Zebra mussel
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Bivalvia Subclass: Heterodonta Order: Veneroida Superfamily: Dreissenoidea Family: Dreissenidae Genus: Dreissena Species: D. Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 Bivalves are Molluscs belonging to the class Bivalvia. They have two-part shells and typically both valves are symmetrical along the hinge line Heterodonta is a Mollusc subclass in the class Bivalvia and contains the orders † Cycloconchidae, † Hippuritoida (rudists † Lyrodesmatidae The Veneroida or veneroids are an order of Bivalve Molluscs They include some familiar forms such as saltwater Clams and The Dreissenidae are a family of small freshwater Mussels aquatic Bivalve Mollusks They attach themselves to stones or to any other hard Dreissena is a Genus of small freshwater Mussels in the family Dreissenidae. polymorpha
Binomial name
Dreissena polymorpha Pallas, 1771

The Zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a bivalve mussel native to freshwater lakes of southeast Russia. Peter Simon Pallas ( September 22, 1741, Berlin — September 8, 1811, Berlin) was a German Zoologist Year 1771 ( MDCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The common name mussel is used for members of several different families of Clams or Bivalve Molluscs, from both saltwater and freshwater habitats Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Zebra mussels get their name from the striped pattern on their shells, though not all shells bear this pattern. They are usually about the size of a fingernail, but can grow to a maximum length of nearly two inches. [1]

Its native distribution is Black and Caspian Sea. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged Sea. Zebra mussels are considered an invasive species in North America, in Spain and in Sweden. Introduced species|Weed Invasive species is a phrase with several definitions

Reproduction

An adult female zebra mussel is one of the most reproductive organisms in the world. It may produce between 30,000 and 1 million^[1] eggs per year. Spawning usually begins in the months from late spring to early summer by free-swimming larvae (veligers). Spawning is the production or depositing of large quantities of eggs in water A veliger is the free-swimming Planktonic Larva of many kinds of marine and fresh-water Gastropod Molluscs as well as a number of

Spread

Zebra mussel was found and described first in part of Russia, but then it was recognized in the Caspian Sea. 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 1820's, London in 1824, and in the Union Canal near Edinburgh in 1834. ^[2] In 1827 zebra mussels were seen in the Netherlands at Rotterdam. Year 1827 ( MDCCCXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Canals that artificially link many European waterways facilitated their early dispersal. It was recorded in Bohemia in Elbe river (now in The Czech Republic) in 1893^[3]. The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. Around 1920 the mussels reached lake Mälaren in Sweden. Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Lake Mälaren ( (historically occasionally referred to as Lake Malar in English is the third-largest Lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation.

Sign advising boaters on how to prevent zebra mussel spread on Titicus Reservoir in North Salem, New York. Titicus Reservoir is one of 12 in the New York City Water Supply System 's Croton watershed North Salem is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States.

The first Italian appearance of the organism was in northern Italy in Lake Garda in 1973^[4]; in central Italy they have appeared in Tuscany since 2003^[5]. Lake Garda ( Italian Lago di Garda or Benaco) is the largest Lake in Italy. Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3

In the U. S. , they were first detected in the Great Lakes in 1988, in Lake St. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. Clair, located between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario. Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and lies at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is believed they were inadvertently introduced into the lakes in the ballast water of ocean-going ships traversing the St. Lawrence Seaway. Ballast is used in Sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the Sail. The St Lawrence Seaway is the common name for a system of Canals that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes Another possible often neglected mode of introduction is on anchors and chains, although this has not been proven. Since adult zebra mussels can survive out of water for several days or weeks if 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.

From their first appearance in American waters in 1988 zebra mussels have spread to a large number of waterways, including the Mississippi, Hudson, St. Lawrence, Ohio, Cumberland, Missouri, Tennessee, Colorado, and Arkansas rivers disrupting the ecosystems, killing the local unionid mussels, (primarily by out-competing native species for food) and damaging harbors, boats, and power plants. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois, or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami Saint Lawrence River (in French: fleuve Saint-Laurent; Kahnawáˀkye in Tuscarora, Kaniatarowanenneh meaning big waterway The Ohio River is the largest Tributary by volume of the Mississippi River. The Cumberland River is an important waterway in the Southern United States. The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. The Colorado River (' Aha Kwahwat in Mojave) is a River in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately The Arkansas River is a major Tributary of the Mississippi River. Unionidae is a family of freshwater Mussels distributed world-wide but most diverse in North America with about 297 recognized taxa Water treatment plants were initially hit hardest because the water intakes brought the microscopic free-swimming larvae directly into the facilities. The U.S. Coast Guard estimates that economic losses and control efforts cost the United States about $5 billion each year.

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 the North American west. This spread is preventable if boaters would take time to thoroughly clean and dry their boats and associated equipment before transporting these to new water bodies. 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.

