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