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Zebra Mussels Confirmed in Pelican Lake


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Lake Erie was in dire need of a change of water quality. The benefits created by the zebra mussels are only short term before we start to realize the real effect they have.

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I quess I am not fully understanding Zebra mussels. Didn't they help lake erie? The walleye population there is booming. Before Zebra musseles it was a cespool.

So what bad do they do besides grow and clog pipes, that is about all I hear on there devastation.

Just a thought

Zebra mussels are highly effective filter feeders, consuming an enormous amount of plankton. While it may improve lake clairty, this is not good since they are removing a HUGE portion of the base of the chain. That is food that would otherwise go to support baitfish and macroinvertebrate populations, i.e. fish food. With a big chunk of the food base missing, you can guess what the result will be to higher level fish populations, including your beloved game fish like walleyes, pike, bass and panfish. Not Good.

zebra mussels have a terrible impact on primary and secondary production, in addition to displacing native mussel populations, clogging intake pipes, and coating the littoral zone, docks, boats, etc. Anyone who considers having zebra mussels introduced into our waters as a "good thing" should hit the books.

I'll post the links to aquatic invasive species info again:

Center for Aquatic Nuisance Species

ANS Task Force

Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers

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Lake Erie was in dire need of a change of water quality. The benefits created by the zebra mussels are only short term before we start to realize the real effect they have.

That's right, Lake Erie was so polluted by human and manufacturing byproducts that it was dang near hypereutrophic. There was so much nitrogen and phosphorous in the system that algal blooms pretty much removed almost all of the available oxygen in the water that was needed for other organisms to survive. Of course all the toxic chemicals dumped in the lake from manufacturing didn't help. The addition of zebra mussels to the lake helped remove a lot of the excess N and P in the lake allowing to fall back into a more eutrophic/mesotrophic state.

As a side note, according to diet studies done on Lake Erie, molluscivorous fish like freshwater drum, carp, greater redhorse, lake sturgeon, etc. will consume zebra mussels as part of their diet. Unfortunately, due to the prolificacy and high fecundity (high reproductive success) of zebra mussels, it is near impossible to keep their population in check, simply by adding more molluscivorous fish to the system.

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Intresting article, But really why are they so harmful I am not understanding this yet?

I read that they actually do good to the lake. The only problem is that they mulitply fast real fast.

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DEADhead did a great job explaining why they are harmful to lakes. Might want to read over it again. Thanks for the info DEADhead, good stuff.

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Besides one bad thing is that the lake people will have a harder time pumping water from the lake to irrigate there lawns!

Funny thing is one innavasive species puts the extintion in another. The water sprinkler

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ahh, zebra mussel eats plankton and other orgs in the lake. means minnows and other bugs and insects cant eat them.which means sunnies bass and etc cant eat them, which means walleyes and bigger bass and pike cant eat them. Which means i cant eat them.

Seems simple enough to follow the food chain.

Thanks for the info dead.

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If anyone needs more info on zebra mussels, feel free to contact the DL Area Fisheries office at 846 8340. I would suggest coming in to the office for more information and pamphlets, but most fisheries staff are in the field right now harvesting walleye fingerlings.

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There were some people who brought approximately 2 dozen to the watercraft inspector this past weekend. They were stuck to their dock and boat lift on the SW side of Big Pelican. The biggest was about a half inch long.

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That's just too bad, the whole watershed will eventually be effected, those things are just too easy to spread. Only way to stop the spread is closing access to infested lakes but I doubt that will happen. We'll just have to learn to live with them.

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I will be at my cabin on SW side of the lake, I will look to see if i can find them. Does it do any help to look for themm and take them out of the water? or is that a waste of time?

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Big Detroit will be the next lake that they announce. I know of a lot of boats that are going back and fourth from those 2 lakes!!

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Effects of zebra mussels

Zebra mussel infestation on the walls of Arthur V. Ormond Lock on the Arkansas River

Zebra mussel-encrusted Vector Averaging Current Meter from Lake MichiganZebra mussels are filter feeders. When in the water, they open their shells to admit detritus.

Zebra mussels are a great nuisance to people. Since colonizing the Great Lakes, they have covered the undersides of docks, boats, and anchors. They have also spread into streams and rivers nationwide. In some areas they completely cover the substrate, sometimes covering other freshwater mussels. They can grow so densely that they block pipelines, clogging water intakes of municipal water supplies and hydroelectric companies.

Also, as their shells are very sharp, they are known for cutting people's feet, resulting in the need to wear water shoes.

