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Wandering Mussel

Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas 1771)

Behavior

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Zebra mussels have no heads, and no eyes. However, they are sensitive to chemicals in the water, and can detect gravity, touch and temperature. If disturbed they will close their shells.

Communication Channels: chemical

Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Tiffany Murphy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Conservation Status

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Zebra mussels are still common and abundant in their original range, and have spread far beyond it. They are not considered to be in any need of special conservation efforts.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

State of Michigan List: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: no special status

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Tiffany Murphy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Life Cycle

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There are three stages in the life of a zebra mussel. The speed of development depends on temperature -- warmer mussels grow faster. About 3-5 days after fertilization, a tiny larva that emerges from the egg. This stage is called the veliger. It can swim upward (but not strong enough to swim against a current), and has only a tiny start of a shell. It grows, and when it develops several internal organs (including a muscular foot), and peak (called an umbo) at the hinge of its shell, it is in the next stage, the postveliger. The postveliger continues to grow, and after about a month, it settles onto a hard surface. It uses its foot to move slowly, and when it finds a suitable spot, glue itself to the surface, where it will stay for the rest of its life. Then it metamorphoses into the adult stage.

Development - Life Cycle: metamorphosis

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Tiffany Murphy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Benefits

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The introduction of zebra mussels into many areas of the world has created major economic problems.

The mussels grow on all kinds of man-made structures in the water, include water intake pipes for drinking water plants and power plants. So many grow there that they clog the pipes. Businesses and governments spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year to clear out the mussels and keep the pipes open. Mussels also grow on navigational buoys, sometimes sinking them, and on locks and dams, interfering with their operation. They grow on hulls of boats and ships, slowing them down and clogging engine intakes.

The ecological impacts of zebra mussels are still happening, and not all the effects are known. They eat phytoplankton faster than zooplankton in the water does. This means zooplankton and the fish that live in the open water (like walleye, salmon, and lake trout) have less to eat. Also, zebra mussels don't like to eat certain kinds of toxic blue-green algae. When zebra mussels have spread to inland lakes in North America, the amount of this toxic type of algae increases.

See the references for more information on the many ecological effects of zebra mussels, especially in North America.

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Tiffany Murphy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Benefits

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Zebra Mussels were added to freshwater lakes in the Netherlands to help make the water more transparent (they eat the phytoplankton that makes the waters cloudy). Other cities in other countries have done the same.

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Associations

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Zebra mussels can be very important in freshwater ecosystems. If they are enough of them, they can filter an enormous amount of plankton out of the water. This changes the flow of energy in the foodweb -- the energy in the phytoplankton goes to the bottom, to the mussels and the animals that eat them, instead of swimming plankton predators like zooplankton and fish.

Also, if zebra mussels clear the water, sunlight can penetrate deeper into the water, allowing more aquatic plants to grow. These plants provide food and hiding places for fish and invertebrates.

Zebra mussels attach to the outside of North American freshwater mussels. They slow the larger mussel down, interfere with its growth, sometime jam the shell open, and prevent the large mussel from feeding and pumping water in and out of its shell. Where zebra mussels have moved into the Great Lakes basin, native mussels have been wiped out.

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Trophic Strategy

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Zebra mussels filter their food from the water. They eat mainly single-cell organisms, such as bacteria, blue-green algae, small green algae, and protozoans. They also consume very fine detritus particles.

Plant Foods: phytoplankton

Other Foods: detritus ; microbes

Foraging Behavior: filter-feeding

Primary Diet: planktivore

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Distribution

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Zebra mussels were originally found in the drainage basins of the Black and Caspian Seas, including the Danube, Dniester, Volga, and Ural Rivers. Shipping and canal construction in the 19th century allowed them to spread west into most European rivers and lakes. In the late 20th century they were accidentally brought to North America, probably in ballast water of large ships. They now occur in the Great Lakes basin, most of the Mississippi River drainage, the Hudson River and many other eastern North American rivers.

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced ); palearctic (Native )

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Habitat

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Zebra mussels live in still or slow-moving freshwater, and attach themselves to any hard surface under water, natural or man-made, including rocks, submerged wood, boat hulls, buoys, docks, and water intake pipes. They need at least moderate concentrations of calcium to grow their shells (approximately 25 mg calcium2+/liter) but can survive for some time in lower concentrations. They do not thrive in pH lower than 6.8, and grow fastest in pH 7.4-8.4.

