TINY TUESDAY

I was looking around Lake Winnebago for signs of ice shoves.....they are starting but much of the pond is yet frozen over. There's some open water in places near the shoreline which is where I found this pile of shells washed up on the shore. It's two feet deep, six feet long and three feet wide. There are trillions of these bivalves in this lake.

The majority of these shells are from Zebra Mussels and Quagga Mussels which are fresh-water invasives originally from Eurasia brought here, through the Great Lakes shipping channels, in ballast water from ocean going vessels. They are a painful nuisance and cause all sorts of issues as they feed and deplete the water of microorganisms needed as food by the young of native fishes.

In Lake Michigan, and doubtless all the other Great Lakes, these mollusks grow in dense colonies....500 to 1500 per square foot of space. They clog water inlets for power plants and drinking water and have to be removed regularly at great expense, borne by consumers in the rising cost of their water and electric bills.

Some ducks, Scaup and Buffleheads, are enjoying a banquet fit for a king as they are known to feed on these shelled nuisances.