What are QMs?
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Quagga Mussels (QM) are non-native freshwater mussels from Eastern Europe that clog waterways, undermine healthy lake ecosystems, ruin boat engine cooling systems, and financially burden water resource agencies.
QMs are prolific breeders that can overrun a lake causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage annually. One female QM can spawn 1,000,000 offspring annually. QMs rapid reproduction can negatively disrupt an aquatic ecosystem in a very short amount of time. Once QMs are introduced into a waterway, there is no way to fully eradicate the species.
How are QMs introduced into the water supply?
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Living adult mussels adhere themselves to boat hulls, engines, and propellers and are transported from infested waters to non-infested waters;
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Microscopic larval may survive in boat bilges, water tanks, bait tanks, fish tanks, the hull, and the trailer;
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Aquatic plants, where adult mussels and larva live, attach themselves to boats, anchors, ropes, and trailers. The attached aquatic plants are carried to other non-infested lakes and water ways;
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Infested fish hatcheries can transport adult mussels and larva in tanker trucks when stocking a lake with fish.
What is the damage caused by QMs?
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QMs colonize pipes, docks, locks, ship hulls, water intake pipes, other mollusks and cause extensive damage to water treatment facilities.
QMs disrupt the food chain by consuming nutrients used by other species. Due to massive populations, QMs can consume so much plant life that water begins to clear up. Parks personnel in the Great Lakes region report that water once visible to depths of 6 to 12 inches have been clearing up to astonishing depths of 10 to 12 feet. Clearer water negatively affects aquatic ecosystems. Many small aquatic animals no longer have sufficient nutrients.
QMs are filter feeders that absorb heavy metals, trace elements, toxins, and chemical contaminants in their tissues. These absorbents can be passed up the food chain when QMs are eaten by water fowl and other organisms. There have been massive die-offs of water fowl in the Great Lakes region due to Quagga and Zebra Mussels.
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