This species can survive exposure to temperatures as low as -10°C for a few minutes, and warmer sub-freezing temperatures for hours or days. Consequently most mussels live below ice levels, and the most dense populations are usually found between 2 and 12 meters in depth. They can live deeper however, and have been collected at least as deep as 60 m.

They stop growing at about 3°C, and increase their growth and feeding rates as they warm to 20-25°C. Above that they slow down and again, and start to die at 30°C.

Range depth: 1 to 60 m.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; freshwater

Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams

Other Habitat Features: estuarine

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Tiffany Murphy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Life Expectancy

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Zebra mussels life span varies. Most live 3-9 years.

Range lifespan
Status: wild:
9 (high) hours.

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Tiffany Murphy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Morphology

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Adult zebra mussels have a pair of roughly triangular shells connected by an elastic hinge, the outside of the shells are usually brown with stripes that give the species its common name in English, but patterns and the darkness of color varies. They grow to about 5cm maximum length. The ventral side of the mussel is flattened, so much so that the mussel shell will stand on a flat surface. In life they attach to substrate with a glue they secrete that forms fibers called byssal threads.

Zebra mussels are ectothermic and heterothermic. Their body temperature as the temperature of their environment changes.

Zebra mussels have a free-swimming larval stage. This stage in molluscs is called a veliger. Veliger larvae are small enough that they can easily drift in the water, only about 100 micrometers long (0.1 mm) in diameter. Zebra mussel veligers have a tiny shell, and a curved sheet of skin called a velum, that is covered with tiny hairs that beat in the water. This helps them swim, and also draws food particles in for them to eat.

Range length: 2 (high) cm.

Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Tiffany Murphy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Associations

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Zebra mussel larvae have no special defense against predators, but they are so small that only small predators and filter-feeders eat them. The larvae are part of the zooplankton in the water, and pretty much any predator that eats zooplankton eats them. This includes many small fish (including the young of large fish), other zooplankton such as copepods, freshwater Cnidaria like hydras, even freshwater sponges.

Most fish can't eat zebra mussels because they can't crush the shells. A few fish species have specialized teeth and jaws that are strong enough to break the shells of mollusks, and some of them do eat zebra mussels. In Europe the roach, is a major predator of zebra mussels, along with bream, and silver bream. Round gobies and common carp, native to Eurasia, have been introduced to North America, and eat zebra mussels where they occur. The black carp is an east Asian species that has been introduced to Europe, and eats zebra mussels there. The pumpkinseed sunfish has been introduced to Europe from North America, and eats zebra mussels on both continents. Besides pumpkinseeds, the several other North American fish eat zebra mussels, including freshwater drums, redhorse suckers, river carpsuckers and smallmouth buffalos.

Some species of waterbirds are important predators of zebra mussels too. These are mostly diving ducks. Species known to feed significantly on zebra mussels include greater scaups, lesser scaups, pochards, tufted ducks, buffleheads, goldeneyes, common coots oldsquaws, herring gulls, and white-winged scoters.

Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) consumed many zebra mussels during a study in the Hudson River. Crayfish, including the northern clearwater crayfish, Orconectes propinquus, may prey on small zebra mussels.

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Tiffany Murphy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
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Reproduction

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Adult zebra mussels start to reproduce in the spring, when water temperatures rise to about 12°C. In habitats where they water stays warm year round, they may reproduce continuously. Females release eggs into the water, and males release sperm, and fertilization occurs after they are released. Females grow and release eggs in batches of up to 40,000, up to four times during the breeding season, which lasts as long as the water stays warm enough. Each can release as many as 1 million eggs each year.

Zebra mussels are mature and able to reproduce when they are 8-9 mm long, usually after about one year of growth.

Breeding season: Zebra mussels spawn when the water they live in is warm enough, usually starting in spring or summer.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (External ); broadcast (group) spawning

The only parental investment is in the production of eggs and sperm.

