{"id":576,"date":"2011-11-02T13:04:18","date_gmt":"2011-11-02T20:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.obwb.ca\/blog\/?p=576"},"modified":"2014-08-22T14:07:14","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T21:07:14","slug":"good-mussels-bad-mussels-and-environmental-triage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/2011\/11\/good-mussels-bad-mussels-and-environmental-triage\/","title":{"rendered":"Good mussels, bad mussels, and environmental triage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn conclusion…there is a high risk of [zebra mussels] not only surviving in some parts of Okanagan Lake, but a high potential for massive infestations<\/a>.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 <\/em>Gerald L. Mackie, 2010<\/p>\n

Sometimes we need to do environmental triage \u2013 focusing on what\u2019s most important, and\u00a0what approaches are\u00a0likely to succeed.<\/p>\n

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When water conditions are right, zebra mussels reproduce rapidly and can completely cover the shells of native mussels.<\/p><\/div>\n

Lately I\u2019ve been trying to get a better understanding of the situation with mussels in the lakes<\/a>. There are two of immediate concern \u2013 a species native to the Okanagan, the Rocky Mountain ridged mussel<\/a>, on the verge of local extinction, and an invasive \u2013 the zebra mussel<\/a>, which is spreading rapidly across North America and heading this way.<\/p>\n

These species are an example of how we\u00a0grapple with management approaches and trade-offs, and the best course for protecting biodiversity\u00a0for the\u00a0whole ecosystem.<\/p>\n

The zebra mussel has a capacity for explosive population expansion <\/a>\u2013 literally growing over top of native mussels, preempting their food.\u00a0 It has extirpated other native mussel species in lakes it has invaded in the eastern U.S. and Canada. And, although it\u2019s not here yet, the zebra mussel is thought to be the number one threat to our native mussels.<\/p>\n

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U.S. Zebra mussel distribution in 2011<\/p><\/div>\n

The Government of Canada has recognized the rarity of the Rocky Mountain ridged mussel and is considering listing it as \u201cEndangered\u201d under the Species at Risk Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although\u00a0Rocky Mountain ridged mussels\u00a0occur in small numbers throughout the western states, the Okanagan is the only place they occur in Canada. Ideally, a listing is the catalyst for public awareness and support, and would trigger substantial funds for recovery efforts.\u00a0 However, the uncertainties of federal budgets, and the Act’s\u00a0 focus on single species protection rather than\u00a0whole ecosystems, can lead to unintended consequences.\u00a0For example, in the Fraser Valley, the listing of Nooksack dace<\/a>, a small freshwater fish, has come in conflict with maintenance of flood control channels.<\/p>\n

Here, any recovery plan that does not include aggressive efforts to stop zebra mussels is likely to fail. And even without the invading zebra mussels, population recovery of Rocky Mountain ridged mussels is uncertain. Part of the problem is that we aren\u2019t able to \u201cmanage\u201d living systems the way that we manage other resources, especially living systems that we know so little about. We usually start with studying the biology, to understand how human activities affect plants and animals and what conditions they need to survive. In practice, this is depends strongly on research dollars \u2013 even for listed species.<\/p>\n

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Rocky Mountain ridged mussel shells<\/p><\/div>\n

In the case of the Rocky Mountain ridged mussel, research is very sparse and little is known about even their most basic biology and ecology. Regardless, we know the two primary ways that any species is likely to go extinct: human-caused habitat loss, or as a result of invasive species that act as predators or competitors, or dramatically change the habitat. Both of these threats apply to the Rocky Mountain ridged mussel.<\/p>\n

