Dan Molloy is a research scientist with the State University of New York at Albany. In previous work with the New York State Museum, he developed the biological agent Zequanox, which kills zebra mussels in confined areas, such as power-plant water intake pipes.
The non-native mussels are believed to have arrived in North America in ship ballast water. They filter up to a liter of water daily, competing with native fish for plankton.
This summer, the federal government approved Zequanox for lake applications, and Molloy is in Minnesota this week helping to oversee its use in Christmas Lake in the west metro. Juvenile zebra mussels were discovered recently in Christmas Lake near the public boat access.
That area has since been sealed off from lake bottom to surface using heavy plastic, and Zequanox, in powdered form mixed with lake water, will be distributed in the containment zone.
Molloy was flown to Minnesota by the Christmas Lake Homeowners Association, in part to assess whether the lake's zebra mussel infestation has spread beyond the access area. Molloy found no evidence of additional mussels in an inspection Sunday.
In the following interview, Molloy discusses possible uses of Zequanox (which has since been licensed to a California company) in the fight against zebra mussels, and other strategies intended to stop, or slow, their spread.
Q What is your primary area of expertise?
A The biological control of zebra mussels. Most of my publications are on natural diseases that kill zebra mussels.