Quagga
mussels have a long history of invasion and have successfully established in
Great Britain (1824), The Netherlands (1827), The Czech Republic (1893),
Sweden (1920), Italy (1973), the Great Lakes in the USA (1988), and
California (2008). Quagga mussels
were first found in the USA in the Great Lakes in 1989, Nevada in 2007, and
California in 2008. Ballast water discharge from transoceanic ships is
thought to be responsible for the long distance spread of zebra and quagga
mussels from their original home ranges in eastern Europe. Short distance spread between fresh
waterways within countries most likely occurs via the movement of
recreational boats. This occurs when
boats are not cleaned and dried adequately and contaminated watercraft are
then moved from infested waterways to pristine water bodies where mussels are
accidentally introduced. These
mussels can survive for 3-5 days out of water without suffering lethal
desiccation.
Where
quagga and zebra mussels co-exist, quagga mussels appear to outcompete zebra
mussels, and quagga mussels can colonize to depths greater than those
achieved by zebra mussels and are more tolerant of colder water
temperatures. For example, in Lake
Michigan, zebra mussels made up 98.3% of mussels in 2000, by 2005 quagga
mussels represented 97.7% of collected mussels. Zebra mussels were found at densities of around 899 per square
meter, but quagga mussels now dominate at 7,790 mussels per square
meter. Quagga mussels have been found
at depths of up to 540 feet in Lake Michigan where they filter feed year
round.Consequently, quagga mussels may end up being the more problematic of
these two mussel species in California.
Mussel invasions have had
catastrophic impacts in the ecosystems in which they have established. These organisms clog water intake
structures (e.g., pipes and screens), which greatly increases maintenance
costs for water treatment and power plants.
Recreational activities on lakes and rivers are adversely affected as
mussels accumulate on docks, buoys, boat hulls, anchors, and beaches can
become heavily encrusted.
The
shells of both mussel species are sharp and can cut people, which forces the
wearing of shoes when walking along infested beaches or over rocks. Mussels
adhering to boat hulls can increase drag, affect boat steering, and clog
engines, all of which can lead to overheating and engine malfunctions. Ecological problems also result from
mussel invasions. Zebra and quagga
mussels can kill native freshwater mussels in two ways: (1) attachment to the
shells of native species can kill them, and (2) these invasive species can
outcompete native mussels and other filter feeding invertebrates for
food. This problem has been
particularly acute in some areas of the USA that have a very rich diversity
of native freshwater mussel species.
The
encrusting of lake and river bottoms can displace native aquatic arthropods
that need soft sediments for burrowing. In the Great Lakes this had lead to
the collapse of amphipod populations that fish rely on for food and the health
of fish populations has been severely affected.
These
mussels have been associated with avian botulism outbreaks in the Great Lakes
that have caused the mortality of tens of thousands of birds. Because of their filter feeding habit, it
has been estimated that these mussels can bioaccumlate organic pollutants in
their tissues by as much as 300,000 times when compared to concentrations in
the water in which they are living.
Consequently, these pollutants can biomagnify as they are passed up
the food chain when contaminated mussels are eaten by predators (e.g., fish
and crayfish), who in turn are eaten by other organisms (e.g., recreational
fishermen who eat contaminated fish).
High mussel populations can increase water acidity and decrease
concentrations of dissolved oxygen.
Invasions by quagga and zebra mussels have been documented as having
some positive affects on receiving ecosystems. For example, filtration of water by mussels as they extract
food removes particulate matter. This
filtration has improved water clarity, and reduced the eutrophication of
polluted lakes. In some instances
these improvements may have benefited local fishing industries. Conversely, improved water clarity allows
penetration of light to greater depths which can alter the species
composition of aquatic plant communities and associated ecosystems. This improved water quality is thought to
aid algal blooms that get washed ashore where they rot making recreational
beaches unusable. Also, the highly
efficient removal of phytoplankton can deprive other aquatic species of food.
Invasion success in some areas of California may be affected by water
chemistry. Waterways around the Sierra Nevada mountains may have insufficient
calcium (an element needed for shell growth) and some lakes in northeast
California may be too salty for mussel survival. However, the general consensus is that most freshwater ways in
California will be accommodating to zebra and quagga mussels.
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