Ecology

Zebra Mussel

Zebra mussels and the closely related and ecologically similar quagga mussel are voracious filter-feeding organisms. The quagga mussel ( Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) is one of seven Dreissena species Filter feeders (also known as suspension feeders) are Animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water typically by passing the water They remove particles from the water column, increasing water clarity and reducing pollution. Some particles are consumed as food, and feces are deposited on the lake floor. Food is any substance usually composed primarily of Carbohydrates Fats water and/or Proteins that can be eaten or drunk by an Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences) is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the Anus Non-food particles are combined with mucus and other matter and deposited on lake floors as pseudofeces.

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. The zebra mussel reduced eutrophication of Lake Erie^[6] and increased water quality. Eutrophication is an increase in chemical Nutrients -- typically compounds containing Nitrogen or Phosphorus -- in an Ecosystem, and may occur ^[7] The catch of yellow perch increased 5 fold after the introduction of zebra mussels into Lake St. Claire. ^[8] Zebra mussels attach to most substrates including sand, silt, and harder substrates. Other mussel species frequently represent the most stable objects in silty substrates, and zebra mussels attach to, and often kill these mussels. This has eliminated many native mussel species from affected lakes in North America. This pattern is being repeated in Ireland where zebra mussels have eliminated the two freshwater mussels from several waterways, including some lakes along the Shannon. The River Shannon ( Sionainn or Sionna in Irish) is at 386 km (240 miles the longest river in Ireland.

Anatomy

Zebra mussels are relatively small in size, adults range from 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches long[2]. They have tiny stripes down their shells, hence the name Zebra Mussels. Zebra Mussels have a D-shaped shell. They attach to things with strings coming out of their umbo on the dorsal surface (side with the hinge). These strings are called byssal threads and make it very hard to remove the zebra mussel from the area it is attached to.

Predators of zebra mussels

There are a number of natural predators of zebra mussel. Zebra mussels have high nutritional value (Walz, 1979) and are consumed in large quantities by crayfish, waterfowl and in smaller quantities by muskrats. Crayfish, crawfish, crawdads, or crodgers are freshwater Crustaceans resembling small Lobsters to which they are closely See also UK Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust USA Ducks Unlimited The muskrat ( Ondatra zibethicus) the only Species in Genus Ondatra, is a medium-sized semi-aquatic Rodent native to North America The nutritional value changes seasonally, particularly in terms of protein and carbonate content.

Crayfish could have a significant impact on the densities of 1 to 5 mm long zebra mussels. An adult crayfish consumes an average of nearly 105 zebra mussels everyday, or in all about 6000 mussels in a season. Predation rates are significantly reduced at cooler water temperatures.

Several species of fish consume zebra mussels. Of these, roach seems to have the most significant impact on mussel densities. In some Polish lakes the diet of the roach consists almost exclusively (~95%) of zebra mussels (Stanczykowska, 1957). Despite all this, it seems that fish do not limit the densities of zebra mussels in European lakes. Mackie et al 1989

Effects of zebra mussels

Zebra mussel infestation on the walls of Arthur V. Ormond Lock on the Arkansas River

Zebra mussel-encrusted Vector Averaging Current Meter from Lake Michigan

Zebra mussels are filter feeders. When in the water, they open their shells to admit detritus. In Biology, detritus is non-living particulate organic material (as opposed to dissolved organic material

Zebra mussels are a great nuisance to people. Since colonizing the Great Lakes, they have covered the undersides of docks, boats, and anchors. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. They have also spread into streams and rivers nationwide. In some areas they completely cover the substrate, sometimes covering other freshwater mussels. Stream substrate ( Sediment) is the material that rests at the bottom of a Stream. They can grow so densely that they block pipelines, clogging water intakes of municipal water supplies and hydroelectric companies.

Zebra mussels and other non-native species are credited with the increased population and size of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie. The smallmouth bass ( Micropterus dolomieui) is a Species of Freshwater Fish in the sunfish family ( Centrarchidae) [3] Zebra mussels are also 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. [4] They also cleanse the waters of inland lakes, resulting in increased sunlight penetration and growth of native algae at greater depths. This proves beneficial for fish most of the time, helping the fish live in better conditions.

References

External links

• InvadingSpecies.com
• Zebra Mussel on National Atlas
• Moules Mariniere recipe from Wikibooks
• Dreissina FAQs
• http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_zm.html
• 100th Meridian Initiative
• U.S Federal Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers Campaign
• BBC News: Lough Invasion Being Investigated
• The Zebra Mussel Page
• Invasive Species: Aquatic Species - Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
• USA CoE Zebra Mussel Research Program
• Zebra Mussel Watch
• UMESC Invasive Species - Zebra Mussels
• "What is the zebra mussel doing to Lake Michigan?", The Straight Dope, 22 September 2006.
• ISSG
• Zebra mussel in N.I.

Debate

• Did the Zebra Mussel affect Atlantic Fishing?-C. Yukna (EMSE France)