Getting a grip on Zebra Mussels
By DEBORAH A. MILES
When Dan Molloy holds a dozen zebra mussels in the palm of his hand, it’s hard
to image these tiny aquatic mollusks have Herculean strength.
They foul our beaches, clog water-intake pipes at power plants, and damage
harbors and boats. From 1993 to 2003, rapidly multiplying zebra mussels caused
more than a billion dollars in damage to the Great Lakes region.
Molloy, a research scientist with the NYS Museum and a PEF Division 194 member,
is searching for an environmentally safe process to eradicate these pests.
“It’s a dedication to reducing chemical pesticides and pollution in New York
state,” Molloy said.
Currently, power plants use chlorine and other toxic chemicals to scour mussels
from water lines, leaving cancer-causing compounds in the water. Molloy and his
research colleague, Denise Mayer, have dedicated the last 10 years to finding a
way to kill the zebra mussels without harming anything else.
Natural killer
Their passion for protecting the environment is paying off. The two scientists
discovered a strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria that just might be the
natural killer. The bacteria destroys the digestive system of the zebra mussel
without harming other aquatic life.
“It is very challenging work,” Molloy said. “This is not a cake walk.”
Molloy and Mayer have found a way to mass produce the bacteria and convert it
into powder form. The problem they face is keeping the powder’s toxicity level
high enough to do the job. Unless it is stored at exceedingly cold temperatures,
it loses its effectiveness in a few weeks.
“If it doesn’t last a year or two, no one will buy it,” Molloy said. They are at
the stage of the game where the toxicity lasts two to four weeks, but Molloy is
cautiously optimistic they can increase the shelf life of this product.
“Every time you apply it, it has to kill 95 percent of the mussels,” he said.
“That is another challenge.”
If Molloy reaches his goals with this product, he said it could go “big time.”
And he has a lot of backing. The project has received $3 million in outside
funding during the past decade, the prime supporters being the National Science
Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory, NYS
Energy Research and Development Authority, and NY Sea Grant.
Mayer’s position is also made possible through grant funds. An additional five
part-time employees do technical research, test inside power plants and collect
mussels.
Passion and discovery
The daily experiments on the mussels take place at the state Museum’s Field
Research Lab, a small converted facility that once was a fish hatchery tucked
away among the farms in northern Washington County. That is where Molloy and
Mayer work, and where you can witness a special fervor about their jobs.
“We feel we are making a contribution to the environment,” Mayer said. “What
keeps us dedicated is our interest in discovery. When you mix curiosity and
science, it imparts passion for environmental issues. It’s not like we enjoy
killing insects or mussels.”
Molloy is an example of that passion. Prior to the zebra mussel project, he
spent years and succeeded in developing bacteria, instead of chemicals, to
control the black flies in the Adirondacks. On the horizon, he wants to tackle
the snails that cause swimmer’s itch, and the highly invasive Eurasian milfoil —
an aquatic plant with dense growth that congests waterways.
But for now, his goal is to produce a powder with a long shelf life to safely
get rid of the zebra mussels.
“Most research fails, unless you keep trying,” Molloy said. “We refuse to let
the endless challenges we face in our research keep from stopping us. One in a
hundred projects succeeds, and, with persistence, it will hopefully be ours.”
AT THE LAB — Denise Mayer holds a petri dish of zebra mussels; (top) a water
intake pipe is split open to show how mussels can destroy it; and Dan Molloy
examines one of the mussels under a microscope. Photos by Deborah A. Miles
The
Communicator May 2007
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