The Invasive New Zealand Mud Snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) Not Detected in Western Lakes Huron and St. Clair

Abstract

The New Zealand mud snail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) is a world wide invasive species with established invasive populations in Australia, Europe, Japan, and North America. In the Laurentian Great Lakes, the snail has been found in each major water body except for Lakes Huron and St. Clair. Here we report data from samples taken from 78 sites in Lake St. Clair, the Mackinaw Straits, and two locations in western Lake Huron (Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay) from time periods ranging from 1997 to 2009. Potamopyrgus was not found in the samples taken from any of the sites. Thus, there is no evidence from this study that the New Zealand mud snail has established populations in Lakes Huron and St. Clair.