Zebra Research Paper

In 1988 it was discovered that the Zebra Mussels were discharged into Lake St Clair near Detroit, Michigan. Lake St Clair connects to Lake Huron and Lake Erie. By the next year the Zebra Mussels traveled from these fresh-water lakes into the Illinois and the Hudson Rivers.

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.

Grevy's Zebra is having a tough time. The Grevy's Zebra has been endangered because they are being hunted and the habitat loss. They are being hunted for their hide which shockingly dropped to 2000 Grevy’s Zebra are left in the world. Because of the large number of pets, the zebras has lost food.

     Their success in spreading rapidly and colonizing new areas is due to two features of zebra mussel biology. Firstly, zebra mussels produce large numbers (> 30,000 per female) of planktotrophic veliger larvae which can survive for 10-15 days (Hebert et al., 1989). Such larvae are well suited for efficient dispersal by water currents, especially in riverine systems. Additionally, they don’t require the presence of suitable host species of fish, as do native unionid larvae. Secondly, the spread of zebra mussels is aided by their ability to attach to objects by byssal threads (the same ability that leads to their fouling problems). Because of this ability, adult zebra mussels can attach to and be spread by ships,

Introduced species are seldom a positive addition to an ecosystem as they cause great stress and harm to the populations of native species. Many introduced species become invasive as they have no natural predators in their new environment, therefore they thrive, and crowd out all other animals. Some examples of invasive species in Ontario waters include the round goby, zebra mussels, eurasian ruffe, goldfish, northern snakehead, rainbow smelt, and rudd, to name a few. A great example to show how destructive an introduced fish can be is the asian carp, this species spreads very aggressively and it is considered the greatest threat to aquatic ecosystems in Ontario. These fish grow to be very large in size, up to 40 kg and 1 meter long. The asian

Invasive species are organisms that harm a new environment that they are not native to. Many invasive species like Eurasian milfoil are easily able to reproduce and can do so fast. Due to this, the limited space in a body of water or area of land is quickly taken over by the invasive species so other native plants face the risk of death or even extinction. Overall, these invasive species can do great harm to an ecosystem or an economy, causing problems that are destructive to numerous organisms.

The United States Pretrial Services is a Federal Judicial System. This system provides more information about defendants in a small timely matter, to assist the court in making release and detention decisions. The Federal Bail Reform Act of 1966 was primarily focused in making this decision fairer and rational on the release of defendants on the least and restrictive conditions that would assure the defendants appearance at trial when required. The Bail Reform Act eliminates the courts reliance on money as the sole purposed of pretrial release. The release and detention must be base sole based in nonappearance or danger risk. Therefore, the United States Pretrial Services as intended by Congress, provides judicial officers with verified and

Species have been invading the Great Lakes for a very long time. “Scientists estimate that there are more than 185 invasive species in the Great Lakes today.” One of the species that invade the Great Lakes is the Round Goby. This animal usually feeds on fish eggs, Yellow Perch, Bass, and Walleye. The Round Goby is an invasive species because it kills other species, or it can make them extinct. Another example of invasive specie is Quagga Mussel. The Quagga Mussel usually sits in lakes or oceans, building up over a long period of time, this leads to millions, and millions

An invasive species is a plant, fungus, or animal species that is not native to a specific location and one point should be noticed is that invasive species does not have to come from another country. For example, lake trout are native to the Great Lakes, but are considered to be an invasive species in Yellowstone Lake because they compete with native cutthroat trout for habitat. Although there are some invasive species arrive with spread and establish populations, like the native butterflies feed on non-native plants in California, the alien trees help restore abandoned pastures to a condition suitable for native plants in Puerto Rico and even the much-maligned zebra mussel helps filter toxins from great lakes, most policymakers regard invasive

An invasive species can affect any and all ecosystems. Humans have had a major role in this, creating a pathway for many organisms to be transported as decoration, by attaching themselves to boats, and even as pets, who are later released into the wild. Invasive species are not confined to one ecosystem or region, as wherever humans can travel, an invasive species is able to

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,

Overall, this article provides a very large variety of useful information. At the beginning of the article, it gives a detailed summary pertaining to the origin of the zebra mussel and how one can properly identify it. Since 1824, zebra mussels have spread exponentially. Originally from the Black Sea, these mollusks traveled into Western Europe by “hitchhiking” into the ballast tanks of large ocean-going vessels. Eventually in 1988, the zebra mussel was found in the United States (Lake Erie). Due to the Great Lakes

RESEARCH PAPER: CATERPILLAR Abstract The topic of my research was the global management expertise and effectiveness of the company Caterpillar Inc., a global leader in the production and manufacturing of construction and mining equipment. I researched the company's website for core information and sought information outside the company for its global perspective. What I found

North America is home to approximately 300 species of mussels; however approximately 70% of these species are extinct, endangered, or otherwise of special concern. Mussel population decline cannot be attributed to a single factor, but rather a combination of often interacting factors from land use change (e.g. water quality degradation, habitat loss, altered streamflow, and sedimentation), direct channel modification (e.g. dam building), host fish availability (more on this later), and invasive species impacts (e.g. predation and zebra mussel infestation). Because mussels are long lived (some species can live 50 + years), relatively sedentary, and have a complicated life cycle that requires suitable host fish populations, they are often used as indicators of river ecosystem wellbeing. A kind of “canary in the coalmine” organism, mussel response to environmental conditions can signify an early warning for a degraded ecosystem. In fact, instrumented mussels are being used as biomonitors for water quality. Mussels are filter feeders, and they have the ability to close their shells for a period of time when a contaminant is present. By monitoring mussel gape (i.e the rate which they open and close their shells), water resource managers can tell, for example if all mussels close up quickly, that there is likely potentially harmful

In the year 2000 there are many problems with society. One of the biggest and most controllable is the issue of violence. Although we are subjected to violence everyday by simply turning on the news, other forms of violence for entertainment can be censored.