Zebra mussels are also believed to be the source of deadly avian botulism poisoning that has killed tens of thousands of birds in the Great Lakes since the late 1990s.[16]

However, zebra mussels and other non-native species are credited with the increased population and size of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie [2] and yellow perch in Lake St. Claire. [3]. They cleanse the waters of inland lakes, resulting in increased sunlight penetration and growth of native algae at greater depths. This proves beneficial for fish most of the time, helping the fish live in better conditions. This cleansing also increases water visibility and filters out pollutants. Each quagga and zebra mussel filters about a quart of water a day.[17]

Recent research has found that zebra mussels don't attach to copper-nickel alloys, which can be used to coat intake and discharge grates, navigational buoys, boats, motors, etc., where the pests tend to congregate.

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Predators of zebra mussels

There are a number of natural predators of zebra mussel. Zebra mussels have high nutritional value (Walz, 1979) and are consumed in large quantities by crayfish, waterfowl and in smaller quantities by muskrats. The nutritional value changes seasonally, particularly in terms of protein and carbonate content.

Crayfish could have a significant impact on the densities of 1 to 5 mm long zebra mussels. An adult crayfish consumes an average of nearly 105 zebra mussels every day, or about 6000 mussels in a season. Predation rates are significantly reduced at cooler water temperatures.

Several species of fish consume zebra mussels. Of these, roach seems to have the most significant impact on mussel densities. In some Polish lakes the diet of the roach consists almost exclusively (~95%) of zebra mussels (Stanczykowska, 1957). Despite all this, it seems that fish do not limit the densities of zebra mussels in European lakes

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Sadly, it's just a matter of time before it spreads down stream to Lizzie, Crystal, Lida and whatever watersheds that are connected to them downstream. I would find it hard to believe that they can naturally travel upstream but I'm sure they'll show up in DL, Sallie, Buck, Mill, and Melissa soon frown

Doesn't Lida drain into Lizzie so the Mussels would have to travel up stream. Lets not make it sound like a sure thing all these lakes will be infested, that makes it easier for people not to be careful. You may well be right, but I hope it can be avoided for as long as possible. Thanks for the info everyone.

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Not sure, think the river goes pelican chain to lizzie to prairie. With all these lakes being so close to each other i think people are just assuming they will spread, via river, waterfowl and boats.

I wouldnt think pelican would be the first to get them, maybe just the first to get noticed. I would really bet DL has them, and maybe had them first. I dont see how it wouldnt.

Seems like a lot of the musky bite chasers could have brought them from Mille Lacs to Pelican and DL.

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Seems like a lot of the musky bite chasers could have brought them from Mille Lacs to Pelican and DL.

There's no place in the forums to bring one specific group into this mess. There's no possible way to pinpoint how they were introduced and to speculate such a cause is just plain foolish.

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Foolish? i would have to disagree. Mille Lacs lake is what, one of like 5 waterways confirmed? Not saying that is what happened. I however do musky fish regularily and converse with musky guys every weekend, some of which have fished mille lacs many times. I have even spoken to a few guys in the past years that do go from lake to lake chasing the bite. These guys were on Mille Lacs those hot years out there. I even know Guides from that lake that now bring their clients to DL area. I have even seen our regulars, with many Mille Lacs pics on their photo boards. So maybe it was our own guys going and bringing the zebras back.

So foolish, no. I dont think so. These waters have been shared many times.

So maybe it is not what happened, maybe it is? Provide me a better theory. I dont think it is walleye guys coming to hit pelican, and i dont know that the walleye tourny brings boats from too far of distances. And i am not sure how many local walleye guys hit Mille Lacs

By the way i am not a walleye guy. I am a musky guy, and a land owner that pays an unreal property tax because of my neighboors keeping up with the Jones's

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The thing is, its not just us watercraft users that are transporting it around. I am clearly sure that most of those guides who come over from mille lacs make sure that they have nothing hanging off their boats and trailer. Another thing that we have to take into consideration like i said before is the waterfowl that fly from infested lakes into non infested lakes. Even though people say that waterfowl cannot transport zebra mussels around, thats a lie. People have to think about all the larvae that are on top of the water at the early stage and all the birds landing in them. Another thing to consider is the sea planes that keep landing in and out of Big Pelican. Where do you think he comes from and also think about on how many other lakes these sea planes land in.

Nobody should be blaming just one group of people. Ive had people come up to me and tell me "Oh its all because of the Fargo-Moorhead Walleye Tournament that they had at the beginning of the year and the DNR did not have somebody up here monitering it." That right there is a bunch of lies!!!!! Every big tournament that I can think of clearly goes over about invasive species the night before in the rules meeting. I was up there for over 15 hours BOTH DAYS inspecting every single boat that came through that west and east access.

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It is a fact that waterfowl can spread the zebra muscles. So who knows how they got there but it is up to the sportsman and liesure boaters to try and keep it from spreading.

