Zebra Mussels by

Where is the species native habitat?

gabrielle_trexl — 2013-11-18 19:39:05 UTC

Caspian Sea Region, but it prefers fresh water with hard substrates. they move by attatching to boats that cross the ocean. and fall off in ports and in the bays.

How does it reproduce?

alexandra_zdune — 2013-11-18 19:40:45 UTC

The female releases eggs and then the male releases sperm, then fertilization

occurs after they are released. Females can release eggs in batches up to 40,000.

As long as the water stays warm they are able to each release up to 1 million eggs per year. They relay on river currents.

Where is the species currently invading/ how did it get there?

gabrielle_trexl — 2013-11-18 19:41:10 UTC

They have spread to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. They are also appearing in inland lake.

What is the species niche?

paige_roeser14 — 2013-11-18 19:42:11 UTC

Mussels attach onto hard surfaces and then they compete with other species for phytoplankton. Native mussels filter oxygen and particles from the water which cleanses the water. Zebra mussels changed the niche of the native mussels because they kill the native mussels.

Solutions

ethan_schano14 — 2013-11-18 19:42:57 UTC

The Linear Kinetic Cell (LKC). When the LKC is installed, the Mussels are not able to develop a shell and the existing shell dissolves causing them to die from exposure. Most importantly, the baby mussels are not able to produce a shell. A full grown Crayfish eat up to 105 of zebra mussels in one day. To clean the water intake it would cost millions of dollars.

Zebra Mussels

paige_roeser14 — 2013-11-18 19:45:19 UTC

Problems That They Cause

alexandra_zdune — 2013-11-18 19:45:22 UTC

They grow on all man made surfaces in the water, clogging many pipes. Businesses spend millions each year to unclog those pipes. They also clog boat engines and attach to them and slow them down. The ecological problems that zebra mussels create, is that the eat the photoplankyton faster than the zooplankton and the zooplankton and fish have less to eat. they also attach themselves to other muscles and kill them.

SOURCE:

alexandra_zdune — 2013-11-18 19:53:53 UTC

http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Dreissena_polymorpha/

References

ethan_schano14 — 2013-11-18 19:54:06 UTC

http://www.ener-tec.com/OurProductLine/ZebraMusselControl/tabid/59/Default.aspx

paige_roeser14 — 2013-11-18 19:55:55 UTC

As the population of the phytoplankton decreases the population of the zebra mussels increases.