Minnesota research shows zebra mussels affect walleye production, growth

Walleyes are an important game fish species in Minnesota, and Dr. Gretchen Hansen, an assistant professor of fisheries ecology in the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Department at the University of Minnesota, is leading research that could show how aquatic invasive species – including zebra mussels – affect the population and growth rates of the state fish. “It’s not a great picture of what’s happening to walleye lakes,” Hansen said. “Zebra mussels reduce habitat, reduce the growth (of walleyes), and reduce recruitment, so there’s a lot of other avenues to pursue to understand what to potentially do about that.”