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Early-detection monitoring survey addressing Dreissenid incursions to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
Citation:
Barge, J., C. Hatzenbuhler, A. Cotter, J. Hoffman, C. Meredith, Greg Peterson, S. Okum, E. Pilgrim, A. Trebitz, AND M. Wick. Early-detection monitoring survey addressing Dreissenid incursions to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. State of Lake Superior Conference, Houghton, MI, October 09 - 12, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
The early-detection monitoring survey described in this poster was motivated by a request for help from the National Park Service (NPS) in understanding the distribution and potential impacts of Dreissenid (zebra and quagga) mussels in waters surrounding the Apostle Island National Lakeshore. This work falls under SSWR research area 3.01A-2.1, and builds on previous EPA/ORD case studies concerning early-detection monitoring strategies. Outcomes from this research will include development of more refined and robust sampling strategies for non-native species in different coastal systems across the Great Lakes, advancement of DNA-based tools for conducting such monitoring, and providing a baseline for future biological assessment in NPS waters.
Description:
The notion that Lake Superior is inhospitable to dreissenid survival has been repudiated by recent finds on shipwrecks, commercial fishing gear, and substrates in the Apostle Islands (APIS) region. Motivated by National Park Service concerns surrounding these finds, the U.S. EPA in 2017 conducted an intensive sampling campaign of APIS coastal waters, aimed at understanding dreissenid prevalence and distribution and providing baseline data for potential impacts on zooplankton and benthic invertebrates. The 100-site effort combined randomly selected and targeting sites (e.g., dock and mooring areas), and collected zooplankton, benthos, video footage, e-DNA water, and water chemistry data. Dreissenid veligers were found in almost half of the zooplankton samples, but at very low numbers compared to the other Great Lakes. We did not find settled dreissenids in any benthos samples or videos. Veliger densities were highest in western APIS waters, especially around Sand Island. We lack information to determine whether these veligers are locally produced or transported there from established Duluth-Superior Harbor populations by longshore currents.