The United States is experiencing a devastating attack from some very small invasive species--called zebra and quagga mussels.
Zebra mussels and quagga mussels are virtually identical both physically and behaviorally. Originally from Eastern Europe, these tiny trespassers were picked up in the ballast water of ocean-going ships and brought to the Great Lakes in the 1980s. By 1990 zebra mussels and quagga mussels had infested all of the Great Lakes.
Now, both quagga mussels and zebra mussels have spread to 29 states by hitching rides on boats moving between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins. Artificial channels like the Chicago Area Waterways System facilitate their spread. These man-made channels act like super-highways and are also a pathway for Asian carp, which are currently spreading towards the Great Lakes.
National Wildlife Federation
<https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/Invasive-Species/Invasive-Mussels.aspx>The Problem
Zebra mussels and quagga mussels are virtually identical both physically and behaviorally. Originally from Eastern Europe, these tiny trespassers were picked up in the ballast water of ocean-going ships and brought to the Great Lakes in the 1980s. By 1990 zebra mussels and quagga mussels had infested all of the Great Lakes.
Now, both quagga mussels and zebra mussels have spread to 29 states by hitching rides on boats moving between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins. Artificial channels like the Chicago Area Waterways System facilitate their spread. These man-made channels act like super-highways and are also a pathway for Asian carp, which are currently spreading towards the Great Lakes.
National Wildlife Federation
<https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/Invasive-Species/Invasive-Mussels.aspx>The Problem
Where the Problem Exists:
Infestation is occurring across the United States and has become a major problem for the water recreation industry as well as major municipalities with fresh water intake systems.
Infestation is occurring across the United States and has become a major problem for the water recreation industry as well as major municipalities with fresh water intake systems.
The Problem
Quagga and zebra 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.
Center For Invasive Research
<http://cisr.ucr.edu/quagga_zebra_mussels.html>
Boats that have been moored or stored for more than just a day or two in zebra mussel-infested waters may carry "hitchhiking" mussels attached to their hulls, engine drive units and anchor chains. Boats that have been in infested waters for only a day or two are less likely to transport adult zebra mussels.
Missouri Department of Conservation
<http://mdc.mo.gov/wildlife/nuisance-problem-species/invasive-species/zebra-mussel-control>
From the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services:
"Zebra mussels are not native to the United States. They disrupt aquatic ecology via the food web and cause problems to humans wherever they have appeared. Zebra mussels are the only freshwater mussel that can secrete durable elastic strands, called byssal fibers, by which they can use to securely attach to nearly any surface, forming barnacle‐like crusts several feet thick. Through this mechanism zebra mussels can attach to stone, wood, concrete, iron, steel, aluminum, plastic, fiberglass, PVC, and even crayfish other mussels. They have also recently been found growing on softer substrates like plants and even mud."
<http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/bb/documents/bb-17.pdf>
Quagga and zebra 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.
Center For Invasive Research
<http://cisr.ucr.edu/quagga_zebra_mussels.html>
Boats that have been moored or stored for more than just a day or two in zebra mussel-infested waters may carry "hitchhiking" mussels attached to their hulls, engine drive units and anchor chains. Boats that have been in infested waters for only a day or two are less likely to transport adult zebra mussels.
Missouri Department of Conservation
<http://mdc.mo.gov/wildlife/nuisance-problem-species/invasive-species/zebra-mussel-control>
From the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services:
"Zebra mussels are not native to the United States. They disrupt aquatic ecology via the food web and cause problems to humans wherever they have appeared. Zebra mussels are the only freshwater mussel that can secrete durable elastic strands, called byssal fibers, by which they can use to securely attach to nearly any surface, forming barnacle‐like crusts several feet thick. Through this mechanism zebra mussels can attach to stone, wood, concrete, iron, steel, aluminum, plastic, fiberglass, PVC, and even crayfish other mussels. They have also recently been found growing on softer substrates like plants and even mud."
