March 2023 - 28

Eric Hansen, aquatic invasive species specialist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, conducts an AIS monitoring survey on the North Platte River. Each year random sites are chosen across the state
for monitoring and quantitative studies. (Photo by Janet Milek/WGFD)
" In all of the cases we looked at, the New
The energy required for a fish
to consume and digest the
snails can exceed the energy
they receive, leading to a
malnourished fish population.
Zealand mudsnail was a better competitor, "
Riley said. " They were less affected by lower
resource availability. They were able to grow
just as fast on low resources, whereas the
native snails, when there were lower resources,
had a harder time. "
Competition for resources includes physical
space. Both groups live on the same surfaces,
and native species can find themselves
pushed out of an area where streambed real
estate is in short supply.
An invertebrate community can easily
become dominated by mudsnails, which can
negatively affect fish. Since many types of fish,
such as trout, utilize invertebrates as a primary
food source, mudsnails have the potential to
destabilize an ecosystem. When groups of
native invertebrates are crowded out of an
area, fish are forced to leave the area for food
or consume different food. If fish switch food
sources, they can increase predation pressure
28 | March 2023
on the native macroinvertebrates that are left
or consume mudsnails instead. Mudsnails are
detrimental to fish growth as they are a less
beneficial food source than native species and
the soft tissue fish can break down is minimal.
The energy required for a fish to consume and
digest the snails can exceed the energy they
receive, leading to a malnourished fish population.
These effects could change fisheries
across the state of Wyoming.
Studies have shown up to 50 percent of
the mudsnails a fish consumes can remain
viable upon excretion. This is bad news for
the spread of mudsnails because fish can move
farther and quicker than snails, and fish can
release the snails into previously uninfested
areas, starting new populations.
MUDSNAILS IN WYOMING
Since the discovery of mudsnails in Wyoming
in the 1990s, new populations have
appeared in isolated locations throughout

March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2023

March 2023 - 1
March 2023 - 2
March 2023 - 3
March 2023 - 4
March 2023 - 5
March 2023 - 6
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/december-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/april-2024-e-edition
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https://www.nxtbook.com/wyominggame/WyomingWildlife/December2020
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