Science Inventory

Spatial and temporal distributions of Dreissena spp. veligers in Lake Huron: Does calcium limit settling success?

Citation:

Kirkendall, D., D. Bunnell, P. Armenio, L. Eaton, A. Trebitz, AND N. Watson. Spatial and temporal distributions of Dreissena spp. veligers in Lake Huron: Does calcium limit settling success? JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH. International Association for Great Lakes Research, Ann Arbor, MI, 47(4):1040-1049, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2021.04.001

Impact/Purpose:

This manuscript arises from data collected during the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) effort on Lake Huron in 2017. CSMI iss as a stakeholder driven, cross-agency partnership that seeks to fill scientific data needs identified for each of the five Great Lakes on a five-year rotating cycle. The partners for the Lake Huron CSMI in 2017 included multiple federal and state agencies; this manuscript brings together zooplankton data for which USGS’s Great Lakes Science Center took the lead and water quality data for which EPA’s Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division took the lead. The subject of the manuscript is Dreissena mussels – an abundant invasive species in Lake Huron —and more specifically their veligers which are the immature planktonic life stage. While Dreissena that are settled on the bottom of Lake Huron (and other Great Lakes) are well mapped and their ecological impacts are well studied, the distribution and impacts of the planktonic veligers remain poorly characterized. This manuscript analyzes CSMI-collected data as a step towards addressing that data gap.

Description:

The larval stage of invasive Dreissena spp. mussels (i.e., veligers) are understudied despite their seasonal numerical dominance among plankton. We report the spring and summer veliger densities and size structure across the main basin, North Channel, and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, and seek to explain spatiotemporal variation. Monthly sampling was conducted at 9 transects and up to 3 sites per transect from spring through summer 2017. Veliger densities peaked in June and July, and we found comparable densities and biomasses of veligers between basins, despite differences in abundance of juvenile and adult mussels across these regions. Using a generalized additive model to explain variations in veliger density, we found that temperature, chlorophyll α, and nitrates/nitrites were most important. We generated an index of attrition based on size distributions that revealed the highest rate in North Channel. A logistic model indicated a threshold calcium concentration of around 22 mg/L was necessary for veligers to survive to larger sizes and recruit to their juvenile and benthic adult life stages. Improved understanding of factors that regulate the production and survival of Dreissena veligers will improve the ability of managers to assess future invasion threats as well as explore potential control options.