Parental Investment: no parental involvement

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Murphy, T. 2008. "Dreissena polymorpha" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dreissena_polymorpha.html
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Brief Summary

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Just like other freshwater mussels, zebra mussels play an important role in keeping water clean. In European waters, an individual mussel can filter 76 milliliters of water per hour. This means that zebra mussels in the IJsselmeer are capable of filtering the entire lake around two times per month, clearing up the lake considerably. Zebra mussels can also cause an enormous amount of economic damage. They attach themselves easily to exhaust pipes of power stations and cooling water systems, plugging them up. In North America in particular, they form a large problem.
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Brief Summary

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The Eurasian Zebra Mussel Dreissena polymorpha is apparently native to brackish and fresh waters of the northern regions of the Ponto-Caspian (Black, Caspian, Azov, and Aral) Sea drainages and brackish and freshwater tectonic lakes south of the Ponto-Caspian Seas (May et al. 2006 and references therein). As early as the 18th century, this mussel began to expand its range in Europe via canals constructed to connect European river basins and the 19th century linkage of the Ponto-Caspian Seas with the Baltic and North Seas resulted in shipping traffic that accelerated the spread of D. polymorpha throughout European waters. (Bij de Vaate et al. 2002; May et al. 2006 and references therein). Dreissena polymorpha was first detected in North America in the mid-1980s and spread rapidly. (A few years later, a related and similar exotic mussel, the Quagga Mussel [D. rostriformis bugensis], was detected in North America and within a couple of decades largely replaced the D. polymorpha in the Great Lakes of eastern North America.) (Brown et al. 2010)

The invasion of North America by D. polymorpha has resulted in enormous economic impacts and ecological disturbances. Connelly et al. (2007) studied the economic impact of D. polymorpha on surface water-dependent drinking water treatment and electric power generation facilities (where previous research indicated the greatest impacts). They estimated the cumulative cost to these facilities in North America between 1989 and 2004 to be several hundred million dollars.

Population studies of mitochondrial DNA indicate that invasive D. polymorpha populations in both North America and Europe originated from the Ponto-Caspian Sea region. This region is the source of many aquatic species that have invaded Western Europe and the North American Great Lakes. (Ricciardi and MacIsaac 2000; Bij et al. 2002; May et al. 2006).

As is the case for some other invasive filter-feeding bivalve mollusks, populations of D. polymorpha are often enormous, dominating the non-photosynthesizing biomass and clearing large volumes of water as they consume phytoplankton and extract calcium from the water to build their shells. A conspicuous result is the dramatic reduction of the pelagic part of the food web and a corresponding flourishing of the littoral part. (Strayer 2009, 2010) However, in at least one local region (the freshwater portion of the Hudson River estuary in the notheastern United States), there is evidence that the impacts of D. polymorpha on the local ecosystem have been greatly moderated during the two decades subsequent to the arrival of these mussels. Although this change is clear, the reasons for it are not. Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) currently appear to be important predators of D. polymorpha in the Hudson River and mortality from both Blue Crabs and other causes is much higher than it was early in the mussel invasion, but there is no evidence that populations of crabs or other predators in the Hudson have increased (Strayer 2011).

An important ecological impact of invading D. polymorpha in North America has been the decline and local extinction of native mussel species (e.g., Martel et al. 2001). Similar concerns exist for Europe, although preliminary work has suggested that the impact on the native mussel fauna in Europe may be less severe (Sousa et al. 2011).

Strayer (2009) provides an overview of what was learned about D. polymorpha in the two decades after its establishment in North America--and what important questions remain unanswered--with respect to both biology and public policy.

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Zebra mussel

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The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine,[3] but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in many countries worldwide. Since the 1980s, the species has invaded the Great Lakes, Hudson River, and Lake Travis.

The species was first described in 1769 by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga, and Dnieper Rivers.[4] Zebra mussels get their name from a striped pattern commonly seen on their shells, though it is not universally present. They are usually about the size of a fingernail, but can grow to a maximum length around 50 mm (2 in).[5][6] Their shells are D-shaped, and attached to the substrate with strong byssal fibers, which come out of their umbo on the dorsal (hinged) side.

