Save Our Lakes; Zebra Mussels
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Description of Felon(s)
Dreissena polymorpha AKA Zebra Mussel.
Has a stripped back like a Zebra,
only dark or light coloured shells.
will grow up to about 50 mm but in the first year only 5-10.
lives for 4 to 5 years.
Origination and spread
The Zebra Mussel originated from Balkans, Poland and former soviet union. it was spotted in the Lake St. Clair in 1988, and by 1990's was found in all great lakes. It's said that how they where introduced to our lakes was through a ballast water introduction which allowed them to latch onto boats and navigate from their to other lakes.
Crimes and Capture
The Zebra Mussel has not so large of a record on crimes but does have a number of things it does affect, for example, Because the Zebra Mussels attach to things, they cause lots of drag on boats and even sink Buoys and other objects in the water by its mass attachment. Although it filters out our lakes like in Poland they also Zebra mussels filter out large amounts of phytoplankton, and compete with many species of zooplankton which are an important food source for young fish. This affects the food chain at the bottom at the lakes which goes onto smaller fish, then larger fish and later us because of them trapping nutrients at the shore line causing algae.