Open water control of invasive mussels with benthic mats: comparing mat materials and duration of deployment

The data includes 1) results of a preliminary pilot study to evaluate six materials for use as benthic mats in open water control of invasive mussels and 2) a definitive study to evaluate the effects of 10-, 20-, and 30-day treatment with plastic and polyvinyl benthic mats on zebra mussel and native juvenile mussel survival and benthic macroinvertebrate diversity and abundance. The study was conducted on Loon Lake, Benzie County, Michigan within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The data include water quality (dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature) and water chemistry, zebra mussel mortality and shell lengths, native mussel mortality and shell lengths, and macroinvertebrate identification and enumeration.