Less than 15% of the Okanagan lakeshore has been surveyed for Rocky Mountain ridged mussels, and much of the potential habitat is threatened by foreshore alterations, with regulatory agencies at the limits of capacity for monitoring and enforcement<\/a>.\u00a0Another potential issue is lake-level draw downs, desiccating exposed mussels in times of drought.\u00a0 This is especially a concern for the future, in that climate change increases the risk of multi-year droughts and periodic water shortages, and\u00a0which will require\u00a0flexibility in lake level management for other environmental as well as human needs.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the zebra mussels are heading west from lake to lake, carried by boats and fishing gear. They have become pervasive across eastern North America, reaching western states within 20-years of their introduction from Europe. The Okanagan is thought to be their ideal habitat<\/a>: water with low acidity, and dissolved calcium to grow shells. The zebra mussel invasion is the primary reason that Rocky Mountain ridged mussels are recommended for listing, and it is estimated that the native mussel will be gone within 3-5 years of zebra mussels being introduced to the Okanagan.<\/p>\n

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Zebra mussels clogging a water pipe.<\/p><\/div>\n

Zebra mussels will also have a huge impact on the Okanagan lake ecosystem as a whole, and a huge impact on the economy.\u00a0 The base of the lake food chain is green algae, microscopic plants that feed larger plankton, and small invertebrates that in turn provide food for fish including kokanee and sockeye salmon.<\/p>\n

Zebra mussels in the millions can very effectively \u201cclean up\u201d the algae in the lake, radically restructuring the food chain. As we\u2019ve seen in the Great Lakes region and other places they\u2019ve taken hold, zebra mussels impact the economy by clogging water intakes and other infrastructure.<\/p>\n

As with everything, there are many players involved in the listing of an endangered species. The only way to protect Okanagan lakes from threats like invasive species, species loss, and climate change is by having a frank discussion about what\u2019s possible. Resources are short at every level of government, and we need to know who has real capacity to take on different tasks and adjust our collaborative work plans accordingly. With so many unknowns, we also need flexibility to change\u00a0the\u00a0course of action as conditions change, without getting\u00a0tangled\u00a0in\u00a0one’s own red tape.<\/p>\n

Because so little is known about Rocky Mountain ridged mussel, very little is known about what a recovery plan would entail, what costs would be borne by each level of government, and what tradeoffs would be required for other environmental values.<\/p>\n

Often, the first reaction people have about an endangered species is to ask, \u201cWhat is it good for?\u201d The Species at Risk Act doesn\u2019t make utilitarian distinctions; however,\u00a0according to staff at DFO<\/a>, funding priority is usually based on the feasibility of enacting the recovery strategy. If the Rocky Mountain ridged mussel is listed, it will compete for federal funding with other endangered species that may have a bigger impact on the ecosystem and a better chance of recovery.<\/p>\n

If a species protected under the Act is not well-funded (for whatever reason), local communities may be left with restrictions which will do little, by themselves, to ensure recovery.\u00a0 If zebra mussels can\u2019t be stopped (and we should be making great efforts), is it possible to create a feasible recovery strategy for Rocky Mountain ridged mussel?<\/p>\n

The Okanagan Basin Water Board is one of the largest supporters of water quality protection and environmental restoration in the valley \u2013 with support for\u00a0biodiversity preservation<\/a> as part of a larger strategy to preserve the quality of the Okanagan lake system. We try, with every project, to look at the health of the ecosystem across a spectrum of human and\u00a0ecological needs, in a time of environmental change.\u00a0 A listing under the Species at Risk Act is not always compatible with these goals.<\/p>\n

This is the time to sit down, with senior government partners, and talk about what are our priorities and vision are, and how we optimize within this complex system. What is our best course for environmental triage?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIn conclusion…there is a high risk of [zebra mussels] not only surviving in some parts of Okanagan Lake, but a high potential for massive infestations.\u201d \u2013 Gerald L. Mackie, 2010 Sometimes we need to do environmental triage \u2013 focusing on … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,44,40,3],"tags":[83,45,51,33],"class_list":["post-576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environmental-protection","category-eurasian-watermilfoil","category-fish","category-updates","tag-eurasian-watermilfoil","tag-invasive-species","tag-rocky-mountain-ridged-mussels","tag-watershed-management"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576"}],"version-history":[{"count":78,"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1079,"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576\/revisions\/1079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/obwb.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}