Zebra mussels and quagga mussels are invasive pest bivalves that evolved in Europe and southwest Asia
and first appeared in North America in the 1980s. First found in the U.S. in the Great Lakes region, these
mussels have recently been discovered west of the Continental Divide. The mussels' ability to attach to
hard objects (e.g., lumber, boat trailers, etc.), withstand dessication, and be transported in water in their
floating larval stages enabled trade and tourism to mediate their spread. Recreational boating is suggested
as the most likely vehicle for the recent intracontinental invasions of alpine and subalpine lakes in Europe
and their transcontinental movement in North America. Unless controlled, mussels are known to cause
severe biofouling effects to water intake systems of drinking water and electrical power plant companies.
However, their total economic impact has been smaller than once feared. Likewise, their negative
impacts on other organisms, though drastic in some areas, have also been smaller than predicted at the
beginning of their invasion of North America. Suggested and proven uses of zebra mussels in monitoring
and other applications help ameliorate the economic costs and negative biological impacts that have
accompanied the invasion of these aquatic pests. A new molecular method for validating the
identification of zebra mussels and quagga mussels is described. Includes 112 references, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 3.1 MB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 20 |
| Published : | 11/01/2009 |
