Potential impacts of invasive mussels on long-term carbonate chemistry changes in Lake Michigan

by Autumn McGowan | Oct 2, 2025 | Uncategorized

While oceanic and coastal acidification has gained increased attention, long-term pH trends and their drivers in large freshwater systems remain poorly understood. The Laurentian Great Lakes are the world’s largest freshwater system, and in many ways resemble marine...

Fate and effects to the benthic community of a copper treatment to eradicate invasive mussels in a large western river, USA

by Autumn McGowan | Oct 2, 2025 | Uncategorized

Copper-based chemical treatments are commonly used to eradicate invasive mussels in small ponds and lakes, but their use in large rivers has been limited. In 2023, in response to a detection of invasive quagga mussels, a 10-km reach of the Snake River (Idaho, USA),...

Ecological impacts of quagga mussels on yellow perch and their morphological and physiological divergence across two North American invasions

by Nichole Angell | Jul 2, 2025 | Uncategorized

Quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) first invaded the Laurentian Great Lakes via ballast water discharge in the late 1980s and have since spread to cool, deep inland lakes and rivers from the Great Lakes to as far west as California. They have...

Regime shifts in satellite-derived chlorophyll within the Laurentian Great Lakes

by Nichole Angell | Jul 2, 2025 | Uncategorized

As a result of implementation of nutrient management following the binational Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972, the ecosystems within the Laurentian Great Lakes were gradually transforming to lower trophic regimes. This transformation dramatically...

Chironomid assemblage response to cultural eutrophication and dreissenid mussel establishment in the Bay of Quinte, Ontario

by Nichole Angell | Jul 2, 2025 | Uncategorized

The Bay of Quinte is a large (254 km2) embayment on Lake Ontario, which has experienced many environmental and ecological modifications since the arrival of European settlers. Extensive clearing of land and development of urban areas led to considerable eutrophication...

Water quality-based risk assessment for zebra mussel establishment: a case study of single- and multiple-factor methods in northern temperate lakes

by Nichole Angell | Jul 1, 2025 | Uncategorized

Most previous research has used an individual water quality parameter, such as calcium, to predict likelihood of zebra mussel establishment in lakes; we employed two multiple-factor methods, our own susceptibility index for zebra mussels in lakes (SIZL) and aragonite...

Microcystis strains in Lake Erie explain interactions between a selective filter feeder and the phytoplankton community

by Nichole Angell | Jul 1, 2025 | Uncategorized

Dreissenid mussels (quagga and zebra mussels) are powerful ecosystem engineers in the Laurentian Great Lakes, causing short- and long-term changes to phytoplankton including eukaryotic algae and cyanobacteria. In western Lake Erie, invasive dreissenid mussels have...

Prey availability and diet of early life stages of Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in the fishing islands of Lake Huron

by Nichole Angell | Jul 1, 2025 | Uncategorized

Declines in recruitment of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in the Laurentian Great Lakes have been attributed to a reduction in the amount of zooplankton prey available to young life stages, stemming from the ecosystem effects of invasive dreissenid mussels....

Leveraging invasive mussel contaminant survey data for stepwise prioritization of chemicals of potential concern in the Great Lakes basin

by Nichole Angell | May 13, 2025 | Uncategorized

Historical and ongoing anthropogenic activities coupled with advancements in analytical techniques have led to the detection of large numbers of contaminants in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Consequently, identifying and prioritizing chemicals likely to cause ecological...

The reproductive costs of bitterling fish and zebra mussel parasitism to a unionid mussel

by Nichole Angell | May 13, 2025 | Uncategorized

Unionid mussels are one of the most vulnerable groups of animals, with multitude of factors responsible for the decline of their populations in the freshwater ecosystems. Many of those causes stem from interspecific relationships. Direct data on the reproductive costs...