Zebra mussels? In my moss balls?
March 5, 2021 9:15 PM Subscribe
Petco and Petsmart have pulled all Marimo moss balls from shelves following the discovery that they are infested with invasive zebra mussels. They were first discovered in Washington state, but believed to be present in the moss ball supply chain nationwide. Washington Fish and Wildlife officials are particularly concerned, because the Columbia River watershed is the last watershed in the lower 48 states that is currently free of zebra mussels.
Zebra mussels? In my moss balls?
At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country? Localized entirely within your moss balls?
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:33 PM on March 5, 2021 [29 favorites]
At this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country? Localized entirely within your moss balls?
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:33 PM on March 5, 2021 [29 favorites]
These Marimo balls are interesting. The subject of an annual festival in North Japan and known in some European lakes from Iceland to Switzerland, they are round seaweed balls without roots or other ground fixtures. Now they are a pest vector!
posted by CCBC at 10:43 PM on March 5, 2021
posted by CCBC at 10:43 PM on March 5, 2021
Hey, that's my Petco! Just around the corner.
posted by Windopaene at 11:00 PM on March 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 11:00 PM on March 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
That factoid about the Columbia being the only basin free of zebra mussels doesn't seem right to me. The article cites a talk given by a scientist, but I can't find any evidence of it, and this undated USGS map certainly suggests it's not true for zebra mussels or for quaggas. I've been a freshwater ecologist in the southeastern US for twenty years and have never seen a zebra or quagga mussel. However, Corbicula fluminea is ubiquitous. It appears to also be found in the Columbia.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:54 AM on March 6, 2021 [13 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 3:54 AM on March 6, 2021 [13 favorites]
That "last refuge against zebra mussels" is ridiculous framing. But yeah, these balls could end up being yet another vector. One of many, and very unlikely to be a significant vector, but still you hate to see it. Modern shipping and international travel being what it is exotic/invasive species are going to be a huge problem forever (or until everything is everywhere).
posted by Patapsco Mike at 4:57 AM on March 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Patapsco Mike at 4:57 AM on March 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
They check boats coming into all boatable waterways in Colorado for zebra mussels. I remember seeing the sign at a small local reservoir and the guy just laughing at me: 'We don't worry about kayaks, you're OK."
posted by evilDoug at 5:48 AM on March 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by evilDoug at 5:48 AM on March 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
evilDoug's comment reminded me of a story - A few years ago I took a group of Scouts out to a Denver Metro Area lake for a day of canoeing. We pulled up to the gate and the attendant says "we have to spray your boat for zebra mussels." "Ok" I replied.
"there's a fee." "Okay, sure."
"It's $65. "Wow, really? All right."
"Per boat." "WTF? we have eight canoes!"
After some discussion with the staff where we explained that the canoes had been in storage for a year, and are tiny compared to the big boats that normally come in, and maybe cut us a break? They ended up spraying all eight but only charged us for one.
posted by jazon at 6:58 AM on March 6, 2021 [11 favorites]
"there's a fee." "Okay, sure."
"It's $65. "Wow, really? All right."
"Per boat." "WTF? we have eight canoes!"
After some discussion with the staff where we explained that the canoes had been in storage for a year, and are tiny compared to the big boats that normally come in, and maybe cut us a break? They ended up spraying all eight but only charged us for one.
posted by jazon at 6:58 AM on March 6, 2021 [11 favorites]
I remember when everyone was freaking out over zebra mussels showing up in Lake Michigan and how they were going to ruin everything etc etc and the only apparent downside is the lake is noticably cleaner than it's been in decades.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:06 AM on March 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:06 AM on March 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
I remember when everyone was freaking out over zebra mussels showing up in Lake Michigan and how they were going to ruin everything etc etc and the only apparent downside is the lake is noticably cleaner than it's been in decades.
