagga and zebra mussel were found to survive at depths (> 50 m) where temperatures rarely exceed 5°C. Quaggas were sparse or absent along inland waterways and lakes of New York State. Mean shell size of quagga mussel was larger than that of zebra mussel at sites in the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River. The largest quaggas (38 mm) were observed in the St. Lawrence River at Cape Vincent.
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2001
We analyzed a data series on nutrients, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and young-of-the-year fish from Oneida Lake, New York, to test several hypotheses relating the response of the pelagic food web to grazing by zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha). System-wide grazing rates increased by one to two orders of magnitude after zebra mussel introduction. The most dramatic change associated with dreissenid grazing was increased water clarity and overall decrease in algal biovolume and Chl a. Contrary to predictions, primary production did not decline. We attribute the lack of whole water column decline in primary productivity to the compensating effect of increased water clarity resulting in deeper penetration of photosynthetically active radiation. We observed no change in total or dissolved phosphorus concentrations. Although algal standing crop declined, Daphnia spp. biomass and production did not, but dominance shifted from Daphnia galeata mendotae to Daphnia pulicaria. Consistent with our findings in the lower food web, we found no evidence that zebra mussels had a negative impact on young yellow perch (Perca flavescens) growth, biomass, or production. Thus, despite the order of magnitude increase in grazing rates and associated decrease in algal biomass, pelagic production at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels did not decline in association with zebra mussels.
Impact of Dreissenid Mussel Population Changes on Lake Erie Nutrient Dynamics
Fully understanding the importance of zebra and quagga mussels' effects on internal nutrient (especially nitrogen and phosphorus) cycling in large lakes like Lake Erie is essential when attempting to ameliorate their contribution to beneficial use impairments and to understand how invasive species perturb ecosystems in their invasive ranges. Here, we first used field surveys to determine the current (2004) dreissenid community structure on hard, preferred substrate in the western basin of Lake Erie. We then estimated the potential nutrient subsidy to the phytoplankton community by dreissenid nitrogen and phosphorus excretion by integrating the dreissenid community structure at these sites with published size-specific nutrient excretion regressions. We found that the total dreissenid community density had decreased dramatically (by > 50%) from previous estimates, that zebra mussels now comprised only a small fraction of the total density (< 3%), and that the quagga mussel-d...
Journal of Great Lakes Research, 2018
Dreissenid mussels are known to disrupt the base of the food web by filter feeding on phytoplankton; however, they may also directly ingest zooplankton thereby complicating their effects on plankton communities. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of quagga mussel feeding on the composition and size structure of Lake Michigan zooplankton assemblages. Two mesocosm (six 946 L tanks) experiments were conducted in summer 2013, using quagga mussels and zooplankton collected near Beaver Island, MI, to examine the response of zooplankton communities to the presence and absence of mussels (experiment 1) and varying mussel density (experiment 2). Mesocosms were sampled daily and zooplankton taxa were enumerated and sized using microscopy and FlowCAM® imaging. In experiment 1, the presence of quagga mussels had a rapid negative effect on veliger and copepod nauplii abundance, and a delayed negative effect on rotifer abundance. In experiment 2, mussel density had a negative effect on veliger, nauplii, and copepodite abundance within 24 h. Multivariate analyses revealed a change in zooplankton community composition with increasing mussel density. Ten zooplankton taxa decreased in abundance and frequency as quagga mussel density increased: except for the rotifer Trichocerca sp., treatments with higher mussel densities (i.e., 1327, 3585, and 5389 mussels/m 2) had the greatest negative effect on small-bodied zooplankton (≤128 μm). This study confirms results from small-scale (≤1 L) experiments and demonstrates that quagga mussels can alter zooplankton communities at mesoscales (~1000 L), possibly through a combination of direct consumption and resource depletion.
Ecosphere, 2019
Dreissenid mussels (including the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha and the quagga mussel D. rostriformis) are among the world's most notorious invasive species, with large and widespread ecological and economic effects. However, their long‐term population dynamics are poorly known, even though these dynamics are critical to determining impacts and effective management. We gathered and analyzed 67 long‐term (>10 yr) data sets on dreissenid populations from lakes and rivers across Europe and North America. We addressed five questions: (1) How do Dreissena populations change through time? (2) Specifically, do Dreissena populations decline substantially after an initial outbreak phase? (3) Do different measures of population performance (biomass or density of settled animals, veliger density, recruitment of young) follow the same patterns through time? (4) How do the numbers or biomass of zebra mussels or of both species combined change after the quagga mussel arrives? (5) How d...
Journal of Great Lakes Research, 2009
Lake Michigan was invaded by zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in the late 1980s and then followed by quagga mussels (D. bugensis) around 1997. Through 2000, both species (herein Dreissena) were largely restricted to depths less than 50 m. Herein, we provide results of an annual lake-wide bottom trawl survey in Lake Michigan that reveal the relative biomass and depth distribution of Dreissena between 1999 and 2007 (although biomass estimates from a bottom trawl are biased low). Lake-wide mean biomass density (g/m 2 ) and mean depth of collection revealed no trend between 1999 and 2003 (mean = 0.7 g/m 2 and 37 m, respectively). Between 2004 and 2007, however, mean lake-wide biomass density increased from 0.8 g/m 2 to 7.0 g/m 2 , because of increased density at depths between 30 and 110 m, and mean depth of collection increased from 42 to 77 m. This pattern was confirmed by a generalized additive model. Coincident with the Dreissena expansion that occurred beginning in 2004, fish biomass density (generally planktivores) declined 71% between 2003 and 2007. Current understanding of fish population dynamics, however, indicates that Dreissena expansion is not the primary explanation for the decline of fish, and we provide a species-specific account for more likely underlying factors. Nonetheless, future sampling and research may reveal a better understanding of the potential negative interactions between Dreissena and fish in Lake Michigan and elsewhere.