New Jersey Mussel Maker

The Chinese pond mussel (Sinanodonta woodiana) has been found in New Jersey, in a pond formerly used as a fish farm. While this Asian species is known to have invaded many bodies of water in Europe (See 1, 2, 3), this appears to be the first record for this species in the USA.

Massive Mussels

Zebra mussels, already in one Massachusetts lake, have now been found in the Housatonic River. A report detailing the finds also places ten other water bodies at high risk for invasion.

Pay To Play Against The Rules

A man caught violating regulations that require boaters to allow their vehicles to be inspected by park staff was fined $2500 earlier this month. The rules are in place at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in order to prevent the introduction of zebra and quagga mussels into Lake Powell, a man-made reservoir located in between Utah and Arizona.

Musseling Into Texas

Zebra mussels have been found in another Texas lake; officials are concerned the mussels are entering river systems in northern part of state (thanks to W^2 for the tip :-)).

Mass Mussel Mania

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) have been found for the first time in the state of Massachusetts. The mussels were found by an alert citizen swimming in Laurel Lake in the town of Lee, located in the western part of the state.

Oregon Trailers

Oregon is casting a wary eye on boaters coming from zebra mussel-infested states, and is watching for other invaders as well.

Tex Messaging

Texas Parks and Wildlife is reporting that a zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) was found in Lake Texoma earlier this April. Lake Texoma has already had four documented near misses, where boats with zebra mussels were prevented from entering the water. The state is asking everyone to keep an eye out for the invasive bivalves and to report any sightings to 1-800-792-4263 (or in Oklahoma call 1-405-521-3721).

P.S. - If you had subscribed to the ISW Twitter feed, you would have found out about zebra mussels in TX hours and hours ago.

Tahoe Tango

The Reno Gazatte-Journal is reporting that Lake Tahoe had a near miss last week when a boater showed up with quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) on his vessel. The boater's last stop: Lake Mead, site of the fairly infamous first known occurrence of quaggas on the west coast. The boat was apparently decontaminated when it left that lake, but that did not dislodge the mussels attached to the boat's stern. Though officials in California are hoping the hot water treatment killed the mussels, that did not stop them from placing the boat under quarantine until they can be sure it is safe.

Small Craft Advisory

KPBS in California is reminding listeners who might be thinking of heading out onto the water this Labor Day weekend to keep a mindful eye on their boating equipment. With the recent discoveries of both quagga and zebra mussels in their state, California boaters are being asked to keep their boats free of potential invasive species, and that means inspecting and cleaning them from trailer to hull. It also means thinking twice before jumping from one body of water to another - officials are asking boaters to instead wait five days between launching sites. Good advice for anyone with a boat or personal watercraft.

Why Not Us?

Back in January 2007, an article in the Denver Post asked an interesting question: Why did the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis), found in several states in the Northeast USA, seem to skip over Colorado in its spread to the west, and end up in Nevada (in Lake Mead)? Well, ask no more, Denver Post. KOAA.com and others are reporting that the quagga mussel has been discovered for the first time in Colorado, in Lake Granby. The lake is actually a storage reservoir located on the Colorado River, which has already seen quagga mussel incursions via its southern tip...Lake Mead. The quaggas are thought to have arrived in the reservoir via ballast discharge.

Pair this with the discovery of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in Lake Pueblo in late 2007, and Colorado has no need to feel left out any more!

What Can Brown Do For You?

Stuff.co.nz is reporting that the New Zealand government is using strong measures to deal with the potential introduction of the brown mussel (Perna perna) into Tasman Bay. The response stems from a incident in late 2007 where an oil rig relocated to the bay in order to "defoul" (cleanse itself of unwanted organisms). The rig got clearance from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) after initial inspections failed to reveal any species that New Zealand considered to be a problem. However, bad weather kept the rig closer to shore than expected, and further testing revealed the hull may have been contaminated with the invasive mussels. When the government sent robotic cameras under water to investigate, they detected what appeared to be brown mussels living at the site where the rig was located. While the exact species of mussel still needs to be confirmed, MAFBNZ is moving forward this week with a dredging of the area of Tasman Bay thought to be impacted, and the rig's owners are footing most of the bill.

Thanks to Andrew B. for sending in a link to the story.

Fun With YouTube

Recent YouTube videos with a fresh, crisp, invasive species theme:

• The Statesman Journal has an interesting report about the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's search for non-native fish species in the wild. There's one about invasive American bullfrogs as well.
• Someone was nice enough to capture the lecture given David Orwig of Harvard Forest about the hemlock woolly adelgid and stick the whole thing on YouTube.
• The Florida Department of Agriculture has a creepy, crawly PSA about the Mexican red-rump tarantula.
• The Great Lakes Mayors hosted an hour-long panel on invasive species issues.
• The Zoological Society of London posted a video about surveys for invasive species in the Thames River, including the Asian clam and the zebra mussel.

Building Strong Mussels

The L.A. Times is reporting that the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) has just been discovered in the state of California. Over the past several months, California has been dealing with the repercussions of the discovery of multiple populations of quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) but until now, had not seen the quagga's better known relative. There is some concern from state officials about the consequences of the introduction since the zebra mussels are located in San Justo Reservoir, which supplies water to farmers and homeowners in San Benito County. As of right now, the extent of the invasion is not known, but it is likely that this will result in some changes over the coming months regarding the way this reservoir and fishing site is used.

