New Sightings Elsewhere

From September 16, 1993 (Update #18)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Zebra mussel veligers have been found in 10 of 31 inland Michigan lakes this summer, according to Paul Marangelo and Ladd Johnson, visiting scientists at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Previously, the only inland Michigan waters known to contain zebra mussels were western Michigan river mouths directly connected to Lake Michigan and several lakes in the St. Joseph River watershed. Marangelo and Johnson have been studying large lakes thought to be at greatest risk for invasion. Larvae in Walled Lake, a 400-acre lake near Detroit with no public access, suggests that public access is not necessary for mussel dispersal. The researchers warned that shoreline property owners and their guests may be more responsible for the transfer of mussels to inland lakes than non-resident day users. Most of the veligers, which were detected in low numbers, appeared to be either dead or in very poor condition, according to Marangelo and Johnson. The researchers cautioned that the presence of larvae in these lakes is only preliminary evidence that mussel populations have become established. The 10 lakes in which veligers were found are (counties are listed in parentheses): Belleville (Wayne), Burt (Cheboygan), Cass (Oakland), Crooked (Emmet), Houghton (Roscommon), Paradise (Emmet), Paw Paw (Berrien), Pickerel (Emmet), Walled (Oakland) and Walloon (Charlevoix). The study was jointly funded by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Sea Grant.

PORT CLINTON, Ohio -- Zebra mussels were sighted in late May at White Star Park Quarry, near Gibsonburg. It was the second inland lake sighting in Ohio, according to Ohio Sea Grant Extension agent Fred Snyder. (Zebra mussels were first discovered in Ohio in Hargus Lake in August 1992.) White Star Park Quarry has no water inflow, no motor boat access and is not known as a good spot for fishing. Ohio Sea Grant Extension agent Dave Kelch speculated that the mussels were probably transported on damp scuba gear. With an underwater visibility of 30 to 40 feet, White Star Park Quarry attracts 3,000 to 4,000 divers each year, Kelch said.

ID: 19930916-5.

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.