<http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/bb/documents/bb-17.pdf>
Mussel Costs
—In 2018, the Colorado General Assembly approved a bill that requires those who operate motorboats and sailboats on waters of the state to purchase an ANS stamp annually. The cost of the stamp for Colorado residents is $25. For boaters coming to Colorado from other states or provinces, the stamp will cost $50. <aspentimes.com>
CANADA
Government officials have said the total cost of managing the impacts of zebra mussels in Ontario is estimated to be about $75 to $91 million per year; that includes funding, “education, cleaning, maintenance of equipment, around zebra mussels,” said Colleen Sklar, executive director of the Lake Friendly Project. “In Canada, the price tag rises to about $7 billion.”
The annual cost on the Great Lakes to control the zebra mussels in water intake pipes alone is $250 million and the total cost tops more than $500 million
https://globalnews.ca/news/2269026/zebra-mussels-cost-canadians-billions-each-year-cost-to-manitobans-still-unknown/
POWER INDUSTRY
—$60 million per year
Maintenance of pipes clogged with zebra mussels costs the power industry up to $60 million per year and temporary shutdowns due to insufficient water flow can cost over $5,000 per hour. The total cost to the United States of the zebra mussel invasion is estimated at $3.1 billion over the next ten years.
Case Study: Zebra Mussel - State Department (state.gov)
—
https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/oes/ocns/inv/cs/2304.htm
Below, the videos and pictures show why we need to be concerned with the issue of the invasive Zebra and Quagga mussels
The slides below show the size, whereabouts and build up of the mussels
For some amazing underwater pictures of the mussels, view the gallery from Engbretson Underwater Photography - click HERE Also find them on Facebook
**************THE MUSSELS**************
The Quagga Mussel
The quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) is a subspecies of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk.
It is one of seven Dreissena species and has an average life span of 3 to 5 years.[1]
This subspecies is indigenous to the Dnieper River drainage of Ukraine. The species is named after the quagga, an extinct subspecies of African zebra, possibly because, like the quagga, its stripes fade out towards the ventral side.
The quagga mussel is currently of major concern in the United States as an invasive species.
Invasive species Zebra mussels, the first Dreissenid mussel introduced in North America, rapidly spread throughout many major river systems and theGreat Lakes, causing substantial ecological and environmental impacts. The quagga mussel was first observed in North America in September 1989 when it was discovered in Lake Erie near Port Colborne, Ontario. It was not identified as a distinct species until 1991.
The introduction of both Dreissenid species into the Great Lakes appears to be the result of ballast water discharge from transoceanic ships that were carrying veligers, juveniles, or adult mussels. The genus Dreissena is highly polymorphic and prolific with high potential for rapid adaptation attributing to its rapid expansion and colonization. Still, there are other factors that can aid in the spread of these species across North American waters, such as, larval drift in river systems or fishing and boating activities that allow for overland transport or movement between water basins. The success of overland transport of Dreissena species depends on their ability to tolerate periods of desiccation, and results suggest that, given temperate summer conditions, adult Dreissena may survive 3-5 days of aerial exposure.[2]
Quaggas are prodigious water filterers, removing substantial amounts of phytoplankton and suspended particulate from the water. By removing the phytoplankton, quaggas in turn decrease the food source for zooplankton, therefore altering the food web. Impacts associated with the filtration of water include increases in water transparency, decreases in meanchlorophyll concentrations, and accumulation of pseudofeces. Water clarity increases light penetration causing a proliferation of aquatic plants that can change species dominance and alter the entire ecosystems. The pseudofeces that is produced from filtering the water accumulates and impacts the environment. As the waste particles decompose, oxygen is used up, water acidity increases (decreased pH) and toxic byproducts are produced. In addition, quagga mussels accumulate organic pollutants within their tissues to levels more than 300,000 times greater than concentrations in the environment and these pollutants are found in their pseudofeces, which can be passed up the food chain, therefore increasing wildlife exposure to organic pollutants (Snyder et al., 1997). Another major threat involves the fouling of native freshwater mussels. Since quaggas were discovered in Lake Michiganin 1998, plankton rings formed by the passage of storms have been eaten away by the quagga mussels, threatening the local ecosystem.[3]
Dreissena’s ability to rapidly colonize hard surfaces causes serious economic problems. These major biofouling organisms can clog water intake structures, such as pipes and screens, therefore reducing pumping capabilities for power and water treatment plants, costing industries, companies, and communities. Recreation-based industries and activities have also been impacted; docks,breakwalls, buoys, boats, and beaches have all been heavily colonized. Many of the potential impacts of Dreissena are unclear due to the limited time scale of North American colonization. Nonetheless, it is clear that the genus Dreissena is highly polymorphic and has a high potential for rapid adaptation to extreme environmental conditions, possibly leading to significant long-term impacts on North American waters. Also, the colonization of deeper water by D. r. bugensis, exposes the quagga to a new range of environmental conditions and new habitats.
