UC ANR Lunchtime Talk Webinar – Don’t Move a (Golden) Mussel

https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Invasives/Action-Week

Don’t Move a (Golden) Mussel

Presented by Martha Volkoff 

Golden mussel, an invasive, non-native freshwater/brackish water bivalve, was discovered in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) in October 2024. This discovery is the first known occurrence of golden mussel in North America and was likely introduced to California by a ship traveling from an international port. Golden mussel is native to rivers and creeks of China, Thailand, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia.

They are known to be established outside of their native range in other Asian countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South American countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Within the invaded range significant impacts are documented resulting from the dense colonization (biofouling) of golden mussel on hard surfaces. Heavy encrustations have blocked municipal and industrial water intakes, necessitated ongoing biofouling removal, altered species assemblages, and diminished water quality. Golden mussel poses a significant immediate threat to the natural ecosystems, water conveyance systems, infrastructure, agriculture, economy, and water quality throughout California and across the United States. Golden mussel is similar in appearance, biology, and impacts to quagga and zebra mussels but can establish in waters with considerably lower calcium levels than these other mussels require, and thus most California waters are at risk for golden mussel establishment.