An Integrated Pest Management Tactic for Quagga Mussels: Site‐Specific Application of Fish Biological Control Agents

Abstract

The quagga mussel, Dreissena bugensis, is a harmful aquatic pest that invaded the Southwestern United States in 2007. Challenges with managing this pest have been encountered because the invaded systems are primarily open water sources used for human consumption and/or are connected to freshwater habitats containing threatened and endangered species. Existing chemical and physical control methods are undesirable, with use of some methods restricted or prohibited, because they pose risks to humans and ecosystems more broadly. To address this problem, we investigated the efficacy of using resident fishes as biocontrol agents for managing different life stages of quagga mussels on different spatial scales in a site-specific manner. We conducted field experiments to test whether planktivorous Bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, reduced mussel infestations on substrates of varying orientations in small and large pens through predation on larval mussels. We also conducted an experiment to evaluate whether the carnivorous Redear Sunfish, Lepomis microlophus, reduced mussel infestations established on substrates of varying orientations in small pens through predation on juvenile and adult mussels. Bluegills significantly reduced mussel infestations on all substrates in the pens through predation on larvae and small, juvenile mussels. Redear Sunfishes reduced existing juvenile and adult mussel populations in some cases, with consumption varying among individuals and substrate orientation. Our results indicate that fishes, specifically Bluegill, may represent effective site-specific biocontrol agents for quagga mussels, reducing impacts on targeted infrastructure (e.g., water towers, docks, pipes) and habitats having different surface orientations by controlling more than one life stage of the pest. Development of an integrated pest management strategy, that considers application of this tactic in combination with others, would undoubtedly improve management of quagga mussels, and potentially congeneric zebra mussels, within lake and reservoir ecosystems.

Size matters? Species‐ and size‐specific fish predation on recently established invasive quagga mussels Dreissena rostriformis bugensis Andrusov 1897 in a large, deep oligotrophic lake

“…Other studies have shown that different resident fishes can function as a natural biocontrol that manages different life stages of quagga mussels on different spatial scales in a site-specific manner (Culver et al, 2021).…”

“…Nevertheless, if any single fish species has potential to control invasive quagga numbers Lake Constance, roach seems to be the most promising candidate (Higgins & Vander Zanden, 2010; Pothoven & Fahnenstiel, 2013), as they are highly effective consumers, numerous and widely distributed in both basins (Alexander et al ., 2016). Other studies have shown that different resident fishes can function as a natural biocontrol that manages different life stages of quagga mussels on different spatial scales in a site‐specific manner (Culver et al ., 2021). Furthermore, it is known that cyprinids are able to crush indigestible hard components of their diet, like the valves of quaggas, and segregate them before ingestion (Sibbing, 1988).…”

Integrated Pest Management for Fouling Organisms on Boat Hulls

“…Biological control agents that consume different stages of fouling organisms are being evaluated and show some promise for controlling particular species of concern (Culver et al. 2021 # [this special section], and unpublished data) and fouling communities as a whole (Atalah et al. 2014, 2016).…”

Toward integrated pest management in bivalve aquaculture

“…A small number of examples exist where IPM has been proposed or trialled in aquatic systems, including invasive pest control in the environment, 99–101 for algae production 102 and for managing sea lice in salmon aqauculture 103 . Of direct relevance to bivalve aquaculture, Dumbauld et al 61 .…”