What Is CAP Doing To Address Quagga Mussels?
CAP is partnering with a number of federal, state and local agencies and quagga mussel experts to determine how best to reduce quagga populations without affecting other water dwellers. CAP is currently involved in an extensive monitoring program to determine where the mussels have settled and the water quality characteristics that attract or deter quagga from colonizing new areas. For instance, the relative acidity (pH) of the water may affect the behavior of the quagga in their free-swimming larval form (veligers). Fortunately, populations of both larval and adult quagga quickly drop as the Colorado River water flows through the CAP system. Our monitoring and research program will evaluate whether the amount of sediment in the CAP water, the type and amount of algae, the temperature of the water, or some combination of these, are damaging to quagga mussels. Determining what characteristics of the CAP water or system kills the mussels may lead to future CAP treatment strategies. The r
