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Information about Zebra Mussels

Zebra mussel

Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Mollusca
Class:Bivalvia
Subclass:Heterodonta
Order:Veneroida
Superfamily:Dreissenoidea
Family:Dreissenidae
Genus:Dreissena
Species:D. polymorpha
Binomial name
Dreissena polymorpha
Pallas, 1771


The Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is a bivalve mussel native to freshwater lakes of southeast Russia. Zebra mussels get their name from the striped pattern 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. [1]

It's native distribution is Pontic and Caspian. Zebra mussels are considered an invasive species in North America and in most of Europe.

Reproduction

An adult female zebra mussel may produce between 30,000 and 400,000 eggs per year. Spawning usually begins in the months from late spring to early summer by free-swimming larvae (veligers). The mussel may spawn during each of these periods. The presence of food is the first factor that contributes to spawning. During this time large algae populations produce a pheromone recognized by zebra mussels. However, temperature is the main factor that triggers spawning and mussels rarely spawn at temperatures lower than 12 degrees Celsius. If the water becomes colder, spawning may be postponed until the water has warmed.

Ecology

Enlarge picture
Zebra Mussel
Zebra mussels and the closely related and ecologically similar quagga mussel are voracious filter-feeding organisms. They remove particles from the water column, increasing water clarity and reducing pollution. Some particles are consumed as food and feces are deposited on the lake floor. Non-food particles are combined with mucus and deposited on lake floors as pseudofeces.

Lake floor food supplies are enriched by zebra mussels as they filter pollution out of the water. The additional organic material, coupled with increased habitat complexity, results in increased density and biodiversity of bottom dwelling benthic organisms. This biomass becomes available to bottom feeding species and to the fish that feed on them. The zebra mussel reduced eutrophication of Lake Erie[1] and increased water quality.[2] The catch of yellow perch increased 5 fold after the introduction of zebra mussels into Lake St. Claire.[3] Zebra mussels attach to most substrates including sand, silt, and harder substrates. Other mussel species frequently represent the most stable objects in silty substrates, and zebra mussels attach to, and often kill these mussels. This has eliminated many native mussel species from affected lakes in North America. This pattern is being repeated in Ireland where zebra mussels have eliminated the two freshwater mussels from several waterways, including some lakes along the Shannon.

Anatomy

Zebra mussels are relatively small in size, adults range from 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches long[2]. They have tiny stripes down their shells, hence the name Zebra Mussels. Zebra Mussels have a D-shaped shell. They attach to things with strings coming out of their umbo on the dorsal surface (side with the hinge). These strings are called byssal threads and make it very hard to remove the zebra mussel from the area it is attached to.

Predators of Zebra Mussels

There are a number of natural predators of zebra mussel. Zebra mussels have high nutritional value (Walz, 1979) and are consumed in large quantities by crayfish, waterfowl and in smaller quantities by muskrats. The nutritional value changes seasonally, particularly in terms of protein and carbonate content.

Crayfish could have a significant impact on the densities of 1 to 5 mm long zebra mussels. An adult crayfish consumes an average of nearly 105 zebra mussels every day, or in all about 6000 mussels in a season. Predation rates are significantly reduced at cooler water temperatures.

Several species of fish consume zebra mussels. Of these, roach seems to have the most significant impact on mussel densities. In some Polish lakes the diet of the roach consists almost exclusively (~95%) of zebra mussels (Stanczykowska, 1977). Despite all this, it seems that fish do not limit the densities of zebra mussels in European lakes.

Effects of Zebra Mussels

Enlarge picture
Zebra mussel infestation on the walls of Arthur V. Ormond Lock on the Arkansas River
Enlarge picture
Zebra mussel-encrusted Vector Averaging Current Meter from Lake Michigan
Zebra mussels are filter feeders. When they are in the water, they open up their shells to let detritus in.

Zebra mussels are a great nuisance to many people. Since they have colonized the Great Lakes, they have covered undersides of docks, boats, and anchors. They have also spread into streams and rivers across the country. In some areas they completely cover the substrate, and even cover other freshwater mussels. They can also grow so close together that they block off pipelines, impacting water intake pipes used by cities for their water supply, or by hydroelectric companies for power generation.

Zebra mussels have a razor-sharp dorsal edge which can easily slice close to 1" deep into human skin. The scalpel-like shell can leave long incisions which are so fine, the victim may not initially realize they have been cut, particularly on the feet or hands. It is therefore recommended that one wear water shoes and avoid grabbing blindly onto underwater structures, such as dock posts and mooring lines, in infested waters.

Zebra mussels and other non-native species are credited with the increased population and size of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie. [3] They also cleanse the waters of inland lakes, resulting in increased sunlight penetration and growth of native algae at greater depths. This can prove beneficial for fish.