Ecology

Shells of three color varieties
Live, underwater, with shells open, respiring, siphons visible

Zebra mussels and the closely related and ecologically similar quagga mussels are filter-feeding organisms; they remove particles from the water column. Zebra mussels process up to 1 litre (0.26 US gal; 34 US fl oz) of water per day, per mussel.[7] Some particles are consumed as food, and feces are deposited on the lake floor. Nonfood particles are combined with mucus and other matter and deposited on lake floors as pseudofeces. Since the zebra mussel has become established in Lake Erie, water clarity has increased from 6 inches to up to three feet in some areas.[8] This increased water clarity allows sunlight to penetrate deeper, enabling growth of submerged macrophytes. These plants, when decaying, wash up on shorelines, fouling beaches and causing water-quality problems.[9]

Lake floor food supplies are enriched by zebra mussels as they filter pollution out of the water. This biomass becomes available to bottom-feeding species and to the fish that feed on them.[10] The catch of yellow perch increased 5-fold after the invasion of zebra mussels into Lake St. Clair.[11]

Zebra mussels attach to most substrates, including sand, silt, and harder substrates, but usually juveniles prefer harder, rockier substrates on which to attach. Other mussel species frequently represent the most stable objects in silty substrates, and zebra mussels attach to and often kill these mussels. They build colonies on native unionid clams, reducing their ability to move, feed, and breed, eventually leading to their deaths. This has led to the near extinction of the unionid clams in Lake St. Clair and the western basin of Lake Erie.[8] This pattern is being repeated in Ireland, where zebra mussels have eliminated the two freshwater mussels from several waterways, including some lakes along the River Shannon in 1997.

In 2012, the National University of Ireland, Galway, said "the discovery of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in Lough Derg and the lower Shannon region in 1997 has led to considerable concern about the potential ecological and economic damage that this highly invasive aquatic nuisance species can cause."[12]

Life cycle

The lifespan of a zebra mussel is four to five years.[7] A female zebra mussel begins to reproduce within 6–7 weeks of settling.[13] An adult female zebra mussel can produce 30,000 to 40,000 eggs in each reproductive cycle, and over 1 million each year.[14] Free-swimming microscopic larvae, called veligers, drift in the water for several weeks and then settle onto any hard surface they can find. Zebra mussels also can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions, and adults can even survive out of water for about 7 days.[15]

Predators

Drawing, showing the byssus
Byssus visible

Research on natural enemies, both in Europe and North America, has focused on predators, particularly birds (36 species) and fish (15 species eating veligers and 38 eating attached mussels). Annually, the wintering waterbirds at Lake Constance decrease zebra mussel biomass in shallow areas by>90%. Biomass reduction in deeper areas varies considerably based on substratum; Werner et al. observed no reduction at the lowest observed depth of 11 metres (36 ft) except for a site at Hagnau.[16]

The vast majority of the organism's natural enemies are not present in North America. Ecologically similar species do exist, but these species are unlikely to be able to eliminate those mussels already established and have a limited role in their control unlike their counterparts in Europe.[17]

It is pointed out that crayfish could have a significant impact on the densities of 1-to-5-millimetre (132 to 316 in)-long zebra mussels. An adult crayfish consumes around 105 zebra mussels every day, or about 6,000 mussels in a season. However, predation rates are significantly reduced at lower water temperatures. Additionally, certain fish, such as the Smallmouth bass, is a predator in the zebra mussels' adopted North American Great Lakes habitat, but in European lakes, fish do not seem to limit the densities of zebra mussels.[18]

There have been some high winter mortalities, for example in the winter of 1994–1995 in the invasive population of Lake Simcoe.[19] Evans et al., 2011 attributes this to predation by the crayfish Orconectes propinquus.[19] Nonetheless this has not been sufficient to eradicate the problem.[19]

Other control

On June 4, 2014, Canadian conservation authorities announced that a test using liquid fertilizer to kill invasive zebra mussels was successful. This test was conducted in a lakefront harbor in the western province of Manitoba.[20][21] However, outbreaks continue in Lake Winnipeg.[22]

Similar tests were run in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan, using zequanox, a biopesticide.[23] Niclosamide proves effective in killing invasive zebra mussels in cool waters.[24]

As an invasive species

Sign advising boaters on how to prevent spread, Titicus Reservoir in North Salem, New York

