Study: Superoxide Kills Invasive Quagga Mussels Through KRIA Ionizer With EcoSOAR Technology

Mortality rates reach as high as 87 percent for larval veligers and 74 percent for adult mussels

A new study conducted over 17 days at Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery in Arizona shows that the molecule compound superoxide can lead to elevated mortality rates for quagga and zebra mussels. In the study, mortality rates reached as high as 74 percent for adult quagga mussels treated with superoxide and as high as 87 percent for larval-stage mussels called veligers.

Superoxide is a type of oxygen that reacts with carbon atoms to break down organic pollutants, and also raises dissolved oxygen levels in water. It was used on tanks seeded with adult and veliger mussels, and applied via the KRIA Ionizer with EcoSOAR technology. The ionizer is a machine that creates superoxide and injects it into the water column.

Quagga mussels are sensitive to superoxide because they produce low levels of manganese-type superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD). Zebra mussels produce identically low amounts. Most living organisms produce higher levels of Mn-SOD, which enables them to process superoxide.

Key findings of the study include:

• The adult quagga mussel mortality rate reached 36 percent at day 11 of treatment exposure, and 74 percent at day 17 of exposure in a recirculating system. The control average was 9 percent.
• The superoxide treatment killed nearly 19 percent more veligers at 48 hours than the control. The treatment’s veliger mussel mortality rate reached as high as 87 percent at 48 hours in a recirculating system.
• It is likely that similar mortality rates would be seen in zebra mussels, which have identically low Mn-SOD rates as quagga mussels.

“These tiny mussels feed on plankton, which impacts other aquatic species and freshwater ecosystems,” said Keith Boulais, owner of Premier Materials Technology, which distributes the ionizer. “The KRIA Ionizer’s superoxide can reduce the presence of quagga and zebra mussels, allowing the greater aquatic ecosystem to recover.”

For more information, visit www.premierwatertreatment.com/mussels.

About Premier Materials Technology
Premier Materials Technology is a leading supplier of quality marine products, including the KRIA Ionizer with EcoSOAR technology superoxide water treatment system. The company’s full-time staff has more than 45 years of marine experience, with expertise in environmentally friendly marine products. For more information, visit www.premierwatertreatment.com.