Yes the lake looks cleaner from a distance, but this isn’t a good thing.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-lake-michigan-water-clarity-20180126-story.html
“Clearer is not necessarily better,” said Robert Shuchman, co-director of the Michigan Tech Research Institute. “Clearer water means less phytoplankton in the water column, and they’re the basic building block in the food web. The idea is, the little fish eat algae, and the bigger fish eat the little fish.
posted by paulcole at 7:13 AM on March 6, 2021 [31 favorites]
Yes the lake looks cleaner from a distance, but this isn’t a good thing.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-lake-michigan-water-clarity-20180126-story.html
“Clearer is not necessarily better,” said Robert Shuchman, co-director of the Michigan Tech Research Institute. “Clearer water means less phytoplankton in the water column, and they’re the basic building block in the food web. The idea is, the little fish eat algae, and the bigger fish eat the little fish.
posted by paulcole at 7:13 AM on March 6, 2021 [31 favorites]
Mr. Encyclopedia - yes, the water is cleaner and that may be the only effect some notice but zebra mussels have significant effects on the food web (ie the stuff that makes the water not clear is food for a whole bunch of things and those things for other things etc). Having people react by saying they like the clear water is problematic to public support to for zebra mussel control.
posted by hydrobatidae at 7:13 AM on March 6, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by hydrobatidae at 7:13 AM on March 6, 2021 [14 favorites]
Zebra mussels are also a big problem if they get into a water supply lake....they damage and clog the intake system. My company's engineers design water systems and it's a problem.
posted by emjaybee at 7:20 AM on March 6, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 7:20 AM on March 6, 2021 [7 favorites]
> “Clearer is not necessarily better,”
I remember reading or being told this in grade three or four, in the early '80s when acid rain was one of the the hot and easily explainable to little kids environmental issues. Shortly after that I went to a weeklong cub scout camp in the Haliburton area where we did a lot of canoeing and swimming and was depressed rather than enthralled by how clear the water was.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:54 AM on March 6, 2021 [7 favorites]
I remember reading or being told this in grade three or four, in the early '80s when acid rain was one of the the hot and easily explainable to little kids environmental issues. Shortly after that I went to a weeklong cub scout camp in the Haliburton area where we did a lot of canoeing and swimming and was depressed rather than enthralled by how clear the water was.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:54 AM on March 6, 2021 [7 favorites]
Is that a zebra mussel in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
posted by The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal. at 7:59 AM on March 6, 2021
posted by The genius who rejected Anno's budget proposal. at 7:59 AM on March 6, 2021
An investigation found that the moss balls are wild-harvested in Ukraine, where zebra mussels are native
Putin's assault on the West continues. At least we now know why he invaded Ukraine.
/blackhelicoptors /diabolical
posted by Cris E at 8:06 AM on March 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
Putin's assault on the West continues. At least we now know why he invaded Ukraine.
/blackhelicoptors /diabolical
posted by Cris E at 8:06 AM on March 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
TIL Moss balls.
posted by Splunge at 8:15 AM on March 6, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 8:15 AM on March 6, 2021 [6 favorites]
I remember when they first appeared in Lake Ontario in the 80s, via ocean-going ships dumping their ballast water. It wasn't long before they were in the Genesee River and the Erie Canal, and then the Finger Lakes. When my fire department trained using the canal as a water source we had to use gallons of chlorine bleach to purge the pump and tank to make sure none of the mussels took up residence.
Oddly enough, they do filter water and have cleaned up a number of lakes. Still, the cost of dealing with them far outweighs any benefits.
posted by tommasz at 8:31 AM on March 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
Oddly enough, they do filter water and have cleaned up a number of lakes. Still, the cost of dealing with them far outweighs any benefits.
posted by tommasz at 8:31 AM on March 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
I received a marimo as a present when I was in Japan. I asked what it was and was just told "it's a marimo". I kept it for some time as a cross between a plant and a pet but had to leave it behind when I returned to Canada.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 8:38 AM on March 6, 2021
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 8:38 AM on March 6, 2021
Zebra mussels in the Great Lakes are only on piece of a very complicated and interesting story. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is a fascinating book about the past, current and future state of the Great Lakes.
posted by rockindata at 9:46 AM on March 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by rockindata at 9:46 AM on March 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
That factoid about the Columbia being the only basin free of zebra mussels doesn't seem right to me.
