Thread: Zebra Mussels Confirmed in Coffey County Lake

From KDWPT News release

Be sure to read the last sentence of the first paragraph. The fewer infested lakes we have the fewer of these downstream infestations that will occur. The downstream flow can't be stopped but lake to lake transfer can be stopped! Clean, Drain, Dry...All Waters, Every Time!

CJ

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ZEBRA MUSSELS CONFIRMED IN COFFEY COUNTY LAKE

July 20, 2012

EMPORIA – Officials with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and the Wolf Creek Generating Station announced Friday that zebra mussels have been found in Coffey County Lake. Officials knew it was a matter of time before zebra mussels appeared in the lake near Burlington because the aquatic nuisance species (ANS) had been detected in Marion Reservoir three years ago. The Cottonwood River flows from Marion Reservoir into the Neosho River, which then fills John Redmond Reservoir. Coffey County Lake, which is the cooling lake for Kansas’ only nuclear power plant, gets its water from John Redmond. The larval stage of zebra mussels, called veligers, are microscopic and free-floating in water. Transmission downstream from an established population is the only method of spreading zebra mussels that is inevitable.

Wolf Creek officials were prepared for this event and have implemented procedures and equipment to ensure that zebra mussels won’t interfere with the generating station’s operations.

Zebra mussels are small, bi-valve mollusks with striped shells. They are native to the Black and Caspian seas of Western Asia and Eastern Europe and have been spread across the world via shipping. They were discovered in Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River in 1988. Zebra mussels quickly spread through out the Great Lakes and to many inland rivers including the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Arkansas and Hudson. They first appeared in Kansas in 2003 when they were discovered in El Dorado Reservoir. Public education programs were designed to inform boaters about the dangers of zebra mussels in our waters and ways to prevent spreading them. However, zebra mussels have been confirmed in more the a dozen Kansas lakes in the past nine years. Moving water in boats and bait buckets was identified as a likely vector and recently, KDWPT established stringent regulations regarding the use of wild-caught bait, as well as prohibiting the movement of live fish from lakes where zebra mussels have been found.

Although related, zebra mussels differ from our native mussels in several important categories. Perhaps the most important is their ability to produce very large populations in a short time. Unlike native mussels, zebra mussels do not require a host fish to reproduce. A large female zebra mussel is capable of producing 1 million eggs during the reproductive season. Once fertilized, eggs develop into microscopic veligers. These veligers cannot be seen by the naked eye and can be contained by the thousands in very small quantities of water. Veligers passively float within the water for up to two weeks before they settle out as young mussels. These young mussels quickly grow to adult size and reproduce during their first summer of life, thus adding to the problem of extremely dense populations.

After settling, zebra mussels develop byssal threads that allow the shells to attach to hard surfaces such as rocks, piers, and flooded timber. They also attach themselves to pipes, water intake structures, boat hulls, propellers, and lower units of out board motors. As populations continue to increase in these areas, they can clog intake pipes and prevent water treatment plants and electrical generating plants from drawing water. In 2012, two Kansas communities, Council Grove and Osage City, experienced water shortages because of zebra mussel infestations before water intake structures could be cleaned up. Removing large quantities of zebra mussels to ensure adequate water supplies can be labor-intensive and costly.

Zebra mussels are just one of the non-native aquatic species that threaten our waters and native wildlife. Boaters and anglers are reminded to follow basic precautions to stop the spread:

• Clean, drain and dry boats and equipment between uses

• Wild-caught bait may only be used in the lake or pool where it was caught

• Live fish may not be moved from waters infested with zebra mussels or other aquatic nuisance species

• Livewells and bilges must be drained and drain plugs removed from all vessels prior to transport from any Kansas water on a public highway

Originally Posted by crappiedoc

X2- I do have a question though. Marion Res. has zebras and as of this past walleye spawn I just haven't noticed the infestation problems that other lakes do. Milford and Wilson both acquired zebras after Marion, maybe even 2-3yrs later, and they have both had explosions and are easily recognizable. Why hasn't Marion sprouted like the other two? Just curious.

crappiedoc,

Zebra mussel populations will react differently in each Kansas lake due to varying conditions present in the lakes. A few of these conditions that can affect the zebra mussels, in no particular order, are 1). suitable substrate availability - zebra mussels require hard substrates to attach to and lack of this substrate will hinder establishment of dense populations. 2). Lake fertility - zebra mussels feed upon plankton. More fertile lakes will have a larger food source for the zebra mussels. 3). Flow through - water releases from a lake during the 'peak' of the zebra mussel spawn may result in the flushing of many veligers downstream preventing them from becoming established in the reservoir. 4). Water temperatures - zebra mussel veliger densities in Kansas usually peak during June and drop off during the hottest part of the year. A secondary peak is usually seen as water temperatures begin to decrease going in to fall. Periods of prolonged hot water conditions may keep the zebra mussels from reaching their full reproductive potential. Smaller/shallower Kansas lakes often exhibit higher water temps than larger/deeper lakes.

Each lake in Kansas has different characteristics to which the zebra mussels will react differently to. Time is not the only characteristic to consider when comparing one lake's zebra mussel population to another lake's. Early detection can also give the impression that the zebra mussels "aren't rapidly taking over the lake". Marion was discovered VERY early on in the zebra mussel infestation and very few adults could be found. It can take several years before the adult density reaches a level capable of producing exponential population growth like we saw in the early years at El Doardo. Zebra mussel monitoring programs and veliger testing by KDWPT has allowed for earlier detection of zebra mussel infestations. Early detection allows KDWPT to list an infested water as such before zebra mussel populations are well established. Earlier public notification may give the impression that the zebra mussels "aren't doing anything" as the mussels are still at very, very low densities.

After watching El Dorado (since 2003) and Winfield City Lake (since 2006) the zebra mussels have acted quite differently. It would be difficult to predict with any accuracy what an infestation will do at any given lake. What we do know for certain is that each infestation will negatively impact the water body, the aquatic resource, and the users for many years to come.