Zebra+Mussels+-+9

__Zebra Mussels__ (//Dreissena Polymorpha)// *__General Description:__ The zebra mussel, or dreissena polymorpha, is a freshwater mollusk that is originally from Western Asia. (Specifically, the Caspian and Black Seas.) These mussels are extremely small; 100,000 of them can take up one square meter of space. Its shell is triangular in shape and is tan with darker brown stripes spanning across it. media type="youtube" key="Qgn6f4LusrM" height="344" width="425"

*__Detailed Description:__ The zebra mussel is so successful because it permanently attaches to different surfaces, where as other species of mussels use their soft bodies to help drag themselves from place to place. They are considered to be “filter-feeders” because they filter out phytoplankton and other organic debris to feed off of. Female zebra mussels can reproduce between 30,000 and one million eggs per year. *__Habitat and Distribution:__ The zebra mussel species have taken off in all five of the Great Lakes. Originally, they were found in Lake St. Clair and then worked their way through the Great Lakes. *__Impacts:__ The zebra mussels cause major damage to power-station pipes and other industrial installations by getting inside and clogging them up. The cost it takes to control the zebra mussel totals up to be hundreds of millions of dollars every year. In addition, they threaten the native mussel species by adding competition for food, oxygen. They also add competition for habitats not only of other mussels but of some species of fish, like the walleye, which then reduces those species reproduction. However, their impact isn’t all bad. Due to the fact that they filter out debris from the water, they have actually helped to improve the clarity of the water in the Great Lakes. They also are food to certain species of ducks like the Oldsquaw and Common Goldeneye that eat mussels.

The above picture is a crowd of Zebra Mussels attached to a metal pipe. *__History:__ The zebra mussel was found in 1988 in Lake St. Clair. It’s thought that it got there when a European inbound freighter dumped its ballast water into the lake. From there, the mussels traveled into the Great Lakes, starting with Lake Huron the following year. These zebra mussels eventually spread to all five of the Great Lakes within three years. *__Control Measures:__ Scientists have tried time after time to get rid of the zebra mussel by using anything from chili powder to electrocution. Finally, Dr. David Aldridge of Cambridge University came up with using potassium chloride capsules coated in fatty acids. These capsules, called “BioBullets”, are to be put into the water that flows through the pipes that are clogged with the mussels. Since they eat by filtering particles out of the water, they ingest the capsules and while they digest, they are becoming poisoned. This method works because potassium chloride in small doses is harmless to humans and other animals, as opposed to the straight chlorine that they tried to use previously. By introducing chlorine into the water, it poisoned anything that used the water, including humans. So the use of these BioBullets is a perfect solution. *__References:__ http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sanctuarysimon.org/monterey/images/build/whats_zebra_mussels.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sanctuarysimon.org/monterey/sections/other/whats_new_zebra_mussels.php&usg=__ifqUQgbSCkOGydaXgpTFlOqzOgo=&h=346&w=500&sz=40&hl=en&start=22&tbnid=r_r2ctd_Yhnt7M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dzebra%2Bmussel%26start%3D20%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN "Fighting invading species. (Environment)." //The Futurist.// 37. 2 (March-April 2003): 12(1). //Student// //Resource Center// //- Gold//. Gale. Stroudsburg High School. 19 Nov. 2008 .

"Invasion of the zebra mussels. (In Brief).(Brief Article)." //Environment.// 44. 4 (May 2002): 6(1). //Student// //Resource Center// //- Gold//. Gale. Stroudsburg High School. 20 Nov. 2008 .

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