Zebra MusselsThe Common Name: Zebra Mussel

The Scientific Name: Dreissena polymorpha

Native Habitat: Lakes of Southern Russia including the Ulga, Volga and Dnieper lakes

Zebra mussels have become an invasive species in countries such as United States, Canada,Great Britain,Ireland,Italy,Spain, andSweden.Zebra mussels may particularly be found in abundance throughout the Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair and the Mississippi watershed.In Canada, these mussels were discovered in 1988, first in Lake St. Clair then spreading to the Great Lakes and were introduced by ocean-going ships traveling through the St. Lawrence Seaway. Apparently the emptying of ballast tanks from European ships played a great role in the introduction of zebra mussel (in North America). There are also speculations that another mode of introduction was chains or anchors. One of the most prevalent, significant difficulties the mussels are presenting is their overwhelming numbers. The zebra mussels have already rendered many underwater ecosystems of the Great Lakes lifeless by consuming all the nutrients, which are required by other organisms to survive. The main nutrients disappearing because of zebra mussels are plankton, a source of food that is a leading survival factor in fishes lives. In addition, zebra mussels are starting to make the local clams endangered, particularly in Lake Erie, as they inhabit the same areas and devour all available sources of food. In some areas, the mortality rate of clams has risen to a percentage near 100 since the installation of zebra mussels. Another issue these zebra mussels have wrought is their infestation and clogging of industrial equipment (e.g. pipes), machinery, and power plants. These mussels also cling onto boat motors, propellers and get into ballast tanks of boats. Boats, in turn, must be cleaned and the costs are increasing as zebra mussels experience exponential growth. This could be a small factor of Michigans decreasing tourism rates. This has led to damage worth millions and has played a role in

What has been done to control it? How effective have these measures been? A solution that has been brought up is chlorinating the water, effectively killing the zebra mussels. This method is mainly used for underwater machineries and factories and is widely accepted due to its effectiveness and cheap cost. Governments are reluctant to release chlorine in high concentrations, however, as it is uncertain how environmentally friendly this option would be. It is best to use this method mostly in raw water systems like water treatment plants and other factories. Zequanox, another alternative, is a non-chemical bio pesticide used to kill Zebra or Quaga mussels and is the most environmentally friendly pesticide of all the alternatives.

What can still be done to remedy the situation?To prevent species from further spreading, you could perform inspections of boats, bait buckets, anchors, ropes and trailers (or anything that comes into contact with water) before you utilize or travel with any of these objects bodies of other un-infested waters.

Why so successful