Exotic Crustacean prefers mussel invaders to humans!

Ann Arbor, MI — Wherever zebra and quagga mussels call home, the scud invader, Echinogammarus ischnus, also calls home.

All three exotic (non-native) species originate from the same Ponto-Caspian region of Europe and are known in their native areas to be close neighbors. They remain neighbors, through thick and thin, here in the Great Lakes.

Zebra and quagga mussels both form clusters and occur in habitats that Echinogammarus prefers over habitat in which a similar native scud, Gammarus fasciatus, occurs. In the past, researchers thought the two scuds would compete with one another but it seems that they are successfully avoiding one another.

Invaders are often thought to enter areas where disturbances, such as those caused by farming, urban development, and pollution, take place. However, researchers from the University of Windsor and Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota found that areas where Echinogammarus invade cannot be predicted by human activities. Instead, Echinogammarus invades rocky nearshore habitats that are first invaded by zebra and quagga mussels. This suggests that eradication of the exotic mussels may also eliminate the exotic scud.

Original Publication Information

Results of this study "The Influence of Anthropogenic Disturbance and Environmental Suitability on the Distribution of the Nonindigenous Amphipod, Echinogammarus ischnus, at Laurentian Great Lakes Coastal Margins," are reported by Misun Kang, Jan J.H. Ciborowski and Lucinda B. Johnson in the latest issue (Volume 33, SI3, pp. 198-210) of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, published by the International Association for Great Lakes Research, 2007.

Contacts

For more information about the study, contact Misun Kang, University of Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4; kang_misun@hotmail.com, (519) 253-3000 x4749.

For information about the Journal of Great Lakes Research, contact Marlene Evans, Editor, National Water Research Institute, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada; editor@iaglr.org; (608) 692-1076.

Links

Since 1967, IAGLR has served as the focal point for compiling and disseminating multidisciplinary knowledge on North America's Laurentian Great Lakes and other large lakes of the world and their watersheds. In part, IAGLR communicates this knowledge through publication of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, available to members in print and electronic form. A searchable archive of the journal is available online and includes the abstracts of articles from the journal's inception in 1975 through the most recent issue. In addition, complete articles are available to members who have signed up for an electronic subscription.