John D' Halfman Director, Environmental Studies Program Associate Professor of Geoscience Academic C

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John D. HalfmanDirector, Environmental Studies
ProgramAssociate Professor of GeoscienceAcademic
Coordinator, Finger Lakes Institute
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Goals

• Research
• Educational Outreach
• Community Service Outreach
• Economic Development Regional Planning

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Exotics Zebra Mussels

• Zebra Mussel
• Dreissena polymorpha
• Invaded North America
• Suitable Habitat
• -2 to 40?C Water
• Origins
• Caspian Sea (1769)
• Migrated through Western Europe (1830)
• Parallel Increase Commerce

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North America

• 1988 First Found
• Lake St Clair
• Between Huron/Erie
• Outside Detroit Harbor
• Imported
• Ships Ballast Water
• Now Dominates Ecosystems
• 1992 First Found
• Seneca Lake
• Later Most Finger Lakes

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Characteristics

• Small
• 4 cm Max
• Striped Shell
• Filter Feeders
• Indiscriminate
• Phytoplankton
• Zooplankton
• Digest What Can
• Poop Out Remainder
• Cleanse 4-10 liters/day
• Shallow Water Organism
• Epilimnion

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Rapid Spread

• Rapid Reproduction
• Fertilization Outside Shell
• 1 million Eggs / Female
• 3 to 4 Times / Year
• Water Warmer 12?C
• Minimal Predation
• Unknown Critter
• Life Cycle

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Life Cycle

• Veliger Stage
• Free Floating
• Uptake Cooling Waters
• Transport another Lake
• Settling Stage
• Suitable Substrate
• Adult Stage
• Cement onto Substrate
• Substrates Shallow Water

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Cementation

• Economic Problem
• Water Intake Pipes
• Drinking Water
• Cooling Water
• Nuclear Power Plants
• Cover Boats, etc.
• Removal
• Poisons
• Chlorine
• Ozone
• Hammer/Chisel
• Hot Water gt 35?C

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Quagga Mussel

• Quagga Mussel
• Dreissena bugensis
• Also Invaded N. America
• Suitable Habitat
• -2 to 40?C Water
• Exploit Deeper Water
• Origins
• Eastern Europe
• Migrated through Western Europe
• Parallel Increase Commerce

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North America

• 1989-1991
• Invaded North America
• Displaces Zebra Mussel
• Shallow Water
• Quagga Lives Deep Water
• Hypolimnion
• Quagga is Bigger

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Seneca Lake
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Zebra Quagga MusselsImpact on Nutrient Cycle
Plankton
Dissolved Nutrients
Zebra Quaggas
Fish (Lake Trout) Other Organisms
Bacterial Decomposition
Dead Organics
Pre-Zebras
Chlorophyll Nutrient Data
Post Zebras
Death 1st Wave
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Chlorophyll-a
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Phosphates
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Water Clarity
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Ecological Disruption

• Lake Ontario
• Diporeia
• Whitefish
• Lake Trout
• Native Shell Species
• Snuffed Out

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Calcium Budget
Calcium Seneca Lake
Stream Output
Zebra Mussel Shells
Calcite Sediments
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ComplicationsBedrock vs. Land Use
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Sample Many Watersheds
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Which is Larger Influence?Bedrock or Land Use?
Limestone, Calcium RichShale Other Calcium
Poor Rocks
Agriculture, Calcium RichForested Urban,
Calcium Poor Rocks
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What Should be Done?

• Anything?
• Residential Surveys
• Local Economics - Tourism

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Round Goby

• Round Goby
• Neogobius melanostomus
• 1990 1st Sightings
• Spread to Great Lakes
• Erie, Ontario
• St Lawrence Seaway
• ID
• Bottom Dwellers
• 10 inches Long
• Large Heads
• Caspian Black Seas

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Characteristics

• Aggressive
• Sculpins and Darters
• Eat Fish Eggs
• Lake Trout
• Sensory System
• Feed in Dark, Murky Waters
• Survive in Polluted Waters
• Rapid Reproduction
• Eat Zebras Quaggas
• 80 Mussels / Day
• Eaten by Bass

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Other Exotics

• Rusty Crayfish
• Reduce Vegetation
• White Perch
• Competition
• Curly-Leaf Pondweed
• Surface Mats
• Spiny Waterflea
• Hook Tail
• Eurasian Watermilfoil
• Thick Stands of Vegetation
• Purple Loosestrife
• Wetlands

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What Can Boaters Do?

• Prevent Transport
• Inspect Boat/Trailer/Equipment
• Drain Water from Motor/Boat
• Empty Bait Bucket
• Wash and Dry
• Hot Water
• Learn Organisms

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Many Excellent Students Only Those that worked
on Zebra Project

• Nadine Acquisto (WS95)
• David Cohn (H'95)
• Mary Gibbons-Neff (WS'97)
• Keri Lesniak (WS'97)
• Andrea Pulver (WS'97)
• Jennifer McKnight (WS'97)
• Damian Herrick (H'97)
• Ethan Prout (H'97)
• Andrew Babaian (H'97)
• Theron Bond (H'97)
• Matthew Lamana (H'97)
• Matthew Nuzzo (H'97)
• John Fiori (H'97)
• Kathleen Maloney (WS'98)
• Robert Dedrick (H'98)
• Thomas Sardella (H'98)
• David Went (H'98)

• Jason Christensen (H'98)
• Jason Farnung (H'98)
• Nathan Kranes (H'98)
• Kathryn Hammontree (WS99)
• Megan LeBoutillier (WS99)
• Kevin Farr (H99)
• Andrew Dominick (H99)
• Miki Alroy (H99)
• John Vandemoer (H00)
• Jon Rumpf (H00)
• MaryBeth Giancarlo (WS00)
• Arthur (Trey) Driscoll (H00)
• Micah Nicolo (H01)
• Timothy Riley (H01)
• Derith Hart (WS01)
• N. Scott Alderman (H01)
• Lindsay P. Bowser (WS02)

Margaret Etherington (WS02) Laura Calabrese
(WS02) Sandra Baldwin (WS02) Robert Stewart
(H03) Emily LaDuca (WS04) Caterina Caiazza
(WS05) Ann Walker (WS05) Barbara Beckingham
(WS05) Sarah Kostick (Smith, 05) John Riina
(H05) Doug Wood (H05) Kate Bush (WS06) Clare
Morgan (WS06) Suzanne Opalka (WS06)
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Thanks - Questions? John Halfman, Environmental
Studies / Geoscience / FLI, HWS