Calcium Supplement

According to this press release at EurekAlert, new research indicates that calcium may be the key to why zebra mussels and quagga mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) have not shown up some parts of the USA. Scientists looked at calcium concentrations from streams and rivers in the US to determine which regions had the greatest risk of mussel invasion. They found that low calcium levels meant an area was less likely to have either species. That's good news for New England, and bad news for those feeling optimistic about the Lake Mead invasion in the western USA.

The scientists surmise that this finding is due to the fact that the invasive mussels have a higher requirement for calcium than native mussel species. If you want to read more, the full article was published in the latest issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The article abstract here. If, like me, you don't have full access to that journal, you can entertain yourself with the map that resulted from the analysis.

Weekend Blog Blogging

The past couple weeks in invasive species posts, from elsewhere in the blogosphere:

• Greg over at the Gondola Blog writes about his experiences discovering quagga mussels in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada and getting stopped for a boat inspection in California.
• Environmental graffiti posts "The 5 Worst Invasive Plants," a sequel to last month's "The 5 Worst Invasive Species in the World."
• Rock Paper Lizard has a post about gray squirrels run amok in the island city of Richmond, British Columbia.

Botox For The Birds

A story from the AP is suggesting that the recent swarm of bird deaths in Michigan are the indirect result of the proliferation of invasive species in the Great Lakes. The birds are washing ashore at Lake Michigan by the dozen, with the cause of death determined to be avian botulism (type "E"), one of several episodes to occur over the past few years. The botulism itself is not considered invasive, but scientists are speculating that it is getting to the birds through a food chain of invaders: Zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis bugensis) containing the bacteria that causes botulism (Clostridium botulinum) are either consumed by birds or consumed by invasive round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus), which are then consumed by birds.

I am not sure if invasive species are specifically to blame here, or if it is just that the invaders are so numerous that they now make up a significant portion of the diet of birds that frequent the Great Lakes. Are zebra and quagga mussels the only ones that can filter botulinum bacteria? Do round gobies harbor more of the bacteria than native fish? The AP article glosses over the surface of the full story, so I did some investigating and found the following hypotheses, summarized from this well-written article from Michigan Sea Grant and this one from Wisconsin Sea Grant:

• Invasive mussels create a type of habitat that is more favorable for the growth of Clostridium botulinum.
• Zebra and/or quagga mussels filter at a much faster rate than native mussel species, allowing the toxins and pathogens that they filter out to build up to a greater degree than similar-sized native species.
• The filtering power of these invasive mussels clears the water, allowing the algae Cladophora to grow. When this algae reaches sufficient numbers and then dies, the resulting anaerobic water conditions encourage the growth of Clostridium botulinum.

It is important to note that none of these hypotheses have yet been proven to be an underlying cause of avian botulism. Research continues in both the US and Canada in order that we might one day understand the cycle of bird deaths and stop it from repeating. Until then, the invasive mussels may seem the most obvious target of blame but it could turn out that the situation is much more complicated.

Dog Catchers

The state of California is training dogs to sniff out quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) on infested boats, according to this report from the Sacramento Bee. The dogs are far better than humans at locating the tiny bivalves, finding them faster and in nooks and crannies that would escape the human eye. It is a bit expensive to buy these persistent pooches - a single dog costs $8000 to $12,000. But with California already spending millions to deal with the recently arrives quaggas, that likely seems a small price to pay.

A quick perusal of the ISW archives brings up posts about dogs detecting Burmese pythons, mealybugs and spotted knapweed. Is there anything dogs can't smell do?

Thanks to members of the ALIENS-L listserver for posting about this story.

Internetaction

In honor of today's environmentally-minded Blog Action Day, here is a roundup of news stories about people who are actually going out and doing something about invasive species:

• Out in Louisiana, the post-Katrina reports are starting to come in, and as would be expected following a massive environmental disturbance, the invasive species are making new inroads. As Bloomberg reports, it's all about the feral hogs and Chinese tallow trees. Forest managers are responding to these threats with hunting permits and herbicide treatments, respectively.
• The Governor of California signed AB 1683 into effect, giving that state's Department of Fish and Game the power it needs to manage the spread of the invasive quagga mussel (and hopefully prevent the spread of the zebra mussel) throughout the state. Read the full story from the Daily Democrat.
• The Bushkill Stream Conservancy is all set to start the restoration of an invasive plant-infested portion of Bushkill Creek. This month they'll begin their makeover, which includes removing Japanese knotweed and tree-of-heaven and replacing them with native greenery in four different spots. The Conservancy got funding for the $80,000 project through a series of grants from the state and non-profit organizations. Read more from the Express Times.

New And Notable

Recent arrivals in the US and beyond:

• The Suriname toad (Pipa pipa) was discovered in Puerto Rico.
• The Quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) continues to be sighted in Southern California. Also, a Dreissena sp. was discovered in Arizona - the first record for the genus in that state.
• The Oriental weatherfish (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) has been discovered in a small pond in New Jersey.
• India has a new species of fruit fly (Bactrocera invadens), the same one that has been spreading across Africa.
• Pink meadowsweet (Spiraea alba 'rosea') has naturalized in Belgium (via the ALIENS-L listserver)

California Streaming

Southern California Public Radio (KPCC 89.3FM) recently did a three-part feature on the aquatic invasive species that impact their part of the world. Part 1 is about the recent discovery of quagga mussels, Part 2 investigates marine invaders and ballast water management, and Part 3 is about the negative impact of fish hatcheries on the region's native flora and fauna. The best part is that you get to pick your flavor of information retrieval - play the audio or peruse the full text of the transcripts if you prefer. There are lots of interesting photos too - good stuff!