News tagged with zebra mussels

Chemical-munching mussels contaminating Great Lakes

Zebra mussels from the Caspian Sea, introduced to North America by accident, are becoming a veritable plague releasing toxic chemicals into the Great Lakes, Canadian biologists say.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 01, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 6

15,000 reasons to worry about invasive species

A day at the beach in Wisconsin's North Woods didn't used to go like this. Candy Dailey spent a Fourth of July holiday splashing with grandkids on the sandy shore of Lake Metonga when she felt a nasty sting on her foot.

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

Fighting ecological invaders efficiently

Siemens is using a special water-treatment technique to make ship traffic more environmentally friendly. By disinfecting the ballast water in ships, a system named Sicure protects marine environments from ...

Technology / Engineering

created May 11, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Invisible invasive species

While Asian carp, gypsy moths and zebra mussels hog invasive-species headlines, many invisible invaders are altering ecosystems and flourishing outside of the limelight.

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 07, 2010 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (7) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Scientists developing poison pill for Asian carp

Biologist Jon Amberg has spent the last two years obsessed with fish guts, laboring over a singular challenge: Develop a poison pill that will kill Asian carp and leave other fish unscathed.

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 03, 2012 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Invasive Species on the March: Variable Rates of Spread Set Current Limits to Predictability

(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether for introduced muskrats in Europe or oak trees in the United Kingdom, zebra mussels in United States lakes or agricultural pests around the world, scientists have tried to find new ...

Biology / Ecology

created Sep 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Annual Tahoe Report Says Asian Clam Invasion Is Growing Fast

(PhysOrg.com) -- Released today, UC Davis' annual Lake Tahoe health report describes a spreading Asian clam population that could put sharp shells and rotting algae on the spectacular mountain lake's popular ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Aug 18, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Coalition releases study on cutting off Asian carp from Lake Michigan

Asian carp should be permanently cut off from Lake Michigan by sheet pile or impermeable land bridges, effectively re-reversing the flow of the Chicago River, according to a study set to be released Tuesday by a coalition ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers study 'fundamental, amazing change' in Great Lakes (w/ Video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Great Lakes are in the midst of a remarkable ecological transformation, driven largely by the blitzkrieg advance of two closely related species of non-native mussels.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jul 16, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 3

Zebra mussels hang on while quagga mussels take over

The zebra mussels that have wreaked ecological havoc on the Great Lakes are harder to find these days — not because they are dying off, but because they are being replaced by a cousin, the quagga mussel. But zebra mussels ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jun 12, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Are all alien encounters bad?

The pages of ecological history are filled with woeful tales of destruction from non-native species -- organisms that originated elsewhere.

Biology / Ecology

created Aug 30, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 12

From pythons to fungus, species invading US

(AP) -- A pet Burmese python broke out of a glass cage last week and killed a 2-year-old girl in her Florida bedroom. The tragedy became the latest and most graphic example of a problem that has plagued the ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jul 08, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Smithsonian NEMESIS tracks marine invaders online

Mitten crabs, zebra mussels and rock vomit: These and hundreds of other non-native species have invaded coastal regions throughout the United States, often causing dramatic changes to coastal ecosystems and ...

Biology / Ecology

created Mar 12, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Alien lionfish swarm N.C. coast

A handful of ravenous, venomous lionfish, a species native to the western Pacific, were spotted off North Carolina in 2000. Turns out they like it here. A lot.

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 23, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (8) | comments 0

Invasive fish and mussels team up to transfer toxic substances into Great Lakes walleyes

(PhysOrg.com) -- Two notorious Great Lakes invaders -- the zebra mussel and the round goby -- now play a central role in transferring toxic chemicals called PCBs up the food chain and into Saginaw Bay walleyes, ...

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 09, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Zebra mussel

The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a species of small freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk. This species was originally native to the lakes of southeast Russia . However, it has been accidentally introduced in many other areas, and has become a problematic invasive species in many different countries.

Although zebra mussels superficially resemble marine mussels in the family Mytilidae, and like them, are attached to solid substrates with a byssus, nonetheless, zebra mussels are not at all closely related to the mytilids; they are much more closely related to the Veneridae, the venus clams.

Zebra mussels get their name from a striped pattern which is commonly seen on their shells, though not all shells bear this pattern. They are usually about the size of a fingernail, but can grow to a maximum length of nearly two inches (5 cm). The shape of the shell is also somewhat variable.

The native distribution of the species is the Black and Caspian Sea. Zebra mussels are an invasive species in North America, the British Isles, Spain, and Sweden.

For more information about Zebra mussel, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.