Page 17 - Trending Magazine 2018 Fall

Musseling In_Layout 1 18-09-18 3:03 PM Page 4

Christian Tremblay pulls a set of
PVC plates out from Whirlpool
Lake. The plates will be
examined for zebra mussels at
the end of the season.

Lake Audy, Lake Katherine, Moon Lake, Deep Lake lakes, you’d see a complete change in the balance of
and Bob Hill Lake. the lake ecosystem.”
If any adult mussels exist, they’ll likely be found on But for all the talk on the devastation caused by
these plates. zebra mussels, prevention remains one of the most
Researchers are also scraping Whirlpool with important, and perhaps underreported, tools behind
plankton nets to try and catch any free-floating controlling their spread.
veligers. “People are the threat to it,” said Kathryn Yarchuk, a
Meanwhile, several lakes are being tested for eDNA 21-year-old environmental studies student in her
using makeshift peristaltic pumps built from electric second summer at Riding Mountain.
drills. Water is siphoned through a filter, which will be “And right now, we can do the research on the
analyzed later in the lab. impacts of it, but by researching it, we’re only having
Should zebra mussels establish themselves in a really small change on what’s happening, versus if
Whirlpool Lake, like they have in the Great Lakes area you want to make a change you need to be telling
and Lake Winnipeg, the situation will be irreversible. people and informing them about why it’s important,
Not only do the mussels filter lakes of plankton, and that’s a very important role.”
disrupting local food chains, they have been known to Veligers are microscopic and have the ability to
clog water intake systems, cut the feet of swimmers, survive in small amounts of water, while adult mussels
and be a general eyesore on piers and docks. can live for up to 30 days outside of it.
“The park is here to preserve the ecological integrity As a result, watercraft remain the No. 1 vector for
of Clear Lake and the rest of the park,” said Colleen transporting zebra mussels, which can include
Robertson, a 20-year-old environmental science everything from motorboats, canoes, kayaks and
student who spent her third summer at Riding paddle boards. Even inflatable water wings can
Mountain helping with the research side of things. transport larvae from one area to another.
“And if we do introduce zebra mussels or any other Both federal and provincial legislation is in place to
invasive species into Clear Lake, or any of the other prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species and

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