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Apr 14, 2009 6:48 pm US/Central
Destructive Zebra Mussels Found In New MN Lake
(WCCO)
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The tiny mussels are invasive and can spread quickly. A female can produce up to a million eggs in one year.
Invasive.org
Something bad has moved into another area lake. It's not a foreign fish, but something just as bad -- zebra mussels.
Last week a homeowner found some zebra mussel shells on the shore of Lower Prior Lake and they called the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
We went along with the crew as they checked the lake for more of the problem creatures.
"This definitely means that Prior Lake is infested with zebra mussels," said Gary Montz, a scientist with the DNR.
It is not what Montz wanted to find as he waded through the waters of the lake.
You have to look closely or you could mistake the tiny creature for a speck of crud.
"It's got a flat side. It almost is triangular in shape. This one is a small one, but you can see if you look close it's got the yellow and brown striped bands on it," said Montz. "You can find them on the bottoms of the rocks -- on the edges on there -- you can see here, it's really hard to spot."
The tiny mussels are invasive and can spread quickly. A female can produce up to a million eggs in one year.
"It means that we've got enough zebra mussels in the lake now that they're probably reproducing and creating new zebra mussels and it creates more of a danger for spread of the zebra mussels from Prior Lake," said Montz.
Zebra mussels can cause all kinds of problems. They feed on other aquatic plants, removing lots of food from the water and killing off fish that feed on the bottom of lakes.
Zebra also can grow on other mussels in the lake, eventually choking them.
These tiny things can also clog cooling systems of boat engines. It cost a small fortune to fix.
"It's not that I wouldn't want to put my boat out there, but I'd be more cautious then about cleaning it off, looking for things that maybe I hadn't seen before," said Jay Blegen, a boater.
Researchers found 22 zebra mussels on Lower Prior Lake Tuesday. They say although the number seems small, the findings indicate a big problem.
Sonya Goins, Producer
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