References

1. ^ Holland, R. E.; T. H. Johengen & A. M. Beeton, Trends in nutrient concentrations in Hatchery Bay, western Lake Erie, before and after Dreissena polymorpha., vol. 52:1202-1209, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
2. ^ Garton, D. W.; D. J. Berg & A. M. Stoeckmann et al., Biology of recent invertebrate invading species in the Great Lakes: The spiny water flea, Bythotrephes cederstoemi, and the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha. pages 63-84 (in B. N. McKnight editor. Biological pollution: The control and impact of invasive exotic species. ed.), Indianapolis, Indiana.: Indiana Academy of Science.
3. ^ Saggoff, M., What’s Wrong with Exotic Species?, College Park, Maryland: Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, Maryland School of Public Affairs, <[4]

External links

Debate
Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Mollusca
Linnaeus, 1758

Classes

Caudofoveata
Aplacophora
Polyplacophora
Monoplacophora
Bivalvia
Scaphopoda
Gastropoda
Cephalopoda
† Rostroconchia
† Helcionelloida
† ?Bellerophontida
The molluscs
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Bivalvia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses

Anomalosdesmata
Cryptodonta
Heterodonta
Paleoheterodonta
Palaeotaxodonta
Pteriomorphia
and see text
Bivalves are mollusks belonging to the class Bivalvia.
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Heterodonta

Orders

†Cycloconchidae
†Hippuritoida
†Lyrodesmatidae
Myoida
†Redoniidae
Veneroida

Heterodonta
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Veneroida

Families

See text.

The Veneroida or veneroids are an order of bivalve molluscs. They include some familiar forms such as clams, cockles and zebra mussels.
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Dreissenoidea

Families

Dreissenidae
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Dreissenidae

Genera

Dreissena
Mytilopsis
Congeria

The Dreissenidae are a family of small freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve mollusks. They attach themselves to stones or to any other hard surface using a byssus.
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Dreissena
Beneden, 1835

Species
See text.

Dreissena is a genus of mussels in the family Dreissenidae.

Species

  • Dreissena polymorpha, the zebra mussel

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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Peter Simon Pallas (September 22, 1741, Berlin — September 8, 1811, Berlin) was a German zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia.

Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of a Professor of Surgery.
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
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885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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mussel is used for members of several different families of clams (bivalve molluscs) from both saltwater and freshwater habitats. "Mussel" is a loose and inaccurate term, but it has historically been applied to those families of clams where the shell is longer than it is wide,
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Anthem
Hymn of the Russian Federation


Capital
(and largest city) Moscow

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The adjective Pontic, from Greek pontos "sea" can refer to:
  • the Black Sea
  • the Pontic colonies on its northern shores
  • the Kingdom of Pontus on its southern shores
  • the Pontic steppe north of the Black Sea

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Caspian can refer to:
  • The Caspian Sea
  • The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea
  • The Caspian region, the loosely-defined area surrounding the Caspian Sea
  • The Caspian pony
  • Caspian X or Prince Caspian, a fictional character in the

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Invasive species is a phrase with many definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species (e.g. plants or animals) that adversely effect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically.
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This article is about biological spawning. For other meanings of the word spawn, see Spawn (disambiguation)..
The word smolt also redirects here.

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A veliger is the free-swimming, planktonic larva of certain marine and fresh-water gastropod molluscs, as well as some bivalves (Dreissena sp.). Swimming is accomplished by one or more ciliated membranes.
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pheromone is a chemical that triggers a natural behavioral response in another member of the same species. There are alarm pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology.
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trillion fold).]]

Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics.
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D. rostriformis

Subspecies: D. r. bugensis

Binomial name
Dreissena rostriformis

The quagga mussel (
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Filter feeders (also known as suspension feeders) are animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized structure, such as the baleen of baleen whales.
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Food is any substance, usually composed primarily of carbohydrates, fats, water and/or proteins, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal or human being for nutrition or pleasure.
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Feces, faeces, or fæces (see spelling differences) is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus (or cloaca) during defecation. The word faeces is the plural of the Latin word fæx meaning "dregs".
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Benthos are the organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone.[1] Although the term derived from the Greek for "depths of the sea"<ref name="caml" />, the term is also used in freshwater biology to refer to organisms at
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River Shannon (Irish: Sionainn altenatively Sionna), the longest river in the islands of Ireland and Great Britain at 386 km (240 mi), divides the west of Ireland (mostly the province of Connacht) from the east and south
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Astacoidea
Latreille, 1802
Parastacoidea
Huxley, 1879

Families
Astacoidea
  Astacidae
  Cambaridae
Parastacoidea
  Parastacidae

Crayfish, often referred to as crawfish or crawdad
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Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans.

They are strong swimmers with medium to large bodies.
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Ondatrini
Gray, 1825

Genus: Ondatra
Link, 1795

Species: 'O. zibethicus

Binomial name
Ondatra zibethicus
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