i
Zebra mussel: present threat, future danger? A report from the Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant Network
-
1994
Details:
-
Personal Author:
-
Corporate Authors:
-
NOAA Program & Office:
-
Sea Grant Program:
-
Description:In July 1988, the zebra mussel ("Dreissena polymorpha") a creature new to North American waters was sighted in Lake St. Clair, near Detroit, Michigan. A native of the Black Sea, the mussel apparently hitched a ride to the U.S. in the ballast water of Eurasian tankers. Soon after it arrived, the zebra mussel began wreaking havoc, for the tiny mollusk can attach itself firmly to vitually any solid object in fresh or slightly brackish water, with often disastrous results. In the Great Lakes region, the zebra mussel has clogged the intake pipes of municipal water plants and power companies and even the water systems of golf courses. It has glued itself to the shells of other freshwater mollusks, including several species of endangered clams, effectively smothering them. This report highlights the threat the zebra mussel poses to the Mid-Atlantic region New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina and the Mid- Atlantic Sea Grant Network's efforts to prepare the region for a possible zebra mussel 'invasion'.
-
Keywords:
-
Sea Grant Document Number:DELU-G-94-001
-
Document Type:
-
Rights Information:Public Domain
-
Compliance:Library
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
File Type:
Supporting Files
-
No Additional Files
More +