(NEVADA, Mo., AP) – The state Conservation Department says biologists have found invasive zebra mussels in a west-central Missouri lake.
The department says a crew conducting a fish study found small zebra mussels last week at Barber Lake at the Schell-Osage Conservation Area. Barber Lake is in the floodplain for Truman Reservoir.
Zebra mussels are considered pests because they clog water intake pipes, cut swimmers’ feet and disrupt the ecosystem.
Invasive species coordinator Tim Banek says department biologists don’t know if the zebra mussels are in Truman Lake yet, or to what extent they’ve become established in Barber Lake. But he says the department expects to see them in Truman Lake in the next couple of years.
Zebra mussels have also been found in other Missouri waterways.