Zebra mussels

Untitled Slide

How they got here

• In the ballasts of crew ships from Russia and western Europe.
• Discovered in the Great Lakes in 1980's.
• They can stick to almost anything in the water even others animals and organisms.

Problems from zebra mussles

• Zebra mussels are one of the most dangerous invasive species our country has ever seen.
• Take away microscopic food from fish larva.
• Female mussels produce about 100,000 to 500,000 eggs a year
• Can survive days out of fresh water, causing even more problems for people who don't wash their boats.

Life cycle of the "zebra"

• The female lays eggs
• They hatch and float around with the curent of the water
• After 2 weeks of steeling fish larvas food they attach to a surface and start growing shells.

Who do they really hurt?

• Zebra mussels really hurt us all. They help pollute the waters by not filtering natural chemicals and algae.
• They clog water plants, boat engines, stick to ladders and cut people feet, kill natural mussels, crawfish and fish.
• Also if a person eats the water foul that swims in the contaminated water the human will get sick.

How to eliminate the problem

• Deeply clean your boat and check ever nook and Cranny.
• Once you take you boat out of the water , don't put it back in fresh water sooner the21 days.
• Dispose of the isles you find don't just throw them back into water.

What they can attach to

• The zebra mussel can attack to almost anything as long as it's a semi-stable surface; like lost sunglasses to boat launches, ladders, beaches, nets, mussels, native vertebrates, and even aquatic plants.

How big are they

• A zebra mussel starts out life as a micro-organism
• After 2 weeks or floating around they attack to something
• And adult zebra mussel can range from wives from 1/4" to 1 1/2" in length

The end

• http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/aquaticanimals/zebramussel/index.html
• http://www.protectyourwaters.net/hitchhikers/mollusks_zebra_mussel.php