Post on 29-Sep-2020
USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for TexasSalient Results
Presented to
Texas Commission on Environmental QualitySurface Water Quality Monitoring Meeting
Christopher Churchill, Ph.D.
U.S. Geological SurveyNorth Texas Program Office, Fort Worth
November 7, 2017
Presentation outline• USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program (ZMMP)• Distribution/spread in Texas• Dispersal from source populations• Growth rates of juvenile zebra mussels• Effects of extreme climate events (drought/flood)• Effects of zebra mussels on water quality• Deliverables
Acknowledgements• Funding Cooperators
– Dallas Water Utilities– North Texas Municipal Water District
• Greater Texoma Utility Authority– Trinity River Authority– West Central Texas Municipal Water District– Canadian River Municipal Water Authority– Greenbelt Municipal & Industrial Water Authority
• Partners– Texas Parks and Wildlife Department– U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Study purpose• Ecology of zebra and quagga mussels in Texas
– Presence/absence (occurrence and early detection)– Live/dead determinations of larvae, juveniles, and
adults– Distributions of larvae, juveniles, and adults– Long-term spatio-temporal population dynamics– Dispersal dynamics– Spread ecology– Effects on ecosystem
Study design• Multiple study sites at each reservoir/river reach• Larvae (veligers)
– Plankton tows– Cross-polarized light microscopy– eDNA via polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
• Juveniles and adults– Artificial and natural substrates– eDNA via PCR– SCUBA dives
Program growth• Started April 2010
– Two reservoirs– One water treatment plant (WTP)– One river
• As of October 2017– 16 reservoirs– Three WTPs– Five rivers– Municipal water transfer pipeline
USGS zebra mussel study areas
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/viewer/omap.aspx?SpeciesID=5
Zebra mussel distributionas of October 20, 2017
Zebra mussel detections (year of first detection) as of November 6, 2017
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/viewer/omap.aspx?SpeciesID=5
Lake Texoma (2009)
Sister Grove Creek (2009)
Ray Hubbard Lake (2011)
Ray Roberts Lake (2012)
Lake Murray, OK (2012)
Lake Bridgeport (2013)Lavon Lake (2013)
Lake Lewisville (2013)
Elm Fork Trinity River (2013)
Elm Fork Trinity River (2014) Waco Lake (2014)
Belton Lake (2013)
Lake Dean Gilbert (2015)
Highlighting = Established population
North
Lake Fork Reservoir (2015)Eagle Mountain Lake (2016)
Lake Worth (2016)
Lake Livingston (2016)
Stillhouse Hollow Lake (2016)Fishing Hole Lake (2016)
Lake Travis (2017)
Canyon Lake (2017)
Lake Austin (2017)
Richland Chambers Res. (2017)
Ray
Roberts
Lake
RRLD (source) EFTRA1
EFTRA
EFTRA2
EFTRA3
Lake
Lewisville
LLCS
EFTRB
EFTRC
LLD (source) EFTRB1
EFTRB2
EFTRB3 EFTRC1
EFTRC2
Dallas
EFTRC3
m
Reach A
Reach B
Reach C
Downstream dispersal of veligers
Churchill and Quigley, Biological Invasions, in press
Distance from source (km)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Velig
ers
per l
iter (
mea
n)
0
2
4
6
8RRLD
(source)
EFTRA1(1.9 km)
EFTRA2(9.2 km)
EFTRA3(20.2 km)
LLCS(28.0 km)
y = 7.550e-0.586x
adjusted r2 = 0.99p < 0.001
Churchill and Quigley, Biological Invasions, in press
Downstream dispersal of veligers
Autumn 2013
Spring 2013
Churchill and Quigley, Biological Invasions, in press
Downstream dispersal of veligers
Spring 2014
Distance from source (km)
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Mea
n m
usse
ls p
er li
near
met
er
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
y = 140988e-3.79x
adjusted r2 = 0.99p < 0.001
Down-pipe dispersal of veligers
Provisional data subject to revision
Growth of juvenile zebra mussels
170
150
130
110
90
70
50
30
55 50 45 40 35 30
Latitude
Lake Erie 1
Lake Erie - Western Basin 2
Lake Ijsselmeer 3
Lake Maarsseveen I 4
Lake Maarsseveen II 4
Lake Markermeer 3
Lake St. Clair 5
Lake Texoma - AC 6
Lake Texoma - EYC 6
Lake Texoma - HR 6
Lake Texoma - LTM 6
Lake Texoma - NCR 6
Lake Vechten 4
Oologah Lake 7
Sooner Lake 7
y = 267.55 - 3.906x r2 = 0.73 p < 0.0001
Dai
ly s
hell
leng
th g
row
th (µ
m)
Churchill et al. (2017) Biological Invasions 19:2355-2373
Hudson River, NY(Strayer et al. 2011)
El Dorado Lake, KS(Severson 2010)
Oologah Lake, OK(Boeckman 2011)
Lake Texoma, TX(Churchill 2013)
Year of “extreme” droughtU.S. Drought Monitor -National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Churchill (2013) Aquatic Invasions 8:389-406
El Dorado Lake, KS - 2007
Photo: Jason Goeckler, KDWPT (2007)
Lake Texoma, TX - 2011
Photo: Christopher Churchill, USGS (September 28, 2011)
Ray Roberts Lake, TX - 2015
Photo: Christopher Churchill, USGS (August 20, 2015)
Can droughts and floods have the same effect on zebra mussel populations?
