Zebra Mussels In The Environment Essay

Arising over 350 million years ago, the shark species has been labeled as a human devourer. Now, with the increase in human population, the demand for shark meat, fins, and cartilage are at an all time high; therefore, the existence of the shark is becoming a concern (Budker 1971). Individuals are conditioned to think of sharks as a negative aspect to the environment, which is prolonging the effort to save shark species from becoming extinct. With that in mind, some private as well as national organizations have accepted the challenge of educating and informing people about the existence of the shark specie and its importance to the sea.

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.

Through our research we aimed to determine if there were any differences in water quality of both the north and south forks of Strawberry Creek. As time progresses and the environment changes it is important to keep track of how certain species are being impacted by these features, and how they cope with change. We hypothesized that due to the lack of pollution, the south fork will promote a greater diversity of macroinvertebrates. This was due to the fact that there was less runoff and trash that could be introduced to the water in the south fork, than there was in the north fork. We gathered data by analyzing the different organisms living in both forks. We collected a total of fifty vials composed of five organisms from each fork, and inspected them under microscopic view. After gathering data and identifying the different kinds of organisms living in the different forks we assessed whether the organisms from the samples could live in high or low resolution water. We also took a t-test to assess the probability of these differences being due to relevant factors or by chance. Our major findings suggest that organisms in the south fork showed a higher demand to living in cleaner water indicating that our hypothesis was correct.

In this research paper I will talk about how a large decrease in the algae population in the Chesapeake Bay will cause problems for not just fish and other species but the people who fish and make a living off of it. A large decrease in algae population will have a domino effect on the food chain. Having a major decrease in algae will hurt how others species live and protect themselves.

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

Some ‘Neigh-sayers’ believe that manure is diluted into water and is relatively harmless, but a recent experiment on rainbow trout, researched by Michael East, displays that even in a ten gallon tank with recirculating water that is given 1 milliliter of manure given on a biweekly basis can severely hinder trouts overall growth. At a dose of 5 millimeters biweekly, the trout surprisingly lost weight over the course of a month and perished. This experiment also depicts that the control group and the 1 millileter group ate approximately the same amount of food, but the control group gained almost double the weight of the 1 millileter treated group. This experiment shows the drastic change from a small dosage to a large dosage because the 5 millileter group only ate about half of the food given to them and lost an average of 1.5 grams per fish over the one month period. The results from this experiment show that even a small amount of manure that enters a body of water can cause serious health issues for the creatures inhabiting that area. Manure causes a

Studies have repeatedly shown that as oxygen concentrations decrease, the abundance and diversity of fish decrease (Breitburg). Fish kills, in which large numbers of dead and dying fish float to the surface or wash onto shore, are probably the most dramatic and publicly visible manifestation of hypoxia and nutrient over-enrichment of coastal waters(Breitburg). In addition to mass mortalities that are easily observed, high mortality of fish lacking a swim bladder can occur leaving little or no visible evidence of fish at the surface or littering beaches (Breitburg). With no fish, shrimp, or crabs the Louisiana fishing market takes a huge hit that the economy feels in a major way. The gulf accounts for almost one-fifth of the countries fishing landings, which total to be three billion dollars (Petrolia). Fishing is not only a major part of Louisiana’s economy but also its culture. Without wildlife in our waters microorganism are given more opportunity to grow leading to bacteria infected waters. These bacteria infected waters could cause major health risks for those who come in contact with

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.

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

In addition to inbreeding and demographic stochasticity, it has long been known that invasive species can cause drastic and often irreparable changes to native ecosystems, including the decline of indigenous species of both fauna and flora. In fact, invasive species have directly contributed to the decline of an estimated 42 percent of threatened and endangered species in the United States (Dilthey, 2017). Some of these invasive species are widely known, such as Dreissena polymorpha, the Zebra mussel, which has endangered at least 30 species of mussel, including Higgins Eye Pearlymussel (Magher, n.d.). Others are not so commonly known, like Penaeus monodon, the Black Tiger shrimp, which was first found in the Gulf of Mexico as recently as 2006 (Buchele, 2006).

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,

Zebra mussels may cause many effects on nature as well as to our wallets. Early research shows that zebra mussels can rapidly accumulate organic pollutants within their tissues to levels more than three hundred thousand times greater than concentrations in the environment. They also deposit these pollutants in their "pseudo-feces". Pseudo-feces or

Majestic animals that live in the ocean are rapidly dying and subsequently washing up on numerous shorelines that touch the Pacific Ocean’s waters. Disposal of a variety of toxins and damaging waste finding a path into our oceans are to blame for the deaths, which are largely preventable. Sharks, sea turtles, whales, dolphins and birds are just fraction of the marine life that are suffering because they are becoming sick or are dying of starvation. Their food sources are diminishing or disappearing as the cycle of destruction continues on down to the tiny, minute plankton that are the core of the food chain in the ocean. Contamination is causing the sudden increase of marine life deaths in the Pacific Ocean. The most recent reports of dead sea animals found washed up on shorelines don’t state scientific evidence of the cause of the mysterious deaths.