In recent years, the ecosystems of many Swiss lakes have been invaded by a species called the Quaga mussel, which has never been seen in Switzerland before, and is rapidly expanding, taking over the country's large and small lakes, destroying the original food chain in the lakes and causing direct damage to infrastructure.
The beautiful Lake Geneva is a popular destination for visitors to Switzerland, but even as you wander through the lake, you may not realize that an invasive species is growing beneath the shimmering waters.
Piet Spark, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences and Technology: The Kwaga mussels, which have been present in Switzerland since 2014, were first spotted as adult mussels, which means that the lake had been invaded a few years ago. When you spot the first Kwakaga mussel in the lake, there must already be thousands of mussels there.
Dr. Pete Spark, who has been tracking the invasive species of the Kwagah mussel for nearly a decade, is bothered by the fact that this mussel, which has never been seen before in Switzerland, is rapidly expanding and taking over the country's large and small lakes.
Reporter Yang Chun: Walking on the shores of Lake Geneva, as long as you pay a little attention, you can see the Kwagah mussels growing together in dense clusters on the reef on the shore and at the bottom of the lake bed. This is a whole Kwakaga mussel, and with a little force, their shells are so fragile that they can be crushed. However, a mature mother of the Kwaga mussel can produce more than one million eggs a year. Therefore, with their super adaptability and super reproductive ability, the Kwakaga mussels have occupied the entire European water system in a short period of time, and even spread to the entire North American region.
The Kwagah mussel originated in the Black Sea region and is also called the spotted donkey mussel because of the yellow-brown stripes on its abdomen that resemble the body of a donkey. Adult Kwaga mussels are the size of a human fingernail, but they are extremely viable and can remain alive for days out of the water, and can be found more than 250 meters from the shore to the bottom of Lake Geneva.
Piet Spark, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences and Technology: This is Lake Geneva, we use a video system to go down into the lake, and these are the four locations. You can see that the ground here is full of Kwakaga mussels, and the huge amount of Kwakaga mussels eats all the algae, and the nutrients do not enter the rest of the food chain, nor are they used by fish and humans.
When the Kwaga mussel invaded a lake in Switzerland, the first thing it destroyed was the ecosystem in the lake. The mussels can also clog pipes and strainers, reduce the water treatment capacity of power plants and water plants, and cause direct damage to infrastructure.
Piet Spark, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences and Technology: These are underwater pipes from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, they have a cooling system that cools the dormitories and classrooms, and the water comes from Lake Geneva, and they pump water from a depth of 60 meters. In the past, when there were no Kwakaga mussels, it was safe because the Kwakaga mussels were only in the upper layer of the lake, but now they are full of Kwakaga mussels in the pipes, infrastructure in the lake. They don't know where the creatures come from, and estimate that the cost of fixing the problem will amount to 60 million Swiss francs.
The Kwaga mussel, which usually attaches to the bottom of a ship or mixes with the ballast water of a ship, has now been invaded by the Kwaga mussel in all lakes in Switzerland, with the exception of Lake Zurich and Lake Lucerne in the central region.
Peter Spark, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology: Of course you can kill the Quaga mussels with chemicals, but you can also kill other creatures in the lake with the same chemicals, so if you have Quaga mussels in your lake, it's over, it's only going to get worse. The only thing you can do is work to protect your lake and prevent Kwagamussels from entering your lake.
At present, the Swiss water authorities have taken mandatory measures to require boats to be cleaned regularly, especially before they are ready to travel in different lakes, and must show a relevant certificate of professional cleaning. Still, Dr. Spark says he wouldn't be surprised if all lakes in Switzerland ended up with Kwagamussels, after all, the species is just too invasive.
According to Dr. Spark's research, at the current rate of reproduction, the number of Kwaga mussels in Lake Geneva, Lake Biel and Lake Constance could increase by a factor of nine to 22 by 2045.
Piet Spark, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences and Technology: I wouldn't be surprised if that happened, but I would be very sad, and that's why I think we should do everything we can to avoid it.
(Source: CCTV News)
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