What is Zebra Mussel?

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About Zebra Mussel:

Zebra mussels are an invasive, fingernail-sized mollusk.
Scientific Name: Dreissena polymorpha
Distribution:
- They are native to the Caspian and Black Seas, south of Russia and Ukraine.
- They entered the Great Lakes of North America in the late 1980s through ballast water discharged from ships.
- Since then, they have spread through much of eastern Canada and the United States.
Habitat: They live underwater, attached to natural and manmade substrates such as rocks, wood, plants, native mussels, pipes, docks, boat lifts, swim rafts, moored watercraft, and other debris.
They are easy to identify, with a distinct, flat-bottomed ‘D’ shape to their shells that allows them to sit flat against a solid surface, and black, zigzag stripes against a cream background that earned them their name.
They grow around two inches long at most, and are microscopic in their larval stage, which is known as a “veliger.”
They are short-lived (between two and five years), and begin reproducing at two years of age.
Impacts:
- They are filter feeders that attach themselves to virtually any surface.
- They breed very quickly, as females can release up to one million eggs each breeding season.
- They disrupt food webs by wiping out phytoplankton.
- Zebra Mussels are especially harmful for native mussels, many of which are species at risk. They outcompete these species for food and will attach themselves to native mussels, suffocating them.
- Their massive clustering on water-intake valves and pipes, bridge abutments, and other structures can cause severe commercial damage.

Q1: What are Phytoplankton?

Phytoplankton are microscopic, single-celled organisms that live in water and perform photosynthesis. They are a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems.

Source: Invasive species discovered in Colorado River is capable of wiping out ecosystems, causing costly damage