The quagga mussel, which originally comes from the Black Sea region, is increasingly spreading in Austrian waters. While it has been affecting fish stocks in Lake Constance for quite some time, it has now also reached waters in Upper Austria and Carinthia.
The name of the quagga shell (Dreissena rostriformis) is derived from the extinct quagga zebra, the pattern of which resembles the rings on the shell of this shell, which is several centimeters in size. Originally from the Aral Sea and Black Sea tributaries, their tiny larvae have now been carried as far as Central Europe and North America by boats, water sports equipment and even birds.
Their high tolerance to fluctuating temperatures, nutrient deficiencies and salinity allows them to successfully establish themselves in new habitats and displace native species.
The invasive mussel has long conquered Lake Constance. It was first discovered in 2016, has since spread massively and can now be found practically everywhere in the lake. For the ecosystem Lake Constance This had and still has far-reaching consequences: because the quagga mussel feeds on plankton, which it filters out of the lake water, other species – such as the Lake Constance whitefish – are neglected.
In Upper Austria the quagga mussel probably colonized the Attersee and the Traunsee in 2020. It has now also been found in the Mondsee, the swimming lake Feldkirchner and the rivers Danube, Traun and Ager, informed Environment Minister Stefan Kaineder (Greens) about the results of a monitoring carried out in June using eDNA (environmental DNA/gene material from organic residues, comment) on 23 Upper Austrian lakes.
In Carinthia the quagga mussel was first discovered in 2022. So far, specimens have only been discovered in the Ossiacher See. In the Wörthersee and in the Keutschacher See, the mussel was detected by means of a DNA test. Here you are “at the very beginning of the spread”.
In Lower Austria And Salzburgerland no quagga mussels have been found, but a sister species, the also invasive zebra mussel, has been found. In the Styria An occurrence has also not yet been proven, but samples from the three large Styrian lakes Grundlsee, Altausseer See and Toplitzsee are being sent to the Ministry of Agriculture for eDNA analysis. In Tyrol no occurrence of the quagga mussel is currently known either. Also in Burgenland the invasive species has not yet been detected.
Source: Krone
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