Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Dreissenid Mussels Are Not A “Dead End” In Great Lakes Food Webs, Charles P. Madenjian, Steven A. Pothoven, Philip J. Schneeberger, Mark P. Ebener, Lloyd C. Mohr, Thomas F. Nalepa, James R. Bence

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Dreissenid mussels have been regarded as a “dead end” in Great Lakes food webs because the degree of predation on dreissenid mussels, on a lakewide basis, is believed to be low. Waterfowl predation on dreissenid mussels in the Great Lakes has primarily been confined to bays, and therefore its effects on the dreissenid mussel population have been localized rather than operating on a lakewide level. Based on results from a previous study, annual consumption of dreissenid mussels by the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) population in central Lake Erie averaged only 6 kilotonnes (kt; 1 kt=one thousand metric tons) …