I'm guessing they made that claim based on this watershed delineation (where Columbia is the lime green watershed), which does seem to approximately match up with that map of zebra mussel observations. Doesn't make the statement any less misleading, but I can understand where it came from.
posted by gueneverey at 9:57 AM on March 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
I'm guessing they made that claim based on this watershed delineation (where Columbia is the lime green watershed), which does seem to approximately match up with that map of zebra mussel observations. Doesn't make the statement any less misleading, but I can understand where it came from.
posted by gueneverey at 9:57 AM on March 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
I want to take a minute to celebrate the many competent and concerned officials, scientists, and citizens behind the scenes. People across the country have identified this serious problem and are working hard to mitigate it for the benefit of all. Government and regulations doing what they're supposed to do.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:21 AM on March 6, 2021 [24 favorites]
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:21 AM on March 6, 2021 [24 favorites]
As others have pointed out, zebra mussels are really bad news as an invasive species, even though that seems a bit counterintuitive since it seems like they just create "cleaner" water.
From the International Joint Commission:
Lake Erie is well-known for annual harmful algal blooms in its shallow western basin. But in the shallow, warm bays and shorelines of the other four Great Lakes, algal blooms are becoming more common. Examples include stinky, stringy green algae washing up onto Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore on Lake Michigan, would-be visitors to Lake Ontario’s Sodus Bay canceling their plans because of an algal bloom and visitors to Lake Superior’s remote Apostle Islands reporting oozing, green surface scum.
Lake Erie is on a strict diet to reduce fertilizers, waste and other nutrients that feed its algal blooms.
However, in Lakes Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior, a nutrient diet isn’t necessarily the remedy. That’s because the total amount of the nutrient phosphorus measured in these lakes is already relatively low.
“In lakes with low nutrient levels, we’re seeing these benthic algal blooms, such as mats of Cladophora growing on the bottom of the lake beds, because the invasive mussels are trapping the available nutrients in these shallow areas,” says Bob Hecky, member of the IJC Science Advisory Board’s Science Priority Committee member and professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota-Duluth Large Lakes Observatory.
Embedded in that piece is some nifty footage from a "benthic sled" that was dragged along the bottom of Lake Michigan to investigate the amount of zebra and quagga mussel coverage. It also links to this really good interactive explanation of the impact of invasive mussels and contaminants on the Lake Michigan food web.
At the risk of being self-linky, I stuck a bunch of zebra mussel links in this here post on Lake Erie a while back (includes bonus cool pics of Lake Erie).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:50 AM on March 6, 2021 [9 favorites]
From the International Joint Commission:
Lake Erie is well-known for annual harmful algal blooms in its shallow western basin. But in the shallow, warm bays and shorelines of the other four Great Lakes, algal blooms are becoming more common. Examples include stinky, stringy green algae washing up onto Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore on Lake Michigan, would-be visitors to Lake Ontario’s Sodus Bay canceling their plans because of an algal bloom and visitors to Lake Superior’s remote Apostle Islands reporting oozing, green surface scum.
Lake Erie is on a strict diet to reduce fertilizers, waste and other nutrients that feed its algal blooms.
However, in Lakes Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior, a nutrient diet isn’t necessarily the remedy. That’s because the total amount of the nutrient phosphorus measured in these lakes is already relatively low.
“In lakes with low nutrient levels, we’re seeing these benthic algal blooms, such as mats of Cladophora growing on the bottom of the lake beds, because the invasive mussels are trapping the available nutrients in these shallow areas,” says Bob Hecky, member of the IJC Science Advisory Board’s Science Priority Committee member and professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota-Duluth Large Lakes Observatory.
Embedded in that piece is some nifty footage from a "benthic sled" that was dragged along the bottom of Lake Michigan to investigate the amount of zebra and quagga mussel coverage. It also links to this really good interactive explanation of the impact of invasive mussels and contaminants on the Lake Michigan food web.
At the risk of being self-linky, I stuck a bunch of zebra mussel links in this here post on Lake Erie a while back (includes bonus cool pics of Lake Erie).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:50 AM on March 6, 2021 [9 favorites]
I remember reading or being told this in grade three or four, in the early '80s when acid rain was one of the the hot and easily explainable to little kids environmental issues.
I still remember the article I read about it in Ranger Rick magazine. It was entitled "Acid Rain Is Killing My Lake."
...aaand I just searched for it, and found a couple of references to it. It was in the July, 1983 issue. It made me a very concerned young human. Which I guess was kind of the point.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:19 AM on March 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
I still remember the article I read about it in Ranger Rick magazine. It was entitled "Acid Rain Is Killing My Lake."
