8544-R5_ML&P_LSLA_2023_FallNewsletter_Web

What’s Happening Around My Lake Pam Wilkinson

What’s Happening - New Invasive Threats Surrounding Maine’s Border Information extracted from Maine DEP Web site - Assembled by Pam Wilkinson As we inspect boats entering and leaving our lake during the hours of Courtesy Boat Inspection program at the boat ramp, it is more important that each of us keep a watchful eye for possible invaders when we launch our boats without the inspectors at the ramp or when you launch in oth er areas of the lake. Maine has mostly been lucky not to experience some of these animal threats, yet. Learning what invasives look like should be an educational part of entering any lake and un derstanding their negative impacts. As these in vasive animals and plants surround our Maine border we need to be aware in order to prevent them from entering our precious waters. Chinese Mussels- Found in Little Sebago spend a good portion of their lives under the wa ter surface, half buried in the bottom sediments, Chinese mystery snails may also be encountered with their trap doors sealed up tight, floating along at the water’s surface. When these large snails die, they often wash up on shore, where their dark, olive-colored shells can be easily seen and (unpleasantly) smelled. Once in a body of water, the Chinese mystery snail may be transported, as adults or tiny juveniles, via bait buckets and water holding areas on boats. Like other snail species, this species may serve as a vector for various parasites and diseases. They may also transmit diseases and parasites to fish and other wildlife. They compete with native snails for food Chinese mystery snails are distinctively large; the size of a walnut or golf ball, they are half again as large as Maine’s largest native freshwa ter snail. Though they

and adversely affect aquatic food webs. It can form dense populations and outcompete native species for food and habitat in lakes and streams. They are intermediate hosts for parasitic worms and can transmit trematodes that kill waterfowl. Chinese mystery snails occur in several Maine waterbodies, but the full distribution of this snail in Maine is unknown. Throughout summers var ious areas may be impacted in Little Sebago. Some years more than others. It is suggested to scoop them up and dispose of them. Zebra Mussels- Found in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont

Zebra mussels are an invasive, fingernail-sized mollusk that is native to fresh waters in Eurasia. Their name comes from the dark, zig-zagged stripes on each shell. Zebra mussels probably arrived in the Great Lakes in the 1980s via ballast water that was discharged by large ships from Europe. Zebra mussels negatively impact ecosystems in many ways. They filter out algae that native species need for food and they attach to--and in capacitate--native mussels. Power plants must also spend millions of dollars removing zebra mussels from clogged water intakes. Boats, docks or intake pipes that are left in the water for a long period of time can become encrusted and be very difficult to clean. If a boat owner also fails to drain the water from his or her motor, any veliger floating in the water will root themselves and clog the machinery as they reach adulthood. Zebra mussels are filter feeders that siphon particles of plankton from the water. They are

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