Dreissenidae in Lake Ontario: Impact assessment at the whole lake and bay of Quinte spatial scales

The total abundance in Lake Ontario of Dreissena polymorpha (Dreissenidae), the zebra mussel, and D. bugensis (Dreissenidae), the quagga mussel, was c alculated by aggregating data front several surveys carried out in 1991 to 94. In 1993, there were between 3.0 x 10 and 8.7 x 10(12) Dreissenidae muss els in Lake Ontario. A filtration model was contructed using depth-specific density estimates, a digital bathymetric map of the lake, and literature e stimates of clearance rates for individual mussels. With reasonable estimat es of both densities and filtration rates, the mean, area-weighted, turnove r time of Lake Ontario water by dreissenid mussels was about I year. At the smaller spatial scale of the Bay of Quinte, the same model estimated turno ver times of 0.05 0.2, and 10 days for the lower middle, and tipper areas o f the bay, respectively. Depth-specific secondary production estimates for dreissenids, combined with literature estimates of net primary production a nd energy transfer efficiencies, were incorporated into a food demand model that indicated about 1.25 gC/y mussel of food in Lake Ontario and a consum ption efficiency of 50%. At the smaller spatial scale of the Bay of Quinte, the same model estimated one to two orders of magnitude less food per muss el and 62%, 130% and 115% consumption efficiency for the lower, middle and upper areas of the bay, respectively. Dreissenidae mussels may not have a h uge impact on the Lake Ontario food web when considered at a whole-lake sca le, but their potentially striking impact at the smaller spatial scale of e mbayments like the Bay of Quinte indicate that they may be locally importan t. When these effects are aggregated across several sub-systems Dreissenida e mussels may have unpredictable, larger scale effects in the Lake Ontario ecosystem as a whole.