Midwestern Lakes Update

From September, 1996 (Update #28)

There have been very few zebra mussel sightings in inland lakes this summer as part of Sea Grant-funded veliger sampling efforts in about 100 inland Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana lakes. As of late August, there had been no new sightings in Wisconsin or northeastern Illinois lakes. The Wisconsin and northern Illinois sampling is being conducted under the direction of Wisconsin Sea Grant Zebra Mussel Specialist Cliff Kraft. Prior to this year, adult zebra mussels had been found in three Wisconsin lakes (Big Elkhart, Silver and Geneva lakes) and one quarry (city of Racine). Veligers had been detected in three other Wisconsin lakes (Okauchee, Beulah and Powers lakes) prior to this summer, but no veligers have yet been found in any samples taken from these lakes this summer. University of Michigan's Paul Marangelo reported a slightly more eventful summer this year. Marangelo's sampling efforts with Laval University's Ladd Johnson have turned up veligers in plankton tows from two new lakes in northeastern Indiana and two lakes in Michigan. Lakes in all four states are being sampled using similar procedures and sampling efforts. Zebra mussels had been reported from 33 inland Michigan lakes and seven Indiana lakes prior to this summer. No zebra mussel sightings have ever been reported in any northeastern Illinois lakes.

ID: 199609-7.

The Zebra Mussel Update was a 4- to 8-page quarterly national newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute from May 1990 through May 1997. The ZMU documented the spread of the zebra mussel -- an exotic nuisance mussel -- through North America's freshwater environments, especially the Great Lakes, and on efforts to control it.