Zebra Mussels confirmed in Lake Murray, Oklahoma

[Kunk35]

---------- Post added May 20th, 2012 at 11:30 PM ----------







Whatever you had before will be replaced with whatever you get next.



flots.[/QUOTE]

I like this. That makes a lot of sense....

 

[drrich2]

But isn't cross contaminating part of the zebra mussels' survival adaptation?

The presumption is that an ecosystem is an elaborate system with multiple players in a balance. Yes, over long periods of time, that balance shifts as players (species) rise & fall in response to competitive success/failure, environmental changes, etc... These shifts in the balance are typically gradual from what I understand, which provides time for other species to adapt, and a species' move into new territory may be rather gradual.

When humans get into the picture, with modern transportation, an invasive is abruptly introduced into a habitat and impacts the system in a major way (in some cases); other species have little time to adapt and big changes come in fast.

Here are some good examples:

1.) Dutch Elm Disease - decimated the American Elm, which used to be a heavily favored street tree in the U.S.

2.) American Chestnut Blight - decimated the American Chestnut, a tree that grew fast & huge, and dominated substantial portions of U.S. forests.

3.) Green Ash Borer - a little metallic green beetle whose larvae damage the tissue layer under the bark of Ash trees, killing them from that portion of trunk up. Spreading in the U.S. and has decimated millions of Ash trees.

4.) Cane Toads, Rabbits & some introduced predators in Australia impact native wildlife.

My point is, some of these invasives cause great change in short order, and that can do a lot of damage.

I don't have an opinion as yet over whether zebra mussel impacts are comparable to the above.

Richard.

 

[flots am]

Due to Texas laws, the presence of Zebra mussels in Texoma has very SERIOUS implications on drinking water supplies.

Can't say anything about Texas law, but ZMs actually make the water cleaner. If the law doesn't match this, then the law needs to change.

Also, they do tend to clog up water intake pipes, however the side-effect of that is that people with camps on lakes start liking SCUBA divers a lot and if you offer to "go clean their pump inlet screen", will let you dive from their property.

The screens for private camps generally only need cleaning a couple of times a year, but the property owners are all too happy to let you take care of it more frequently.

flots.

 

[Guba]

As it applies to Texas lakes, the "curator" frame of mind (people who want to "preserve things in their 'natural' state") is a bit presumptuous. There is only one "natural" lake in Texas...all the others are man-made and, therefore, have only been in existance a generation or two. The only species of fish in them, for example, are the ones that moved in with the river system that feeds that lake or were introduced by humans...selective "invasions", if you care to think of it that way.
What we are really saying about the zebra mussel is that it's "invasive" because we didn't PLAN their arrival. We essentially built this nice, taylored habitat and they moved in without our permission! How dare they?! But if there is one truth about any invasive species, it's that once they are embedded in a habitat to which they are well suited, they are there to stay. Just like the organisms mentioned in the previous post, the lionfish, the mesquite, and any other species that has successfully invaded, once they get established there is generally nothing that will eradicate them. The best that can happen is to hope for an equitable balance or that the damage can be mitigated within certain areas.

 

[texdiveguy]

You guys can talk on for ever, (good thing, as a solution may appear).....this is an 'issue' yet to be solved wherever the body of water they live in is located, (first in Russia). The first intro. of the ZMs was in the St. Lawrence Seaway when fright haulers would dump there ballast water into the river and ZMs would also be attached to the ships anchor chains, and the movement of those chains would release the ZMs and they would fall into the waters.... and on into the Great Lakes the ZMs headed. About the only Great Lake that has an absence of the ZMs is Lake Superior for several reasons. You go to the Great Lakes area and visit with all concerned bodies and you will get hundred different responses. Good or bad, there here and we have now to deal with them.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Texas law: It is illegal to knowingly contribute to the spread of an invasive specie. Therefore, in compliance with Texas law, water from Texoma cannot be released down stream to Lake Lavon through Sister Grove Creek. This has a sizeable effect on the state of municipal water supplies in N. Texas.

Do some research on zebra mussels yall. They are very efficient filter feeders. They are introduced competition in the food chain for every single species of fry (baby) fish plus the forage fish the adults feed on.

Alan is right. They are here. There isn't much we can do about it. Pandoras box is open. But can you imagine Cisco covered in zebra mussels? If it happens, divers will be at fault. I just happen to not really mind the trade off of plentiful fish to look at and photograph with reduced visibility.

I find some of the attitudes here disturbing.

 

[ktomlinson]

If they can survive bird digestion then why did it take people to get them over here?
What are private people and campgrounds doing with the water they are pumping out of the lake?

 

[flots am]

Do some research on zebra mussels yall. They are very efficient filter feeders. They are introduced competition in the food chain for every single species of fry (baby) fish plus the forage fish the adults feed on.

Alan is right. They are here. There isn't much we can do about it. Pandoras box is open. But can you imagine Cisco covered in zebra mussels? If it happens, divers will be at fault. I just happen to not really mind the trade off of plentiful fish to look at and photograph with reduced visibility.

I find some of the attitudes here disturbing.

Don't get too upset. You'll eventually get fish that eat Zebra mussels, and they're quite impressive and put up a hell of a fight on a fishing line.

In any case, you have them now, and there isn't a power on earth that can keep them out of whatever "Cisco" is or anyplace else for that matter.

They hitch rides on boats, boat trailers boots, tackle boxes and pretty much anything else that's in, on or near a body of water that contains them.

I just don't understand the emotions here.

They aren't good or evil, they just "are". Before, you had some particular ecological balance and now you'll have a different one.

Also, ZMs run in cycles, so you may very well get a big buildup and a few years of astonishing visibility, then have a big die-off and be back to zero viz for a while. It's not like "The Blob" taking over a small town.

flots.

 

[Kunk35]

I was just wondering what all the hubub was after reading a bit about them. Some say they are terrible. Some say they have some positive benefits. Some say they destroy populations of fish, others say they actually increase some populations of fish. The last article I read said they tend to not do well in muddy waters. Something about not being able to filter the clay/mud and it clogs their filters and they die. It will be interesting to see that play out in Texoma where there is plenty of silt and clay floating about.

I'm not for or against them. I see them in the lakes I dive in now. I read about the negatives and positives and I post questions about them.

That's all I know....

 

[Timeliner]

They are here and there is little we can do about it but let's make them wish they had never snuck into the country without a green card.
Has anybody cooked the little Zebra Mussels to see if they make a good soup stock or even a thin broth ??
There has to be something we could use them for.

It's like this......
The Pessimist says the glass is 1/2 empty
The Optimist says the glass is 1/2 full
I say the glass needs a bit more Vodka