Zebra Mussels : An Invasive Species

Today, what once was a scenic lake is covered in chest-high weeds. “ Boaters and fisherman enjoy going to Lake Bridgeport during the summer. But in the summer of 2013 the boat ramps were unusable so the number of residents going to the lake dropped. There are dead fish floating to the shoreline as well as many other wildlife animals. The lake tested positive for Zebra Mussel larva, which is shell like creatures that are very sharp and stick to boats, anchors and docks. The Mussels are very dangerous for the lake environment, but they also eat bacteria so they could help the lake water clear up. If no water is drained out of Lake Bridgeport then the residents of Eagle Mountain Lake and Lake Worth could possibly run out of drinking water.

As well as pollution, invasive species are damaging the lake ecosystems and food chains, made fragile by pollution and overfishing. The introduction of a new species throws off the balance of food chains. Some common invasive species include the sea lamprey, Asian carp, and zebra mussels, among many others. Zebra mussels have dramatically influenced and affected stable food chains by reducing the amount of zooplankton and phytoplankton. This presents a problem, as fish mostly feed on the drifters, and so they go hungry and die, leaving no food for larger fish to prey on. In addition to underwater disruption, it affects us as well, but only slightly. Plankton and algae especially are the most productive aquatic producers of oxygen, and by the decreasing population, we lose oxygen as well. The sea lamprey is also a problem, though it is not so influential to ecosystems as the zebra mussel.

Chemicals harm the growth of plants and animals, chemicals can lead animals to death. Many of the water animals

     Colonization by zebra mussels has devastating ecological impacts on native bivalves (Mackie, 1991; Haag et al., 1993), frequently driving them to local extinction. Zebra mussels readily, perhaps preferentially, settle on native bivalves and eventually cover them over. They filter the water so efficiently that they can lower the amount of suspended food organisms below levels needed to sustain native unionids.

A task that was assigned to me was to review the environmental requirements for policies and regulations associated with international, national, and local ballast water management regulations to determine applicability to Navy ships. Most of the work associated with this task was associated with examining the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) documents prior to and after the IMO meetings. The IMO MEPC documents from the 67th and 68th sessions were analyzed for environmental

Some examples include the zebra mussel, sea lamprey, and Asian carp. The zebra mussel first came to the great lakes by traveling in the ballast water of a transoceanic vessel. Over the years, it has spread into the entire great lakes system. They are very dense with contaminants, which causes predators to stray away from them and not digest them. The zebra mussel has had many negative impacts on the ecosystem. A zebra mussel can attach themselves firmly to any solid object, which has caused water intake and discharge pipes to clog. Some other impacts include suppressing native mussels, over clarifying the water, and stripping water from various plankton that native fish eat. Sea lamprey are another invasive species in the great lakes. A sea lamprey is an eel like fish that sucks bodily fluids from other fish. They have traveled to the great lakes on their own by swimming up the Hudson River. They have contributed to the collapse of the whitefish and lake trout fisheries. Some prevention actions have been put in place and include chemical treatments of spawning

Degradation of the economy, environment and human health is caused by a variety of species. However, the most harmful types of species are known as invasive species. An invasive species is any species that is not native to the environment it is living in. European Green Crabs in particular cause mass harm to their surrounding habitat. However, there are several methods put in place to control the widespread of these creatures and minimize the harm caused by European green crabs. The European green crab can spread accidentally and then stay and cause harm to their new surroundings. Although these green crabs can cause serious harm, there are multiple measures in place to minimize the degree of harm. Confirmation of European green crabs in Canada

First of all, Zebra mussel disrupt the food chain. In the Great lakes, zebra mussels eat the plankton that small, native fish need to survive. Consequently, this hurts the native fish and the larger fish that feed them.

As reported by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), Eurasian milfoil, which is native to Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa, was most likely accidentally introduced to the United States through ballast water, which is water from other places that is dumped into another body of water to aid in

In response to invasive species threats, Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Environment and Transportation developed the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan. Its objectives are to prevent new intruders from disembarking and subsisting in Ontario, to reduce and reverse the extent of remaining invasive species and decrease its damaging impacts. Ballast water is a well-known source for the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species in the Canadian water bodies. In response, Canada and the United States placed strict regulations governing ocean-going ships and their ballast water. For example, requiring inspection and the flushing of tanks with salt water before entering other waterways. Collectively,

At the bottom of the Missouri's streams lives the Lampsilis siliquoidea mussels where it lives out its life cycle. How it lives it's brilliant life cycle is first by luring a smallmouth bass over to it by copycatting the movement and the appearance of a Tartars fish tail which is actually the skin of the mussels which has over time evolved. Once the bass notices the lure and strikes the lure the muscle spews out a white cloud into the bass's mouth and gills which happen to be thousands of larvaes where they will live off the bass for nutrients. Its also safer for them to transition from larvae into juvenile mussels. After a couple of weeks the young mussels abandon the bass dropping leaving the basses unharmed and unaware of what happened making

One of the ways that they deal with the zebra mussels is through wiping out the current infestations that exist to threaten man-made structures and businesses. The way they do this is through placing chemicals in the water, mechanical scraps, and filters to prevent further spreading. Another way that humans deal with the zebra mussels is through implementing rules of cleaning crafts and live bait. This is done in order to prevent any further introduction of bodies of water. However, there are consequences if these species are left unchecked by not attempting to do the previous

They have been known to grow very large, and can tolerate an extremely wide range of water quality and weather conditions. They consume large amounts of vegetation/plankton, negatively affecting the aquatic vegetation. In addition, they can increase the phosphorus levels, harming the water quality in the area of water.

First, the article states that the way ships have spread the zebra mussels in the past suggests that the species will colonize North America. However, the professor refutes this point by saying that the way that mussels used to travel is by having ships take the fresh ballsat water to The North America, but ships can be required empty the fresh

With the increasing amount of disturbed habitats, invasive species could soon become the leading cause of ecological degradation (Soulé & Orians, 2001).  Invasive species can alter habitats in a number of ways.  Changes in the physical structure of the land are the most visually obvious.  Examples include narrowing stream channels, reducing sand supply to dunes, and stabilizing surfaces such as mudflats, and each invasive species goes about these changes in their own way.  For instance, the burrowing activities of Australian isopods cause the banks of tidal channels to collapse, leading to the widening of channels and the loss of vegetated salt marsh (Cox, 1999).  On the other hand, Japanese mussels that have invaded the San Diego area are stabilizing mudflats.  Although reaching Southern California in the 1960s,