They’re tiny, they’re destructive and they’re headed this way.
Zebra mussels have been found in the upper U.S. watershed of the Red River and could arrive in Manitoba as early as this summer, Manitoba Water Stewardship warns.
Their presence could produce an “ecological Armageddon” along the Red River and its connecting waterways, Candace Parks, a Manitoba Water Stewardship water quality specialist, told the recent Red River Basin Commission annual convention in Fargo, North Dakota.
Slides shown during a session on aquatic invasive species showed graphically how rapidly zebra mussels can spread and the damage they can do.
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One slide showed a grocery cart dumped in a lake emerging with zebra mussels coating it like thick hoarfrost. Another showed an eight-foot- high pile of dead zebra mussels left from cleaning out completely clogged city water intake pipes.
The convention heard that zebra mussels have caused millions of dollars in damage to the Great Lakes area and cost the North American economy billions to control. And they’re spreading fast.
Parks said later she didn’t want to sound alarmist. But the fact that zebra mussels are now in the Red River means the entire waterway leading into Lake Winnipeg will eventually be affected, she said.
“It definitely provides a pathway right into Manitoba.”
The zebra mussel is a tiny aquatic animal that looks like a miniature clam. It gets its name from the characteristic brown and white striped col-our of its shell.
The zebra mussel is incredibly prolific and tenacious. It attaches to any solid surface, including nat ive mussels and crayfish, making it hard for them to survive. It also reduces certain populations of algae and microscopic animals that other species feed on, making it a threat to native fish and wildlife.
The zebra mussel can also cause costly damage to industries, power plants, water systems and recreational facilities.
Originating in eastern Europe, zebra mussels first appeared in Lake St. Clair, located between Lake Erie and Lake Huron, in 1986. It’s believed they were discharged in the ballast water from an ocean going vessel.
Since then, the zebra mussel and its cousin the quagga have spread like wildfire through the interconnected waterways of the eastern United States all the way south to the Gulf of Mexico. Now they are headed westward.
Zebra mussels were detected Sept. 13, 2009 in Pelican Lake in southern Minnesota. On July 1, 2010, they were found in the Red River at Wahpeton, N.D. and Breckenridge, Minn.
It’s feared the zebra mussel could spread throughout the Red River system in a matter of years, just as other aquatic invasive species in the region have done.
One such species is the rainbow smelt, a voracious feeder of young native fish and a potential threat to the fish of the northern lakes. Parks noted the rainbow smelt was identified in northwestern Ontario in the late 1980s. Today it is found in the Lake Winnipeg watershed and as far north as Hudson Bay.
Parks said it’s not known if the zebra mussel will spread as fast as that because it is used to living in clear water, not the muddy, turbid water of the Red River.
“The Red River is somewhat the great unknown.”
The province closely monitors its waterways for zebra mussels. It communicates with North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota to learn if the critters are on the move there.
Water Stewardship inspectors collect water samples from the Red River at Emerson to check for the presence of zebra mussels. So far they haven’t found any, Park said.
The department has a public outreach program to alert citizens to the possibility of bringing zebra mussels into Manitoba. It advocates a clean/drain/dry/dispose method for checking watercraft, trailers, equipment and gear for the pests.
Anyone who detects zebra mussels should call 1-877867-2470 toll free to alert authorities. [email protected]
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“Itdefinitelyprovidesapathway rightintoManitoba.”
– CANDACE PARKS, WATER STEWARDSHIP
