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Zebra Mussel Infestation Confirmed On Another Iowa Lake

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is confirming the presence of an aquatic infestation at a northern Iowa lake. Young zebra mussels were found in an August water sample from Lost Island Lake, near Ruthven. Further investigation into that discovery found low numbers of juvenile and adult mussels around the lake. “The zebra mussels in Lost Island Lake probably arrived on or in a boat that had picked up the mussels from an infested water body, like the Spirit/Okoboji chain of lakes or Storm Lake,” says Kim Bogenschutz, Aquatic Invasive Species Program Coordinator. The small, d-shaped clams with alternating light and dark bands are filter feeders, and their presence at Lost Island highlights the spread of aquatic invasive species in Iowa’s waterways. They can eventually form dense clusters as they attach to hard underwater surfaces and may interfere with the balance of the ecosystem, killing other native mussels, clogging water intakes, increasing algae blooms and cover beaches with dead shells. There is currently no effective treatment to control the mussels after an infestation. Boaters are asked to clean, drain and dry after every time out on the water to help curb the spread.

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