Colonization, Ecology, and Population Structure of the "Quagga'' Mussel (Bivalvia: Dreissenidae) in the Lower Great Lakes

Abstract

Spidle. 1993. Colonization, ecology, and population structure of the "quagga" mussel (Bivalvia: Dreissenidaej in the lower Great Lakes. Can. ). Fish. Aquat. Sci. 59: 2305-231 4.An invasive dreissenid mussel given the working name of "quagga" has a present (spring 1993) distribution in the Laurentian Great Lakes from the western basin of Lake Erie to Quebec City. In Lake Erie, quaggas were collected as early as 1989 and now are most common in the eastern basin. In Lakes Erie and Ontario, proportions of quaggas increased with depth and decreasing water temperature. In the eastern basin of Lake Erie, quaggas outnumbered zebra mussel (Dreissena pdymoapkaj by 1 4 to 1 in deeper waters (>29 mj. In Lake Ontario, quaggas were observed at depths as great as 130 rn, and both quagga and zebra mussel were found to survive at depths (>50 rn) where temperatures rarely exceed 5°C. Quaggas were sparse or absent along inland waterways and lakes of New York State. Mean shell size of quagga mussel was larger than that of zebra mussel at sites in the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River. The largest quaggas (38 mm) were observed in the St. Lawrence River at Cape Vincent.&I ne moule envahissante des groupe des dreissenides, appeiee provisoirement (( quagga a occupe 2i B'heure actuel le ( rintemps 4993) les Grands Lacs depuis le bassin de I'ouest du lac Erie jusqu'h la ville de Qukbec. Dans le lac gi e, des,quaggas ont ete preievees des 1989 et eiles sont maintenant trps courantes dans le bassin de I'est. Dans les lacs Erie et Ontario, la prsporfion de quagga a augment6 avec la profondeur et la baisse de la temperature. Dans [e bassin de I'est du lac Erie, les quaggas sont plus nombreuses que les msesles mebr6es (Baeissena polymorphaj, la proportion sP6tablissant 14 pour 4 en eau profonde (> 29 rn), Dans le lac Ontario, des quaggas ont 6t6 observkes A des prsfondeurs atteignant 130 m; les quaggas et les rs~oules z6brees peuvent suwivre 2i des prsfondeurs (> 50 rn) ob la temperature &passe r?rement 5°C. Les quaggas etaient rares s u absentes le long des vsies navigables de I'intkrieur et dans les lacs de I'Etat de New York. La taille rnoyenne de la coquille des quaggas 6tait supkriekare A celle des rnokales zebrkes sur certains sites du Niagara, du lac Ontario, et du fleuve Saint Laurent.Les quaggas les plus grosses (38 mm) ont et6 observkes dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent au niveau de cap Vincent.

Early invasion population structure of quagga mussel and associated benthic invertebrate community composition on soft sediment in a large reservoir

“…The lack of upward shift in median shell length and decreased average population density in BB suggest this population is exhibiting density dependence, reflecting competition for food and/or habitat that is limiting to individual mussel growth as well as population expansion. Similar population trends have been credited to density dependence and shown to inhibit dreissenid mussel growth in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie (Mills et al 1993) and in Polish lakes (Stanczykowska 1977). Conversely, an increase of median shell length, average population density and number of samples with D. bugensis in OA indicates this population is not limited by food or habitat resources and is in an earlier invasion population expansion phase compared to BB.…”

“…The extensive distribution of D. bugensis and its impact to ecosystems is due to its ability to live at multiple water depths on both hard and soft substrates (Walz 1973, Mills et al 1993. Although Dreissena prefer hard substrates (Mills et al 1996), it has been observed that D. bugensis can better persist in deep, offshore waters within soft substrate compared to zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha; Dermott and Munawar 1993).…”

Effects of dreissenid mussels, chironomids, fishes, and zooplankton on growth of round goby in experimental aquaria

“…Data presented by May and Marsden (1992) indicate that the majority of dreissenids in the vicinity of Rochester, New York, Lake Ontario were less than 20 mm, with a peak around 12 mm (consistent with the distribution we provided) but at Cape Vincent, New York they ranged from less than 8 to 40 mm with a small peak at approximately 16 mm and a larger peak from 28 to 36 mm, much larger than the distribution we provided. Similarly, Mills et al (1993) sampled several sites across Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence River and found mean shell lengths ranged (among sites) between 4.0 and 29.2 mm, minimum shell lengths ranged from 2 to 12 mm, and maximum shell lengths ranged from 17 to 36 mm. These previous distributions were estimated prior to the round goby invasion; thus, we would likely expect current size distributions to be skewed even further toward larger individuals, assuming that round gobies select smaller dreissenids.…”

An R 0 theory for source–sink dynamics with application to Dreissena competition

“…Although similar in life history and ecology, they differ markedly in their patterns of spread. After being introduced to the Great Lakes in the late 1980s (Hebert et al 1989;Griffiths et al 1991;May and Marsden 1992;Mills et al 1993), zebra mussels quickly spread through temperate eastern North America whereas quagga mussels displaced zebra mussels from a few large lakes (Erie, Ontario, Michigan, and Simcoe) and there they remain (H. J. MacIsaac, Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, personal communication; Mills et al 1999;Stoeckmann 2003;Wilson et al 2006). Widespread transport of Dreissena can occur by boater traffic (Johnson and Carlton 1996) and has probably occurred for several years (Wilson et al 1999).…”

“…Quagga mussels may be superior competitors based on energetics (Stoeckmann 2003), but there is no satisfying explanation for their absence from surrounding smaller lakes. One clue is the apparent difference in depth adaptation: reproduction and body growth at cold temperatures favor quagga mussels (Roe and MacIsaac 1997;Claxton and Mackie 1998;Thorp et al 1998); survival at high temperatures favor zebra mussels (Spidle et al 1995;Thorp et al 1998); and quagga mussels first colonized deepwater habitats before moving to shore (Mills et al 1993;H.J. MacIsaac, personal communication).…”