Mussels Threatening Crayfish? - Not Likely, Says Prof

Mussels Threatening Crayfish? - Not Likely, Says Prof

From September 16, 1993 (Update #18)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A widely used news photo showing a crayfish encrusted with zebra mussels gave the impression that zebra mussels could be a threat to crayfish. However, crayfish expert David Lodge, professor of biology at the University of Notre Dame, said there's nothing to worry about. During the past two summers, Lodge has been conducting research in Michigan and Indiana lakes colonized by zebra mussels. "We'seen native clams covered with mussels," he said. "But we have never observed a single zebra mussel on a crayfish or a shed exoskeleton." One reason, Lodge said, was that crayfish molt many times in their first summer while adults molt at least once and usually two or three times. "Zebra mussel larvae that settled on a crayfish exoskeleton would not have long to grow before it was shed with the molt," he said. "It's difficult to imagine a healthy crayfish allowing adult zebra mussels to crawl on it and attach themselves." Now, about that photo of a zebra mussel-covered Camaro...

ID: 19930916-4.

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.