A mat of didymo lays along an unidentified stream bed in Pennsylvania. (Photo courtesy state Department of Environmental Protection) |
Zebra mussels might endanger the area’s lakes and deep-water recreation sites, but swift-running streams and creeks could be threatened by another invasive species commonly called rock snot.
The didymo algae – called rock snot for it’s resemblance to yellow-brown mucus – forms large mats over rocks and stream beds that essentially smother aquatic life forms such as macroinvertebrates in their natural ecosystem.
Rock snot can be devastating to trout and other fishing streams because the fish lose their primary food sources after an infestation, said Rick Lorson, area fisheries manager for the state Fish and Boat Commission.
“This is something we’re concerned about statewide, really,” he said. “I know that they have found it in the Delaware River and it’s easily spread.”
Microscopic diatoms of the algae can be carried in fishing equipment, bait, waders and boats to new locations. “It is extremely important that you clean your equipment between every use,” he said.
Rock snot diatoms can live for months in a slightly moist environment.
Neoprene diving gear, water shoes and sandals, canoes, kayaks and life jackets can also carry the organism to new sites, according to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s website.
The problem has grown to the point that several states including Maryland, Vermont and Alaska have already approved banning felt-covered boots and waders.
Oregon and Montana are considering bans as well because the felt – which offers traction on slippery stream beds – is especially conducive to harboring didymo, Lorson said.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture map shows didymo in at least 18 states as of 2008.
Melissa Reckner, director of the Kiski-Conemaugh Stream Team, said that local environmental groups are aware of and on the lookout for the pest.
“I don’t think it’s a problem here in the Alleghenies yet, but people need to be vigilant and take care to disinfect their equipment, because it only takes one drop to spread didymo,” she said. “Once it catches on, like most invasives, it’s hard to control and can smother aquatic habitats and potentially disrupt the food chain.”
The algae can form mats 3 to 5 inches thick on the river bottom which can spread up to three feet in length. The blooms are also distinguished from normal algae by feeling like wet wool or cotton rather than slimy.
Currently the blooms can be killed with copper sulfates, but the treatments are not 100 percent effective, the department site said. Surviving algae will often float downstream to form a new mat.
For more information visit www.fish.state.pa.us/water/habitat/ans/didymo/faq_didymo.htm online.
The didymo algae – called rock snot for it’s resemblance to yellow-brown mucus – forms large mats over rocks and stream beds that essentially smother aquatic life forms such as macroinvertebrates in their natural ecosystem.
Rock snot can be devastating to trout and other fishing streams because the fish lose their primary food sources after an infestation, said Rick Lorson, area fisheries manager for the state Fish and Boat Commission.
“This is something we’re concerned about statewide, really,” he said. “I know that they have found it in the Delaware River and it’s easily spread.”
Microscopic diatoms of the algae can be carried in fishing equipment, bait, waders and boats to new locations. “It is extremely important that you clean your equipment between every use,” he said.
Rock snot diatoms can live for months in a slightly moist environment.
Neoprene diving gear, water shoes and sandals, canoes, kayaks and life jackets can also carry the organism to new sites, according to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s website.
The problem has grown to the point that several states including Maryland, Vermont and Alaska have already approved banning felt-covered boots and waders.
Oregon and Montana are considering bans as well because the felt – which offers traction on slippery stream beds – is especially conducive to harboring didymo, Lorson said.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture map shows didymo in at least 18 states as of 2008.
Melissa Reckner, director of the Kiski-Conemaugh Stream Team, said that local environmental groups are aware of and on the lookout for the pest.
“I don’t think it’s a problem here in the Alleghenies yet, but people need to be vigilant and take care to disinfect their equipment, because it only takes one drop to spread didymo,” she said. “Once it catches on, like most invasives, it’s hard to control and can smother aquatic habitats and potentially disrupt the food chain.”
The algae can form mats 3 to 5 inches thick on the river bottom which can spread up to three feet in length. The blooms are also distinguished from normal algae by feeling like wet wool or cotton rather than slimy.
Currently the blooms can be killed with copper sulfates, but the treatments are not 100 percent effective, the department site said. Surviving algae will often float downstream to form a new mat.
For more information visit www.fish.state.pa.us/water/habitat/ans/didymo/faq_didymo.htm online.