Europe

The native distribution of the species is in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea in Eurasia. Zebra mussels have become an invasive species in North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. They disrupt the ecosystems by monotypic colonization, and damage harbors and waterways, ships and boats, and water-treatment and power plants. Water-treatment plants are most affected because the water intakes bring the microscopic, free-swimming larvae directly into the facilities. Zebra mussels also cling to pipes under the water and clog them.[25]

Grossinger reported it in Hungary in 1794. Kerney and Morton described the rapid colonization of Britain by the zebra mussel, first in Cambridgeshire in the 1820s, London in 1824, and in the Union Canal near Edinburgh in 1834.[18]

In 1827, zebra mussels were seen in the Netherlands at Rotterdam. Canals that artificially link many European waterways facilitated their early dispersal. It is nonindigenous in the Czech Republic in the Elbe River in Bohemia since 1893;[26] in southern Moravia, it is probably native.[27] Around 1920 the mussels reached Lake Mälaren in Sweden.

The first appearance of the organism in northern Italy was in Lake Garda in 1973;[28] in central Italy, they appeared in Tuscany in 2003.[29]

Zebra mussels are present in British waterways. Many water companies are reporting having problems with their water-treatment plants with the mussels attaching themselves to pipeworks. Anglian Water has estimated that it costs £500,000 per year to remove the mussels from their treatment plants.[30] Zebra mussels arguably have also had an effect on fishing, for example at Salford Quays, where their introduction has changed the environment for the fish.[31]

The mussels have displaced native species of molluscs in Lake Constance, reaching densities of up to 10,000 mussels per square metre (930/sq ft). The mussels present a food source to waterfowl and have caused bird numbers to double over the last 30 years. By the end of winter, birds decimate zebra mussel populations and reduce them by 95–99% up to the maximum depth reachable by birds of c. 10 metres (33 ft). The estimated quantity of consumed zebra mussels is 750 metric tons per square kilometre (2,100 short ton/sq mi).[32] Zebra mussel populations recover annually, indicating that waterfowl may control infested bodies of water but not reverse the infestation status entirely.

North America

They were first detected in Canada in the Great Lakes in 1988, in Lake St. Clair.[33] They are thought to have been inadvertently introduced into the lakes by the ballast water of ocean-going ships that were traversing the St. Lawrence Seaway. Another possible, but unproven, mode of introduction is on anchors and chains. Since adult zebra mussels can survive out of water for several days or weeks if the temperature is low and humidity is high, chain lockers provide temporary refuge for clusters of adult mussels that could easily be released when transoceanic ships drop anchor in freshwater ports. They have become an invasive species in North America, and as such, they are the target of federal policy to control them, for instance in the National Invasive Species Act (1996).

Using models based on the genetic algorithm for rule-set production (GARP), a group of researchers predicted that the Southeastern United States is moderately to highly likely to be inhabited by zebra mussels and the Midwest unlikely to experience a zebra mussel invasion of water bodies.[34] This model, though, has since been proven incorrect. In 2006, a researcher (also using GARP) predicted invasion as far west as the North Platte River by 2015.[35] As of March 2016, zebra mussels have affected hundreds of lakes in the Midwest including Lake Michigan, and the largest interior lake in Wisconsin, Lake Winnebago.[36]

Congressional researchers have estimated that the zebra mussel has cost businesses and communities over $5 billion since their initial invasion.[37] Zebra mussels have cost power companies alone over $3 billion.[37]

On 2 March 2021,[38] the US Geological Survey was notified that zebra mussels had been discovered in marimo moss balls, a common aquarium plant, sold in pet stores across North America. By 8 March, the invasive species were detected in moss balls in 30 different states at multiple retail locations in the United States. These discoveries were prompted by the initial find at a Petco in Seattle.[38] Infested-moss balls have also been found from online retailers and smaller, independent stores. Though it is more difficult to know the extent of the spread at a larger scale, Wesley Daniel, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey says that about 30% of the inventory pulled from shelves were found to contain the zebra mussels.[39]

After working with the USGS, PetSmart[40] and Petco[41] voluntarily recalled their moss balls due to the potential harm zebra mussels could cause to indigenous ecosystems. As of November 2021, nearly 8 months after the recall, marimo moss balls have not returned to shelves.

