Zebra Mussels Research Paper

Zebra mussels, or Dreissena Polymorpha, (Murphy) are an invasive species to Canada and The United States, mostly found in the great lakes. (NOAA) Zebra Mussels are small mollusks, around 1-5cm in length, and black stripes across their shells; hence their name. (Harmful Aquatic Hitchhikers: Mollusks: Zebra Mussel) This invasive species came here from Europe in ballast tanks during the 1980’s. The water was taken onboard in ballast tanks of ships coming from Europe, and brought all the way here and dumped in our waters. Zebra mussels can be as small as sand grains before they grow, so they were easily transported here. (Guiberson 35) Ever since then, the zebra mussels have become a nuisance to native species, as well as factories, and also a huge threat to the ecosystem. (Harmful Aquatic

The purpose of these mussels is to filter the water. (May 47) When filtering the water, they remove many small particles as well as creating more algae. Along with toxins, zebra mussels also filter out things like nutrients, without which native species can’t survive. What’s worse is that the clean water also causes more algae to grow, much more than there should be. (Plautz)

The problems don’t stop there. “They attach to substrate with a glue they secrete that forms fibers called byssal threads.” (Murphy) Zebra mussels stuck together, and to almost any surface, creating several issues. One of them is that they clog pipes, which caused the whole water supply to stop for over nearly 4 weeks in Berlin. The same has happened to many other factories and cities. (Guiberson 35)

It doesn’t stop there! Another huge issue with zebra mussels is how fast they reproduce. “Each can release as many as 1 million eggs each year”. (Murphy) Now multiply that by the number of zebra mussels there already are in the water, and you get trillions of zebra mussels. Lake Michigan already has over 900 trillion zebra mussels!