Zebras in the Lakes: The Animated Story

Video From “Managing Great Lakes Invaders” Series Highlights Zebra, Quagga Mussels

Zebra mussels have become the poster child of invasive species. It’s difficult to find someone in Northeast Wisconsin that hasn’t heard of these small invasive mussels. A question asked all of the time is, “What treatment options are available?” and “We can’t stop them from invading waterways”. Fewer than 10% of Wisconsin’s inland lakes have zebra mussels and more promising treatments are being studied everyday. But what’s the story with these zebra mussels and their cousins the quagga mussel?

A new video series was developed by the Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS) and Michigan Sea Grant. The video series paints the picture for how some invasive species reached the Great Lakes while highlighting management victories and ongoing research. One of the videos focuses on zebra and quagga museels and does a tremendous job showcasing the story of these mussels in our Great Lakes. The video even touches on the research and field testing of certain treatments that are showing promising results for potentially controlling or eliminating invasive mussels from a waterway.

You can watch the Zebra and Quagga Mussel video below and be sure to check out the rest of the video series by visiting the playlist on Youtube.

Original story published by Michigan Sea Grant’s El Lower and Rochelle Sturtevant