Spread of Zebra Mussels

Craig,
I continue to see many folks who believe Zebra Mussels could be or are spread by waterfowl such as ducks and geese. In my undergraduate studies as a biologist, I remember talking at great lengths with Dr. Edds at ESU about this particular issue. That has been a few classes and one or two beers ago...
Would you please provide the information/evidence that waterfowl do not contribute to the spread of Zebra Mussels? I know many studies have been done on this issue but I am unable to find them now that I am out of school and do not have access to the scientific journals I used to read.

The more awareness and education we can bring to the public about this issue the greater the chance we have of preventing or at least slowing the spread of ANS.

Keith

Please add turtles and other aquatic wildlife who use the waterways. Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crappieslinger

...Would you please provide the information/evidence that waterfowl do not contribute to the spread of Zebra Mussels?

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Keith,

Here's a study on zebra mussel spread via boats and waterfowl. Waterfowl transport was found to be low (0.5 veligers per duck trip) when ducks walked from one highly contaminated wading pool to an uncontaminated pool located 8.2 feet away. Adult and young zebra mussels did not survive the digestive tract of the birds. Boats and trailers were shown to have much higher transport rates.

http://www.significantudders.com/qua...hnsonpaper.pdf

That was a very interesting read. It seems very unlikely that wildlife have an impact on the spread of zebra mussels. I found it interesting how many live wells contained veligers. This sure seems to point the finger at humans being responsible for the spread.

Thank you.

I pulled my 24 foot pontoon out of Clinton yesterday for winter storage and I pressure washed the 1/2 moss off the logs. I did not see any Zebras on the sides of the logs,
but they where thick around the motor transom, motor mount well and anywhere they would not have the water knocking them off while driving on the lake.
I lost count at over 600 in that small area. Even the pressure washer had problems knocking them off so they should be dried out and dead before it goes back in Clinton next year.