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In 2021 a team of scientists from the University of Iowa, US, deployed innovative eDNA detection techniques to identify water courses where the New Zealand mud snail may be hiding unseen, which should allow them to identify the scale of the problem and deploy early interventions to keep populations in check before they do visible, irreversible damage.
The New Zealand mud snail (NZMS) has been rapidly expanding its range throughout the Great Lakes Region with most recent discoveries occurring in Michigan and Wisconsin. The impacts of this invasion on native ecosystems and their communities in the Great Lakes region are currently unknown, serving as cause for region-wide concern. The formation of the Great Lakes New Zealand Mud Snail Collaborative is a regional approach for New Zealand mud snail management, research, outreach, and education. The formation of the Great Lakes New Zealand Mud Snail Collaborative is a regional approach for New Zealand mud snail management, research, outreach, and education.
Divers monitoring Lake Tahoe have discovered invasive New Zealand mudsnails in areas off the South Shore, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) and Tahoe Resource Conservation District (Tahoe RCD) announced today. This is the first time the species has been detected in the Tahoe Basin.
Following rapid response protocols under the federally approved Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan, TRPA convened an incident team comprised of staff from TRPA and Tahoe RCD and partner experts. The team is rapidly deploying scientists, beginning with lake-wide dive surveys to determine the extent of the infestation and sharing all available information with state and federal wildlife managers through the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinating Committee. Get up-to-date information on the response and potential protocols for management of the infestation on the TRPA New Zealand mudsnail page.