Science Weekly ‘Everything is quagga mussel now’: can invasive species be stopped?
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Feb 5, 2026 Phoebe Weston, a biodiversity reporter for The Guardian who covers invasive species, recounts Lake Geneva’s rapid takeover by quagga mussels. She describes their biology and spread. She outlines control attempts, experimental fixes and the controversial idea of moving species as climates shift. The conversation reflects on ecosystem change and whether nature can adapt.
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Hidden Takeover In Lake Geneva
- Phoebe Weston describes Lake Geneva as visually normal but ecologically transformed beneath the surface by quagga mussels.
- Researchers found ropes and infrastructure caked in mussels and describe the lake bottom as a meadow of quaggas.
Mussels Reshape The Entire Food Web
- A single quagga mussel filters up to two litres of water daily and one female can produce up to a million egg cells.
- Massive filtration of phytoplankton rewires the lake's food web and harms fisheries and ecosystem function.
Research At Risk From Mussel Clogging
- Quagga mussels have clogged cooling pipes at EPFL, threatening temperature-sensitive experiments.
- The Tokamak fusion experiment and other research rely on lake-cooling systems now fouled by the invasion.