Aquatic Ecosystem Health

Recently there has been an increased removal effort of adult Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella from the Lake Erie Basin through traditional capture methods (Herbst et al. 2021). Use of chemical control tools such as a general or ingestible pesticide to support this removal effort has been identified as a potential management option (Robinson et al. 2021).

The Winged Mapleleaf mussel ( Quadrula fragosa ) is only known to inhabit five locations in the U.S., and the population in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway is isolated both physically and genetically from the other populations. In 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued Reasonable and Prudent Measures, which required the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to establish...

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) is one of the last refuges for rapidly declining populations of native unionid mussels in the United States and supports the only known self-sustaining population of the federally endangered Winged Mapleleaf mussel ( Quadrula fragosa ) in the upper Mississippi River basin. The Channel Catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) is the only known host for Winged...

Four types of invasive carp are currently found in the United States: black, grass, silver, and bighead carps. These species are fast growing, prolific feeders that out-compete native fish species and drastically alter the natural ecosystems they invade. To prevent the spread of invasive carp into the Great Lakes, the multi-agency Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) implements...

Four types of invasive carp fish species, are currently found in the United States: black, grass, silver, and bighead carps. These species are fast growing, prolific feeders that out-compete native fish species and drastically alter the natural ecosystems they invade. To prevent the spread of invasive carp into the Great Lakes, the multi-agency Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC)...

Native freshwater mussels play a critical role in aquatic environments and are considered “ecosystem engineers” and indicators of water quality by constantly filtering water. Populations of native freshwater mussels have declined in recent years, and this decline has been attributed to factors such as habitat degradation, pollution, and invasive species, among others. The importance of these...

Assessing Impacts of Emerging and Established Diseases to Aquatic Ecosystems The role of disease in freshwater mussel declines has been largely ignored due to the lack of appropriate diagnostic tools. Furthermore, health assessment of mussels in conjunction with restoration and propagation has not been considered during stocking and augmentation activities. This project will develop standard...

Assessing Impacts of Emerging and Established Diseases to Aquatic Ecosystems The decline of native freshwater mussels has the potential to devastate aquatic communities. Although factors such as habitat degradation, pollution, and invasive species have been linked to this decline, these potential causes cannot fully explain the large-scale mussel die-offs that have occurred in the past 20 years...

Dreissenid mussels have posed an aquatic invasive species challenge in the United States since their arrival in the Great Lakes in the 1980s. Zebra ( Dreissena polymorpha ) and Quagga ( D. bugensis ) mussels are filter feeders with high reproductive capacity. Their behaviors result in altered nutrient cycles, shifts in trophic structures, and extirpation of some native species in systems where...

Management Tools for Dreissenid Mussels Currently, dreissenid mussel populations are spreading and becoming a growing problem in many aquatic systems, making it important to find management techniques that are selective for the invasive mussel populations while leaving the native populations intact. Control technology for dreissenids in open water currently relies on a limited number of...

Management Tools for Dreissenid Mussels Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been suggested as a chemical control for a variety of invasive aquatic organisms, including Asian Carp. USGS researchers and partners evaluated the efficacy of low CO2 concentrations for preventing zebra mussel larval (veliger) settlement and during summer 2019 in a harbor of the upper Mississippi River. The lowest CO2 concentration...

Management Tools for Dreissenid Mussels USGS researchers and partners conducted an experimental application of low dose copper, as EarthTecQZ, to a bay in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. The veliger density and settlement were compared to that of an untreated bay within the same lake. The copper application produced a substantial reduction in zebra mussel abundance of early life stages, juvenile...