By location

Along the shoreline of Lake Michigan

From their first appearance in North American waters in 1988, zebra mussels have spread to a large number of waterways, including Lake Simcoe in the Great Lakes region, the Mississippi, Hudson, St. Lawrence, Ohio, Cumberland, Missouri, Tennessee, Huron, Colorado, and Arkansas rivers, and 11 lakes and five river basins in Texas.[42]

In 2009, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation confirmed that zebra mussels had been found in Laurel Lake in the Berkshires.[43] That same year, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that live zebra mussels had been found in Pelican Lake. This was the first confirmed sighting in the Red River Basin, which extends across the international border into the province of Manitoba.[44] In 2013, their presence in Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg was confirmed, and aggressive efforts to eradicate them in 2014 have not succeeded. New contamination was found outside treated areas of Lake Winnipeg in 2015, and they have also been found in the Red River near the lake in Selkirk Park in 2015.[45] Large numbers were seen at Grand Beach in 2017.[46]

In July 2010, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department confirmed the presence of zebra mussel veliger in the Red River between Wahpeton, North Dakota, and Breckenridge, Minnesota.[47] As recently as 2008, California similarly reported invasions.[48]

In 2011, an invasion of zebra mussels shut down a water pipeline in the Dallas area. This resulted in reduced water supplies during a drought year, worsening water restrictions across the Dallas area.[49]

A common inference made by scientists predicts that the zebra mussel will continue spreading passively, by ship and by pleasure craft, to more rivers in North America. Trailered boat traffic is the most likely vector for invasion into Western North America. This spread is preventable if boaters thoroughly clean and dry their boats and associated equipment before transporting them to new bodies of water. Since no North American predator or combination of predators has been shown to significantly reduce zebra mussel numbers, such spread would most likely result in permanent establishment of zebra mussels in many North American waterways.

A major decrease in the concentration of dissolved oxygen was observed in the Seneca River in central New York in the summer of 1993. This decrease was caused by extremely high concentrations of zebra mussels in the watershed. Additionally, the Seneca River had significantly less chlorophyll in the water, which is used as a measure of phytoplankton biomass, because of the presence of zebra mussels.[50]

Cost

The cost of fighting the pests at power plants and other water-consuming facilities is substantial, but the magnitude of the damages is a matter of some controversy. According to the Center for Invasive Species Research at the University of California, Riverside,[33] the cost of management of zebra mussel in the Great Lakes alone exceeds $500 million per year. A more conservative study estimated total economic costs of $267 million for electric-generation and water-treatment facilities in the entire United States from 1989 through 2004.[51] In a study conducted by the US Department of State in 2009, the total cost of the zebra mussel invasion is estimated at 3.1 billion over the next 10 years.[52]

Concerns are also high following the contamination of zebra mussels in at home aquariums. If zebra mussels had reached open water in Seattle, Washington, where the first case was confirmed, the invasive species would have cost the state $100 million each year in maintenance for power and water systems.[38]

Effects

As with most bivalves, zebra mussels are filter feeders. When in the water, they open their shells to admit detritus. As their shells are very sharp, they are known for cutting people's feet, resulting in the need to wear water shoes wherever they are prevalent.

Since their colonization of the Great Lakes, they have covered the undersides of docks, boats, and anchors. They have also spread into streams and rivers throughout the U.S. In some areas, they completely cover the substrate, sometimes covering other freshwater mussels. They can grow so densely that they block pipelines, clogging water intakes of municipal water supplies and hydroelectric companies. Zebra mussels do not attach to cupronickel alloys, which can be used to coat intake and discharge grates, navigational buoys, boats, and motors where the species tends to congregate.[33]

Zebra mussels are believed to be the source of deadly avian botulism poisoning that has killed tens of thousands of birds in the Great Lakes since the late 1990s.[53] They are edible, but since they are so efficient at filtering water, they tend to accumulate pollutants and toxins, so most experts recommend against consuming zebra mussels.[54]

They are responsible for the near extinction of many species in the Great Lake system by outcompeting native species for food and by growing on top of and suffocating the native clams and mussels.[55]

Zebra mussels affect all classes of algal species, resulting in a shortage of food sources to native species of freshwater mussels and fish in the Great Lakes.[56]

