>> ON THE 22nd, WHAT WE ARE GOING TO BE DOING IS LOOKING AT THE DENSITY OF ZEBRA MUSSELS AND QUAGGA MUSSELS AND THE IDEA IS TO COMPARE THE DENSITIES BETWEEN THE TWO.

THEY'RE NATIVE TO THE PONTOCASPI AN REGION.

PEOPLE STARTED NOTICES IN THE 80s WE WERE GETTING INVASIVE MUSSELS.

THEY COULD TRAVEL ON POEM'S RECREATIONAL VESSELS TO PLACES LIKE THE FINGER LAKES.

ZEBRA MUSSELS TEND TO ATTACH TO PLANTS THAT YOU MIGHT SEE IN THE LAKE OR ROCKY SURFACES AND QUAGGA MUSSELS PREFER SOFT SEDIMENT.

AND WE ALSO HAVE RECENTLY BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF THEY HAVE HAD PLATABLE IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT IN SOME OF THE BACTERIAL BLOOMS INCREASING AS WELL.

ALL SUMMER YOU WERE EVERYTHING THAT'S BEING PRODUCED IN THE LAKE SORT OF SINKING TO THE BOTTOM AS IT DIES.

AND NUTRIENTS ACCUMULATE THERE.

THE ZEBRA AND QUAGGA MUSSELS CAN TAKE ALGAE IN AND EAT THEM.

THAT'S THEIR FOOD.

AND THEY'RE GOING TO BASICALLY EXCRETE ALL OF THAT.

AND THEY CAN INCREASE THE NUTRIENTS THERE.

BUT THERE ARE OTHER COMPLICATING FACTORS AS WELL.

SO THE QUAGGA MUSSELS THAT CAN GO DEEPER ON TO THE SOFT SEDIMENTS, THEY'RE PRESENT AND RELEASING NUTRIENTS RIGHT NEAR THE BOTTOM.

AND MOST THINGS CAN'T ACCESS THAT BUT SOME OF THE BIG SIGN CYANBACTERIA ARE SEA SURFACE IF THE DAY AND IN THE NIGHT GO DOWN TO THE DEEP WATER THAT MAY BE GIVING THE BIG CYANBACTERIA AN ADVANTAGE.

AT NIGHT WHEN THEY'RE NOT PHOTOSYNTHESIZING THEY GET A SNACK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE BY TAKING UP THE NUTRIENTS THE QUAGGA MUSSELS RELEASE AT THE BOTTOM.

THAT'S ONE POSSIBLE WAY.

CAROLYN UNDERWOOD IS A SENIOR AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, AND SHE IS DOING A PROJECT RELATED TO OWASCO LAKE.

AND WE SET UP A SIMPLE EXPERIMENT TO TEST THE IDEA.

DO THE MUSSELS THEMSELVES, THE QUAGGA MUSSELS THAT BURY IN THE SEDIMENTS WOULD JUST THE PRESENCE OF THE MUSSELS INTERACTING WITH THE SEDIMENTS RELEASE MORE NUTRIENTS BECAUSE THAT COULD INCREASE THE CYANBACTERIA AND WE HAVE CONTROLS THAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT NOW THAT DON'T HAVE ANY MUSSELS IN THEM AND THEN WE HAVE TWO TREATMENTS THAT HAVE MUSSELS.

ONE WHERE THERE IS SCREENING VERY NEAR THE TOP THAT PREVENT THE MUSSELS FROM GOING MORE THAN TWO SENT CENTIMETERS INTO THE SEDIMENT AND ONE WHERE THEY CAN ACCESS THE WHOLE SEDIMENTS AND EVERY DAY CAROLYN COMES IN AND TAKES A NUTRIENT SAMPLE TO SEE HOW MUCH NITROGEN AND PHOSPHOROUS ARE BEING RELEASED FROM THE SEDIMENT.

SEDIMENT WITHOUT MUSSELS, THAT'S OUR CONTROL.

SEDIMENT WITH MUSSELS THAT NATURALLY INTERACT WITH THE SEDIMENT AND SEDIMENT WITH MUSSELS THAT ARE CONSTRAINED TO THE TOP TREATMENT.

WE ARE REALLY INVESTIGATING IF THEY'RE AFFECTING THE WATER SEDIMENT.

CAN WE ATTRIBUTE THE BLOOM TO ONE OF THE FACTORS?

NO.

WE KNOW WHAT MIGHT BE CONTRIBUTING BUT WE CAN'T SAY THIS ALGAE BLOOM WAS DEFINITELY DUE TO THIS FACTOR.

WE CAN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION.