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Sea Grant Nonindigenous Species Site. Ballast water has greatly increased the chances of spreading Zebra Mussels and other invasive species to foreign waters.Experts believe that the Zebra Mussel was first brought to the United States by way of ballast water.Ballast water is water taken aboard a ship to help stabilize it. PIERRE — The S.D. History of Zebra Mussels. Place of origin: Zebra mussels are native to eastern Europe and western Asian but were introduced to the United States in the 1980s. The Zebra Mussel is native to the Caspian, Black and Aral Sea in Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
Experts suspect that the reason they spread slowlyprobably just from being attached to boatswas because using water as ballast was not common until the late 1900s. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.
The humble freshwater drum — While we can learn a lot from looking at how zebra mussels behave in Europe, zebra mussels face different ecosystems in North America often making comparisons and predictions complicated. Origin Dreissena polymorpha or Zebra mussel is native to Eurasia, specifically the drainage basins of the Black, Caspian, Aral and Azov seas. The freshwater zebra mussel (family Dreissenidae) feeds on phytoplankton and proliferates rapidly, clogging water-intake pipes and damaging boats and bridges. Search Britannica
In the 1700s, the mussels moved west as commerce increased between Eastern, Central and Western Europe. Their name comes from the dark, zig-zagged stripes on each shell.Zebra mussels probably arrived in the Great Lakes in the 1980s via ballast water that was discharged by large ships from Europe. You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Zebra mussels — the European shellfish clogging up water intakes throughout the Great Lakes in recent years — have a natural enemy: the common sheepshead. Natural populations of 5,000 to 30,000 individual mussels per square meter are not uncommon. Department of Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) has confirmed adult zebra mussels living in Pickerel Lake in Day County.
Introduced to the United States in about 1986, the zebra mussel is thought to have hitched rides through ballast water in the bottom of ships traveling from Europe to the United States.
Current spread is likely from the movement of water … . As they continued to spread, concern began to rise about the quality of our lakes, and consequently legislation was enacted to help preserve the quality of our nations water. The zebra mussels also outcompete the natives for food and space, and because of their fast reproduction can quickly overwhelm a water system. by the famous Russian scientist and explorer Pyotr Simon Pallas from a Zebra mussels attach to hard surfaces underwater.