For the second time this year, researches at the Darrin Freshwater Institute have discovered invasive, environmentally damaging organisms known as zebra mussels in northern Lake George at the Ticonderoga Boat Launch. Zebra mussels are tube-feeding organisms that produce toxic substances while subsisting on the plants necessary to maintain a lively fish population.
Though traps have been placed for zebra mussels in the past, it was believed that Lake George would not be as fully favorable an environment as the Great Lakes, where zebra mussels were first observed.
The Darrin Freshwater Institute as well as several other organizations began studying the proliferation of zebra mussels in Lake George in 1999. Though zebra mussels in the lake did not initially show signs of maturing beyond their veliger (juvenile) stage, they have in recent years shown signs of adaptation to the lake.
This is alarming news for Lake George conservationists and boaters as zebra mussels consume large portions of the microscopic plants from the base of the food web, which in turn reduces the amount of phytoplankton. Furthermore, the removal of the plankton results in a shift of native species and a disruption of the lake’s natural balance.
In response to recent findings, local groups and governments have been working on a treatment for the problem. Since state authorization for the use of sonar chemical compounds is several years away, scientists have begun the only form of removal and prevention they know—pulling them from the bottom and continuing to monitor the lake for signs of a large-scale infestation.