...aaand I just searched for it, and found a couple of references to it. It was in the July, 1983 issue. It made me a very concerned young human. Which I guess was kind of the point.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:19 AM on March 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
I'm guessing they made that claim based on this watershed delineation (where Columbia is the lime green watershed), which does seem to approximately match up with that map of zebra mussel observations. Doesn't make the statement any less misleading, but I can understand where it came from.
The colors on that map do not show watersheds. It looks like an educational tool to help people understand the broad groupings of continental divides, sort of, kind of, maybe. It says it shows 2 digit HUCs (hydrologic unit code), but it doesn't even do that. Here is a standard 2 digit HUC map, which groups together regional watersheds. I have not a clue why in the map you linked the Columbia is separated out from every other Pacific drainage, but all Atlantic drainages are lumped together from Florida to Nova Scotia. That is not how HUC-2 works.
Because of topography, along the Atlantic coast, we have a lot more individual rivers that drain independently to the ocean than is seen along the Pacific coast. Each of those is an independent watershed unconnected to its neighbors, and so if we're counting watersheds with/without zebra mussels we have to count them independently because they will be invaded independently.
Much less deceptive is a 4 digit HUC map like this one, which makes the many many watersheds of the eastern US more clear. To draw the conclusion the article claims, it would be most helpful to see HUC-4 watersheds color coded by invasion. As far as I know, there are not and have never been zebra mussels in the Chattahoochee (0313), Altamaha (0307), or Savannah (0306).
posted by hydropsyche at 11:27 AM on March 6, 2021 [10 favorites]
The colors on that map do not show watersheds. It looks like an educational tool to help people understand the broad groupings of continental divides, sort of, kind of, maybe. It says it shows 2 digit HUCs (hydrologic unit code), but it doesn't even do that. Here is a standard 2 digit HUC map, which groups together regional watersheds. I have not a clue why in the map you linked the Columbia is separated out from every other Pacific drainage, but all Atlantic drainages are lumped together from Florida to Nova Scotia. That is not how HUC-2 works.
Because of topography, along the Atlantic coast, we have a lot more individual rivers that drain independently to the ocean than is seen along the Pacific coast. Each of those is an independent watershed unconnected to its neighbors, and so if we're counting watersheds with/without zebra mussels we have to count them independently because they will be invaded independently.
Much less deceptive is a 4 digit HUC map like this one, which makes the many many watersheds of the eastern US more clear. To draw the conclusion the article claims, it would be most helpful to see HUC-4 watersheds color coded by invasion. As far as I know, there are not and have never been zebra mussels in the Chattahoochee (0313), Altamaha (0307), or Savannah (0306).
posted by hydropsyche at 11:27 AM on March 6, 2021 [10 favorites]
All of that is to say, keep zebra mussels out of the Columbia, please, but also keep them out of all the other as yet uninvaded basins not mentioned in that one article, too.
posted by hydropsyche at 11:36 AM on March 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 11:36 AM on March 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
One of the vulnerabilities of the Columbia drainage is that the native freshwater mussel populations have declined greatly due to anthropogenic impacts -- it's really rare these days to come across a healthy mussel bed in a stream. But those same river conditions are great for zebra mussels; once they start to colonize the basin I would expect them to quickly take over in large areas without much competition.
posted by Dip Flash at 12:34 PM on March 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Dip Flash at 12:34 PM on March 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
thanks, capitalism. you're the best (at ruining america).
posted by j_curiouser at 1:13 PM on March 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by j_curiouser at 1:13 PM on March 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
What I can't easily google is how Zebra mussels fit in to their native ecosystem. What keeps them in check there? Not that we should import predators but because what makes a species a pest vs. just a part of the ecosystem is always interesting.
posted by emjaybee at 3:18 PM on March 6, 2021
posted by emjaybee at 3:18 PM on March 6, 2021
Wikipedia's article on zebra mussels has a Predator subsection.
posted by hippybear at 3:29 PM on March 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:29 PM on March 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yeah but that's pretty scanty hippybear. Like: do we not have enough of the right kind of predators? Which ones (birds, fish, parasites)? Is it about location? I guess I'm always really curious when it comes to invasive species, why they aren't a problem in their home areas. And I'm sure the scientists know, but that kind of info can be hard to find.
