Recorded: September 6, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time

This webinar explores the decision-making process leading to manual removal, operational/logistical considerations and constraints, and lessons learned from a past removal effort and an ongoing removal effort.

Presenters:

• Dr. Marc Frischer, University of Georgia
  • Dr. Marc Frischer is Professor of Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. He received his Ph.D. from the University of South Florida in 1994 in Marine Sciences specializing in Marine Microbiology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where his work with zebra mussels began. Professor Frischer’s research centers on the development and application of molecular biology tools in marine and aquatic ecology, including molecular approaches for tracking, detecting and quantifying invertebrate larvae such as zebra and quagga mussel veligers.
• Dr. Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • Dr. Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer is a Professor of Biology and the current associate director of the Darrin Fresh Water Institute Field Station on Lake George at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute after serving as the director for over 20 years. She received a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of New Hampshire and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago. A former Department Chair of Biology and Interim Dean of the RPI School of Science, Dr. Nierzwicki-Bauer’s work focuses on molecular studies of microbial and picoeukaryote communities in lakes and rivers, invasive species such as Zebra mussels & Asian clams, and water resource management and environmental remote sensing.
• Dr. Brenda Lafrancois, National Park Service
  • Dr. Brenda Lafrancois is an Aquatic Ecologist for the National Park Service Midwest Region and is stationed in Ashland, Wisconsin. Her work covers a broad range of aquatic issues, but frequently addresses effects of invasive species, particularly invasive mussels. She has worked on invasive mussel prevention, rapid response, monitoring, and research in systems ranging from large rivers and inland lakes to the Great Lakes. Since 2006 she has helped coordinate a collaborative research project addressing invasive mussel impacts at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Lake Michigan.
• Dr. Harvey Bootsma, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
  • Dr. Harvey Bootsma is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences.  He conducts research primarily on large lakes, including the North American Great Lakes, lakes in South America, and the Great Lakes of East Africa. His work focuses on the response of aquatic ecosystems to external stressors, including invasive species, climate variability, and land use.  Current research projects are addressing the effects of quagga mussels on nutrient dynamics and food web structure in Lake Michigan, and CO₂ dynamics in large temperate and tropical lakes.

Presentations:

• Dr. Frischer and Dr. Nierzwicki-Bauer: Mussel Removal in Lake George
• Dr. Lafrancois and Dr. Bootsma: Mussel Removal in Good Harbor Reef

Associated Materials:

• Specific amplification of the 18S rRNA gene as a method to detect zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) larvae in plankton samples
  • Frischer, M.E., Hansen, A.S., Wyllie, J.A., Wimbush, J., Murray, J., and S. Nierzwicki-Bauer. 2002. Hydrobiologia 487: 33–44
• Introduction pathways, differential survival of adult and larval zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), and possible management strategies, in an Adirondack Lake, Lake George, NY
  • Frischer, M.E., McGrath, B.R., Hansen, A.S., Vescio, P.A., Wyllie, J.A., Wimbush, J., and S.A. Nierzwicki-Bauer. 2005. Lake and Reservoir Management 21(4):391-402.
• Accuracy and reliability of Dreissena spp. larvae detection by cross-polarized light microscopy, imaging flow cytometry, and polymerase chain reaction assays
  • Frischer, M.E., Kelly, K.L., and S.A. Nierzwicki-Bauer. 2012. Lake and Reservoir Management 28(4): 265-276.
• Eradication of colonizing populations of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) by early detection and SCUBA removal: Lake George, NY
  • Wimbush, J., Frischer, M.E., Zarzynski, J.W., and S.A. Nierzwicki-Bauer. 2009.

Manual Removal of Dreissenid Mussels from Unionid Mussels:

• A protocol for the salvage and quarantine of unionid mussels from zebra mussel-infested waters
  • Gatenby, C.M., Morrison, P.A., Neves, R.J., and B.C. Parker. 1998. Proceedings of the conservation, Captive Care, and Propagation of Fresh Water Mussels Symposium: 9-18.
• Survival of unionids following removal of attached zebra mussels
  • Hart, R.A., Davis, M., Grier, J.W., and A.C. Miller. 2001. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 16(1): 29-33