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Nobody is blaming anyone, scsavre is just sharing a theory. There are hundreds of ways they could have gotten there and his theory is just one of the possibilities. Let's not get this thread off track and turn it into finger pointing session.

On a side note, I forgot about Prarie lake and those downstream. I think it goes Pelican, Lizzie, Prarie. Crystal is pretty much connected to Lizzie, and Lida is connected to Lizzie via a very short under road culvert so chances are it could find it's way through hitching an accidental ride. The sad thing is that it's just a matter of time. Even with all of us being super careful, it only takes one that has no idea or doesn't give a Sh%$, to spread them.

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Thanks fish, not blaming just throwing out theories.

I have never thought of the plane one. The idea of the tourny, i dont know. Those boats would still have had to been to infested waters. Time to move on i guess.

Well i am heading up to pelican tomorrow and will be looking for these little buggers. I am gonna take out whatever i can find. I know it probally doesnt do anything, but hey, why not yank what i see.

I cant believe i have never seen these things out there. Every spring i go out with my net and do a garbage patrol. I scoop up everything i see in the water and have never noticed them. I sight fish smallies and have never seen them either.

Must be smaller than i think.

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Talked to Dock and Lift people who will remain nameless, and they told me that they have seen Zebra Mussels on dock pilings and Lifts for the last couple years on Pelican, Big D, and Sallie. The problem has obviously been growing the last few years, but since it hasn't seemed rampant there was really no cause for alarm. Now since a homeowner discovered them all the flags will go off for public record? Well somewhat... It will be a few years until they list all of the lakes on the chain, so expect to be under siege then next decade.

No wonder the DNR has had the "Stop" guys at the accesses the last couple of years, they just kept us in the dark until they could find a large enough sample of the invaders. Now that it's too late they set up camp to inform boaters? They should have had those chuckleheads out there educating several years ago.

my .5 cents.

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It's just like everything else in todays culture, wait until it's too late to start doing anything. There is no such thing as preventative actions, unless you call hanging a few flyers and signs about the potential hazzards of invasive species, "actions".

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What exactly was supposed to be done differently?

The DNR has been telling people about invasive species and ticketing offenders for over a decade now.

They as for more funding to monitor and educate people and it gets denied from the state budget.

Are they supposed to put a man at every access 24/7 to check boats? Who's gonna pay for that? The taxpayers would freak.

I know a lot of people who fish multiple lakes in Becker county in the same day. I can guarantee you the even the most careful boaters don't alway take the right precautions.

People think that you only need to worry if leaving a lake that has been identified as having an invasive species, that's how they get spread.

JS

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Obviously, you can't expect the DNR to be present at the access 24/7 and yes, fisherman have been mildly educated on the topic for quite a while now. But, now that it has come to light, everyone and their mother is getting a belated education - From my elderly neighbors to the 6 year old kid down the street. They're all experts on Zebra Mussels now.

I'm just saying, there is more recreational boat traffic on Pelican than fishing traffic. We have beaten "Protect" in the brains of fisherman but what about the general public? What about the weekend warrior who doesn't even know where the drain plug is on his $100,000 wakeboard boat? Or the duffer with his pontoon that sat in the water somewhere and pulled it to Pelican for a day of recreation?

Or Dock and lift guys who tow their barges from one lake to another... They admittedly didn't even know what a Mussel, water flea, or eurasian milfoil looked like until now... When for some lakes it's too late.

Over a year ago, I registered my guide service with the "Protect our Waters" website. They sent a huge packet full of every piece of info you can imagine. It would be nice if a smaller, more economical packet could be made and given to Homeowners, boat owners (at time of purchase or registration), and at local businesses in the lakes area. This way the information could be more readily available to the average Joe who is oblivious to the damage being uninformed can do.

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They ask for more funding to monitor and educate people and it gets denied from the state budget.

I don't have the answer my friend, but I didn't say it was the DNR's fault. They asked for more money for preventative measure but have been denied?? If that's true, then someone else gets the finger pointed at them.

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I hear what you're saying Jerry. People are very ignorant to the hazzards of exotics.

I think that is the fault of the public though.

We should have demanded more funding for education and prevention in these areas. The DNR has had it's budget cut or given the same monies for years now. Our state legislators don't think our resources are a priority, they would rather spend money in the metro area on sports stadiums and other things that they feel will give them more tax revenue.

Much more should have been done to monitor and regulate what happens on our lakes, but so many people don't want govt., specifically the DNR to tell them what to do.

Unfortunately the very people who don't want the DNR to tell them what to do are often the most ignorant SOB's out there.

I guess now it's to late to think about what we should have done, we need to concentrate on what to do now.

JS

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It will be hard to get funding for educating boaters in this economy when you cant even get funding for education in the schools. The public and the DNR will have to do the best we can with what we have for now.

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