Platte Lake Improvement Association Annual Meeting 1 August, 2020 (virtual) Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
Simplified Life Cycle Vertebrate Hosts Accidental host Cercariae Miracidium Snail Hosts
2019 Assessment Results • Both hatch-year mallards and common mergansers harbor schistosome infections Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
Mallards Common Merganser Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
2019 Assessment Results • Both hatch-year mallards and common mergansers harbor schistosome infections • Platte Lake had slightly higher number of “worms in the water” than similar lakes Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
Thanks to Fishweb.com for permission to modify this map to aid in combating swimmer's itch. Check out Fishweb.com for more map information. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
2019 Assessment Results • Both hatch-year mallards and common mergansers harbor schistosome infections • Platte Lake had slightly higher number of “worms in the water” than similar lakes • Three species of itch-causing parasites are cycling in Platte Lake Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
Trichobilharzia nov sp. Helisoma sp. T. szidati Mallard Lymnaea sp. T. ocellata T. stagnicolae S. emarginata Common Merganser T. physellae Physa sp. Schistosomatidae sp1. Gyraulus sp. Ansero/Tricho brantae Canada Goose Dendritobilharzia sp. Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
2019 Assessment Results • Both hatch-year mallards and common mergansers harbor schistosome infections • Platte Lake had slightly higher number of “worms in the water” than similar lakes • Three species of itch-causing parasites are cycling in Platte Lake • Platte Lake has an incredibly large mallard population when compared to other lakes Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
Lake Shoreline (mi) Mallard/mile Total Birds/mile Charlevoix 60.0 7.08 11.38 Elk 28.0 5.25 7.68 Big Glen 10.8 8.70 10.00 Little Glen 6.4 9.22 14.69 NL Leelanau 15.0 6.27 7.60 SL Leelanau 26.2 14.12 15.84 Lime Lake 4.2 8.33 9.77 Long Lake 16.7 6.47 7.13 Skegemog 15.0 2.73 4.87 Walloon 30.5 1.61 4.75 White Sand 11.2 0.45 0.45 Pickerel 7.1 14.37 20.99 Crooked 16.3 13.62 16.81 North Torch 21.0 8.19 12.10 South Torch 20.0 3.35 6.30 Bellaire 12.0 2.83 4.00 Intermediate 14.6 12.12 15.48 Big Platte 7/29/19 9.3 25.05 27.85 Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com Averages 18.0 8.32 10.98
2019 Conclusions • Since… – Platte Lake has an extremely large population of mallards… – 1 of the 3 itch-causing parasite species found on Platte Lake use mallards as their definitive host… – other lakes in NW Michigan with similar snail and parasite diversity are not finding success in whole- lake swimmer’s itch control… Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
2019 Conclusions • Then… – Paying to trap and relocate common mergansers to control swimmer’s itch will not provide the whole-lake relief hoped for Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
2019 Conclusions • However… – Progress is being made with inexpensive prevention strategies that: • Preserve the whole-lake ecology • Provide instant protection • Work against all species of parasite • Won’t transmit the parasite to other areas Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
2020 Advances • Can we predict swimmer’s itch outbreaks? – Water samples from 60 sites on 6 lakes • Platte, Glen, Lime, Leelanau, Elk/Skegemog, Walloon – Every Tuesday morning in July – Special thanks to Joe Buechel and Wilfred Swiecki! • Why are some years worse than others? • Could control strategies vary from lake to lake? • Expanding qPCR through Community-based Monitoring (CBM) – Involving PLIO to establish local capabilities Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
A Special Thanks! White Sand Lake Association Leading the World in Innovative Swimmer’s Itch Strategies freshwatersol.com
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