Infestation on the walls of Arthur V. Ormond Lock on the Arkansas River
Arthur V. Ormond Lock on the Arkansas River

However, zebra mussels and other non-native species are credited with the increased population and size of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie[57] and yellow perch in Lake St. Clair.[58] They cleanse the waters of inland lakes, resulting in increased sunlight penetration and growth of native algae at greater depths. This cleansing also increases water visibility and filters out pollutants. Each quagga and zebra mussel filters about 1 litre (1 US quart) of water per day when confined to small tanks.[59] In lakes, their filtering effects are usually spatially restricted (near the lake bottom) because of nonhomogeneous water column mixing.

Changes in the spatial distribution of some fish species in the littoral (1), sublittoral (2) and pelagic (3) zones of Lake Plescheevo before (a, c) and after (b, d) the introduction of zebra mussels: a - roach in 1978-1981, b - the same in 2014-2016, c - bream (black) and silver bream (gray) in 1978-1981, d - the same in 2014-2015[60].

In the Pleshcheevo Lake (Russia) zebra mussels has greatly changed the fish community. All fish species remained in the lake, but catches changed significantly. Gillnets set in the littoral and sublittoral zones during the feeding period consist mainly of large roach and perch while vendace were prevalent in the pelagic zone. The abundance of benthophagous fishes increased slightly due to the presence of the zebra mussel which made up a significant part of the diet followed by an increase (p<0.05) in the growth rates of roach and silver bream. The growth rates of the bream, which prefers soft zoobenthos, decreased. In addition, the formation of a stable biocenosis of zebra mussel in the lake probably caused changes in the spatial structure of the fish community. What is notable is the disappearance of small roach from pelagic assemblages, probably due to alterations in the trophic links of the littoral and sublittoral zones, as well as the expected increase in food competition among pelagic fish species.[60]

Because zebra mussels damage water intakes and other infrastructure, methods such as adding oxidants, flocculants, heat, dewatering, mechanical removal, and pipe coatings are becoming increasingly common.[61]

Preventing their spread

Zebra mussels cling to boat motors. Boat-owners should follow a few steps prior to putting their boats into a new lake and after removing their boats from infected lakes to stop the spreading of the species. Boat owners should make sure to inspect their boat, trailer, and other recreational equipment that have been in contact with water, remove all mud, plants, or animals, drain all bilge water, live wells, bait buckets, and all other water from their boats, engines and equipment, wash all parts of their boats, paddles, and other equipment that have been in contact with water, and dry their boats and trailers in the sun for five days before launching into another body of water.[62] This is important because adult zebra mussels are able to close their shells and may survive out of water for several days.[63] When washing their boats, boat owners should be sure to wash with warm, soapy water as well.[64]

If marimo moss balls were purchased around the time of the first discovery and recall in March 2021, aquatic hobbyists have been urged to decontaminate the moss balls by either boiling them for at least one minute, freezing for at least 24 hours, or placing them in diluted chlorine bleach. Another way to rid of the zebra mussels can be to submerge the moss balls in undiluted white vinegar for a minimum of 20 minutes.[65] After following one of these methods, the USGS urges owners to bag these moss balls before disposing of them in the trash to prevent spread to local water ways and ecosystems. [66]

Even if moss balls infected with zebra mussels are contained in an aquarium, the concern that they could contaminate local waterways is high, especially in regions and states where they have not yet infested. Aquarium dumping and disposing of unwanted pets is common, according to Eric Fischer with Indiana’s DNR. [67] It is illegal to own, sell, or distribute zebra mussels in the U.S. If spotted, either in an aquarium or out in nature, contact the local DNR in the region resided. [68]

See also

References

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Zebra mussel: Brief Summary

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The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in many countries worldwide. Since the 1980s, the species has invaded the Great Lakes, Hudson River, and Lake Travis.

The species was first described in 1769 by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga, and Dnieper Rivers. Zebra mussels get their name from a striped pattern commonly seen on their shells, though it is not universally present. They are usually about the size of a fingernail, but can grow to a maximum length around 50 mm (2 in). Their shells are D-shaped, and attached to the substrate with strong byssal fibers, which come out of their umbo on the dorsal (hinged) side.

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