© 2001 New Line Productions, Inc.
Provisional data subject to revision
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
225
Veligersper liter
Jordan
Sanger Park
Pecan Ck Pk
Isle du Bois
Dam
Johnson
620
625
630
635
640
645
LakeElevation
(daily mean,feet aboveNGVD29)
Conservation elevation 632.5 feet
Ray Roberts Lake
Provisional data subject to revision
Ray Roberts Lake, TX - 2015
Photo: Christopher Churchill, USGS (August 20, 2015)
Effects on water quality• Pre- and post-invasion data• Surface data from all study sites• First detect plus one year for “post invasion”• Dates and stats (mostly non-parametric)
– Texoma: 2007–2016, ANOVAs– Ray Roberts: 1989–2016, t-tests– Lewisville: 1975–2016, t-tests
2
3
4
5
6
7
Feet
Pre ZM Pre crash Post crash2007-2008 2010-2011 2012-2016
Secchi depth
Lake Texoma
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
µS/c
m²
Pre ZM Pre crash Post crash2007-2008 2010-2011 2012-2016
Specific Conductance
8.0
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
Stan
dard
uni
ts
Pre ZM Pre crash Post crash2007-2008 2010-2011 2012-2016
pH
* Statistically significant @ α = 0.05
*
15
18
21
24
27
°C
Pre ZM Pre crash Post crash2007-2008 2010-2011 2012-2016
Water Temperature *
* *
-37% +24%+51% -15%
+123% -28%
Overall: +61%
Effects on water quality• Texoma vs. Ray Roberts/Lewisville
– Ca (+), chloride (+), Mg (+), Na (+), SO2 (+), silica (-)• Average changes in three Texas lakes
– Secchi depth +30%– Potassium +7%– Carbonate -37%– Fluoride -22%– Ammonia -48%– Nitrite -58%– Nitrate -35%– Orthophosphate -60%
Salient results summary• Continued spread in Texas• Grow faster, mature earlier, die sooner• Exponential decrease of density with distance
from source• High discharge increases invasion risk, mortality• Drought and flooding can negatively affect
populations• Zebra mussels could be increasing water clarity
and decreasing nutrient concentrations
Deliverables• Completed
– Downstream dispersal of veligers under different flows• Biological Invasions (in press)
– Survival and growth of young-of-year zebra mussels• Biological Invasions (2017) 19:2355-2373
– Population and spatio-temporal dynamics of veligers• Aquatic Invasions (2013) 8:389-406
– USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program for Texas• USGS Fact Sheet (2012) FS 2012-3077
• Planned– USGS Scientific Investigations Report: ZMs in Texas– USGS Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program website
USGS ZMMP website
USGS ZMMP website
USGS ZMMP website
USGS ZMMP website
USGS ZMMP website
Christopher Churchill, Ph.D. cchurchi@usgs.gov 817-319-7290
Questions?Artificial substrate
Post-deploymentPre-deployment
Equipment chainBelow
thermoclineAbove
thermocline
Churchill (2013) Aquatic Invasions 8:389-406
Churchill and Quigley, Biological Invasions, in press
Downstream dispersal of veligers