It causes many of the same problems (damaging boats, power plants, and harbors and destroying the native mussel population) as the equally invasive zebra mussel of Russia. It is also displacing native burrowing amphipod (Diporeia hoyi) from the deep waters of Lake Erie.
In January 2007, quagga mussels were discovered at a marina in the Nevada portion of Lake Mead, and two other lakes on the Colorado River, Lake Mohave and Lake Havasu.[4]
In 2008 the threat of quagga mussels being introduced at Lake Casitas and Westlake Lake in California from recreational boating resulted in the lakes banning the use of outside boats.[5] As of March 2008, other lakes such as Castaic and Lake Cachuma are considering similar bans. In June 2008, the mussels were confirmed in Lake Granby, Colorado. The larva form of quagga mussels were found in the water.[6]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quagga_mussel> accessed 5/2/2012
The quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) is a subspecies of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk.
It is one of seven Dreissena species and has an average life span of 3 to 5 years.[1]
This subspecies is indigenous to the Dnieper River drainage of Ukraine. The species is named after the quagga, an extinct subspecies of African zebra, possibly because, like the quagga, its stripes fade out towards the ventral side.
The quagga mussel is currently of major concern in the United States as an invasive species.
Invasive species Zebra mussels, the first Dreissenid mussel introduced in North America, rapidly spread throughout many major river systems and theGreat Lakes, causing substantial ecological and environmental impacts. The quagga mussel was first observed in North America in September 1989 when it was discovered in Lake Erie near Port Colborne, Ontario. It was not identified as a distinct species until 1991.
The introduction of both Dreissenid species into the Great Lakes appears to be the result of ballast water discharge from transoceanic ships that were carrying veligers, juveniles, or adult mussels. The genus Dreissena is highly polymorphic and prolific with high potential for rapid adaptation attributing to its rapid expansion and colonization. Still, there are other factors that can aid in the spread of these species across North American waters, such as, larval drift in river systems or fishing and boating activities that allow for overland transport or movement between water basins. The success of overland transport of Dreissena species depends on their ability to tolerate periods of desiccation, and results suggest that, given temperate summer conditions, adult Dreissena may survive 3-5 days of aerial exposure.[2]
Quaggas are prodigious water filterers, removing substantial amounts of phytoplankton and suspended particulate from the water. By removing the phytoplankton, quaggas in turn decrease the food source for zooplankton, therefore altering the food web. Impacts associated with the filtration of water include increases in water transparency, decreases in meanchlorophyll concentrations, and accumulation of pseudofeces. Water clarity increases light penetration causing a proliferation of aquatic plants that can change species dominance and alter the entire ecosystems. The pseudofeces that is produced from filtering the water accumulates and impacts the environment. As the waste particles decompose, oxygen is used up, water acidity increases (decreased pH) and toxic byproducts are produced. In addition, quagga mussels accumulate organic pollutants within their tissues to levels more than 300,000 times greater than concentrations in the environment and these pollutants are found in their pseudofeces, which can be passed up the food chain, therefore increasing wildlife exposure to organic pollutants (Snyder et al., 1997). Another major threat involves the fouling of native freshwater mussels. Since quaggas were discovered in Lake Michiganin 1998, plankton rings formed by the passage of storms have been eaten away by the quagga mussels, threatening the local ecosystem.[3]
Dreissena’s ability to rapidly colonize hard surfaces causes serious economic problems. These major biofouling organisms can clog water intake structures, such as pipes and screens, therefore reducing pumping capabilities for power and water treatment plants, costing industries, companies, and communities. Recreation-based industries and activities have also been impacted; docks,breakwalls, buoys, boats, and beaches have all been heavily colonized. Many of the potential impacts of Dreissena are unclear due to the limited time scale of North American colonization. Nonetheless, it is clear that the genus Dreissena is highly polymorphic and has a high potential for rapid adaptation to extreme environmental conditions, possibly leading to significant long-term impacts on North American waters. Also, the colonization of deeper water by D. r. bugensis, exposes the quagga to a new range of environmental conditions and new habitats.