I would not have expected Eastern Europe's biome to be that different from the US, or heck other parts of Europe, or to have that many more predators.
Like when mosquitos spread north, it's because it's getting hotter. When freshwater mussels who are acting normally in Eastern European =move to just a different part of Europe, even, what is it about those places that makes it go out of control...or what is it about it's home area that prevents that?
Not expecting you to answer but it's always frustrating to just see info that focuses on how to get rid of them without that background.
posted by emjaybee at 4:06 PM on March 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
I would not have expected Eastern Europe's biome to be that different from the US, or heck other parts of Europe, or to have that many more predators.
Like when mosquitos spread north, it's because it's getting hotter. When freshwater mussels who are acting normally in Eastern European =move to just a different part of Europe, even, what is it about those places that makes it go out of control...or what is it about it's home area that prevents that?
Not expecting you to answer but it's always frustrating to just see info that focuses on how to get rid of them without that background.
posted by emjaybee at 4:06 PM on March 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
SCENE: Rear lot of PetsMoCart
WORKER: The dumpster's already full, boss. Whadya I should do with the rest of these bags of moss balls?
MANAGER: It's just moss. Empty the bags out over that retaining wall into the creek in the bottom of that ravine. Ain't gon' hurt nothin', it's moss. I'll delete the footage out the camera. You good. We good.
posted by glonous keming at 4:19 PM on March 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
WORKER: The dumpster's already full, boss. Whadya I should do with the rest of these bags of moss balls?
MANAGER: It's just moss. Empty the bags out over that retaining wall into the creek in the bottom of that ravine. Ain't gon' hurt nothin', it's moss. I'll delete the footage out the camera. You good. We good.
posted by glonous keming at 4:19 PM on March 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Huh. We got a moss ball from Petco a couple months ago and then spent a few weeks dealing with an infestation of snails. That's crazy that it could have been zebra mussels instead of snails.
Never buying from Petco again anyway, because any aquatic thing we've bought from them has had Ick, and I don't want to treat my entire tank again.
posted by erst at 4:36 PM on March 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Never buying from Petco again anyway, because any aquatic thing we've bought from them has had Ick, and I don't want to treat my entire tank again.
posted by erst at 4:36 PM on March 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Since my children were infants we've loved going to the local lake to swim. It was our summer ritual. But then about a decade ago our favorite lake was contaminated with zebra mussels and within a year we started noticing that we were slicing our feet on the shells affixed to the rocks below. They'd even attach to aquatic plants so if you had to wade through any of that you were treated to numerous little cuts that stung like crazy. I was really sore about this because the only way they would have gotten into the lakes was from the bilges of boats being used at multiple lakes. My BIL is one of those people-- he drags his boat to multiple lakes each summer to fish and I once told him I felt that due to this problem boats should be registered and limited for use in one lake and if they wished to use it elsewhere they'd have to go through some kind of process where their bilge is decontaminated and inspected (at their expense.) He didn't like that one bit telling me that it was "wrong" to constrain people's freedom like that. Of course the fun we used to have swimming at the lake was severely curtailed because we simply couldn't do it anymore without getting sliced and diced but I guess the rights of people who spend money on boats takes priority over every other consideration in life.
posted by drstrangelove at 3:41 AM on March 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by drstrangelove at 3:41 AM on March 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
emjaybee, there is a type of bass in our local lake that is a predator for zebra mussel (before they've attached to something) and there was some hope when they were first found in the lake that these fish would keep their populations down but if they did you wouldn't know from looking at the rocks that were exposed when the lake was down a few years ago. They're now a few inches thick.
posted by drstrangelove at 3:46 AM on March 8, 2021
posted by drstrangelove at 3:46 AM on March 8, 2021
They made diving the st Lawrence River much more interesting according to older divers since the water cleared up a lot. But they’re also super sharp and the cuts just down seem to heal quickly, they make gloves a must have for diving even when the temperature peaks in august.
They’re eaten by species of goby that also isn’t native. These gobies thrived since it’s an all you can eat zebra mussel buffet in the river, and this is also creating issues with other fish species.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 12:03 PM on March 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
They’re eaten by species of goby that also isn’t native. These gobies thrived since it’s an all you can eat zebra mussel buffet in the river, and this is also creating issues with other fish species.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 12:03 PM on March 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
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