White Lake Zebra Mussels
Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 5:56 pm
It appears White Lake is now full of Zebra Mussels. I have been there for a number of years and this is the first time I have seen them start to take over the lake. Took this from a news article:
In 2016 the WLPP Science Committee did an extensive
assessment of zebra mussel distribution. Samplings were
done on the NW shore behind Hardwood Island, Three Mile
Bay, Pickerel Bay, The Canal, The Narrows and in the White
Lake Village Basin. All sites had zebra mussels. Most were
found to be attached to the smooth surfaces of docks,
boats, etc., and on all aquatic‐plant species. So far few if any
were found on rocks but some were found on the exposed
underside of rocks. On one 4‐ft long milfoil (common aquatic
plant in White Lake), 172 zebra mussels were counted. Using
average numbers for such counts, a very crude estimate of
zebra mussel numbers was done assuming that they are on all
water plant species. The calculation showed that about one
billion mussels are now in the lake. Most of them are small
indicating that these are mostly the new generation of 2016.
In 2016 the WLPP Science Committee did an extensive
assessment of zebra mussel distribution. Samplings were
done on the NW shore behind Hardwood Island, Three Mile
Bay, Pickerel Bay, The Canal, The Narrows and in the White
Lake Village Basin. All sites had zebra mussels. Most were
found to be attached to the smooth surfaces of docks,
boats, etc., and on all aquatic‐plant species. So far few if any
were found on rocks but some were found on the exposed
underside of rocks. On one 4‐ft long milfoil (common aquatic
plant in White Lake), 172 zebra mussels were counted. Using
average numbers for such counts, a very crude estimate of
zebra mussel numbers was done assuming that they are on all
water plant species. The calculation showed that about one
billion mussels are now in the lake. Most of them are small
indicating that these are mostly the new generation of 2016.