Reclamation Information Sharing Environment (RISE)

Reclamation has continued to collaborate with Molloy & Associates to search for novel hypervirulent parasites for the control of invasive dreissenid mussels in North America. The last three years has focused on expanding the field laboratory in Montenegro, identifying and collecting isolated dreissenid ‘cousin’ species and completing a proof-of-concept trials showing the transfer of parasites between a ‘cousin’ dreissenid and zebra and quagga mussels. The final report from Molloy & Associates (Appendix 1) details the scope, results, and future direction of the research. A new S&T proposal was submitted to continue this research until 2024. The identification of a biological control agent for dreissenid mussels is a long-term project, and the results from the last three years have continued to move this goal forward.