It causes many of the same problems (damaging boats, power plants, and harbors and destroying the native mussel population) as the equally invasive zebra mussel of Russia. It is also displacing native burrowing amphipod (Diporeia hoyi) from the deep waters of Lake Erie.
In January 2007, quagga mussels were discovered at a marina in the Nevada portion of Lake Mead, and two other lakes on the Colorado River, Lake Mohave and Lake Havasu.[4]
In 2008 the threat of quagga mussels being introduced at Lake Casitas and Westlake Lake in California from recreational boating resulted in the lakes banning the use of outside boats.[5] As of March 2008, other lakes such as Castaic and Lake Cachuma are considering similar bans. In June 2008, the mussels were confirmed in Lake Granby, Colorado. The larva form of quagga mussels were found in the water.[6]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quagga_mussel> accessed 5/2/2012
The Zebra Mussel
The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a small freshwater mussel. This species was originally native to the streams of southernRussia[1] being first described in 1769 by a German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga and Dnieper rivers. They are still found nearby, as Pontic (Black Sea) and Caspian (Caspian Sea) species.[2] However, it has been accidentally introduced in many other areas, and has become an invasive species in many different countries worldwide.
Zebra mussels attach to most substrates including sand, silt, and harder substrates. Other mussel species frequently represent the most stable objects in silty substrates, and zebra mussels attach to, and often kill these mussels. They build colonies on Native American Unionid clams, reducing their ability to move, feed and breed, eventually leading to their death. This has led to the near extinction of the Unionid clams in Lake St. Clair and the western basin of Lake Erie.[5] This pattern is being repeated in Ireland where zebra mussels have eliminated the two freshwater mussels from several waterways, including some lakes along the River Shannon in 1997.
As an invasive species The native distribution of the species is in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea in Eurasia. Zebra mussels have become an invasive speciesin North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. They disrupt the ecosystems by monotypic colonization, and damage harbors and waterways, ships and boats, and water treatment and power plants. Water treatment plants are most impacted because the water intakes bring the microscopic free-swimming larvae directly into the facilities. The Zebra Mussels also cling on to pipes under the water and clog them.
Grossinger reported it in Hungary in 1794. Kerney and Morton described the rapid colonization of Britain by the zebra mussel, first inCambridgeshire in the 1820s, London in 1824, and in the Union Canal near Edinburgh in 1834.[13] In 1827 zebra mussels were seen in the Netherlands at Rotterdam. Canals that artificially link many European waterways facilitated their early dispersal. It is non-indigenous in the Czech Republic in Elbe river in Bohemia since 1893;[14] in southern Moravia is probably native.[15] Around 1920 the mussels reached Lake Mälaren in Sweden.
The first Italian appearance of the organism was in northern Italy in Lake Garda in 1973;[16] in central Italy they appeared in Tuscany in 2003.[17]
Zebra mussels are also present in British waterways. Many water companies are reporting having problems with their water treatment plants with the mussels attaching themselves to pipeworks. Anglian Water has estimated that it costs £500,000 to remove the mussels from their treatment plants.[18] It has been argued that Zebra Mussels also have had an effect on fish populations, with dwindling fish populations in areas such as Salford Quays.[19]
North American invasion They were first detected in Canada in the Great Lakes in 1988, in Lake St. Clair, located north of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario.[20] It is believed they were inadvertently introduced into the lakes in the ballast water of ocean-going ships traversing the St. Lawrence Seaway. Another possible often neglected mode of introduction is on anchors and chains, although this has not been proven. Since adult zebra mussels can survive out of water for several days or weeks if the temperature is low and humidity is high, chain lockers provide temporary refuge for clusters of adult mussels that could easily be released when transoceanic ships drop anchor in freshwater ports. They have become an invasive species in North America, and as such they are the target of Federal policy to control them, for instance in the National Invasive Species Act (1996).
