Scientists are removing the Great Lakes’ worst invasive species. How? The first-of-its-kind project is happening in Lake Michigan near Milwaukee, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Muskegon, Michigan.
Associate dean and professor Harvey Bootsma and his lab research team’s work to remove invasive mussels in Lake Michigan is featured in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. Along with Bootsma’s lab, there are other scientists experimenting with other methods to remove invasive zebra and quagga mussels from Lake Michigan.
Early evidence suggests the round goby, another invasive species, may be helping control mussel recolonization in areas where they’ve been removed.
The project faces funding challenges due to federal cuts and reduced university funding.