Invasive Mussel Monitoring and Early Detection
ScienceEarly Detection of Dreissena Mussels in the West
 
Meeting Objectives and Outcomes
  1. Objective: Identification of current state of the art detection and monitoring approaches.
    Outcome: Participants should understand the state of the art of cross-polarized light microscopy-based and PCR-based larval detection assays. Participants should be familiar with survey/detection approaches for juvenile settlers and discovery of adult populations
     
  2. Objective: Identification of current regional practices for early detection, monitoring of Dreissenid mussels.
    Outcome: Familiarize all participants with ongoing early detection and monitoring programs. Recognize the priorities and limitations facing each state.
     
  3. Objective: Identify the most important criteria for deciding that a body of water is infested with zebra/quagga mussels.
    Outcome: Reach consensus among participants (managers and scientists) about when a water body is considered to be mussel infested. Propose a scaled (Green to Red) system of zebra mussel risk that could be linked to specific management actions. We won’t deal with the specific management actions at this workshop but at the 100th Meridian Initiative meeting following.
     
  4. Objective: Outline a comprehensive monitoring and early detection plan that can be used to draft the 2009 plan at the 100th Meridian Initiative meeting.
    Outcome: Produce a draft of an early detection and monitoring plan that will facilitate its draft at the following 100th Meridian meeting.
Tentative Agenda (PDF)