As zebra mussels have to attach themselves to the crayfish bait, this is one of the ways they have spread to different waterways.[21]
By Location From their first appearance in American waters in 1988, zebra mussels have spread to a large number of waterways, including Lake Simcoe in the Great Lakes region and theMississippi, Hudson, St. Lawrence, Ohio, Cumberland, Missouri, Tennessee, Michigan, Colorado, and Arkansas Rivers. Today the invasion continues. For instance, in 2009 the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation confirmed that zebra mussels had been found in Laurel Lake in the Berkshires.[22] That same year the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that live zebra mussels have been found in Pelican Lake, Minnesota. This was the first confirmed sighting in the Red River Basin, which extends across the international border into the province of Manitoba.[23] In July, 2010, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department confirmed the presence of zebra mussel veliger in the Red River between Wahpeton, N.D. and Breckenridge, Minnesota.[24] As recently as 2010 California similarly reported invasions.[25] In 2011 an invasion of the mussels has resulted in reduced water supplies during a drought year, worsening water restrictions across the Dallas area [26]
A common inference made by scientists predicts that the zebra mussel will continue spreading passively, by ship and by pleasure craft, to more rivers in North America. Trailered boat traffic is the most likely vector for invasion into Western North America. This spread is preventable if boaters thoroughly clean and dry their boats and associated equipment before transporting them to new bodies of water. Since no North American predator or combination of predators has been shown to significantly reduce zebra mussel numbers,[citation needed] such spread would most likely result in permanent establishment of zebra mussels in many North American waterways.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel> accessed 5/2/2013
The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a small freshwater mussel. This species was originally native to the streams of southernRussia[1] being first described in 1769 by a German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga and Dnieper rivers. They are still found nearby, as Pontic (Black Sea) and Caspian (Caspian Sea) species.[2] However, it has been accidentally introduced in many other areas, and has become an invasive species in many different countries worldwide.
Zebra mussels attach to most substrates including sand, silt, and harder substrates. Other mussel species frequently represent the most stable objects in silty substrates, and zebra mussels attach to, and often kill these mussels. They build colonies on Native American Unionid clams, reducing their ability to move, feed and breed, eventually leading to their death. This has led to the near extinction of the Unionid clams in Lake St. Clair and the western basin of Lake Erie.[5] This pattern is being repeated in Ireland where zebra mussels have eliminated the two freshwater mussels from several waterways, including some lakes along the River Shannon in 1997.
As an invasive species The native distribution of the species is in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea in Eurasia. Zebra mussels have become an invasive speciesin North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. They disrupt the ecosystems by monotypic colonization, and damage harbors and waterways, ships and boats, and water treatment and power plants. Water treatment plants are most impacted because the water intakes bring the microscopic free-swimming larvae directly into the facilities. The Zebra Mussels also cling on to pipes under the water and clog them.
Grossinger reported it in Hungary in 1794. Kerney and Morton described the rapid colonization of Britain by the zebra mussel, first inCambridgeshire in the 1820s, London in 1824, and in the Union Canal near Edinburgh in 1834.[13] In 1827 zebra mussels were seen in the Netherlands at Rotterdam. Canals that artificially link many European waterways facilitated their early dispersal. It is non-indigenous in the Czech Republic in Elbe river in Bohemia since 1893;[14] in southern Moravia is probably native.[15] Around 1920 the mussels reached Lake Mälaren in Sweden.
The first Italian appearance of the organism was in northern Italy in Lake Garda in 1973;[16] in central Italy they appeared in Tuscany in 2003.[17]
Zebra mussels are also present in British waterways. Many water companies are reporting having problems with their water treatment plants with the mussels attaching themselves to pipeworks. Anglian Water has estimated that it costs £500,000 to remove the mussels from their treatment plants.[18] It has been argued that Zebra Mussels also have had an effect on fish populations, with dwindling fish populations in areas such as Salford Quays.[19]
North American invasion They were first detected in Canada in the Great Lakes in 1988, in Lake St. Clair, located north of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario.[20] It is believed they were inadvertently introduced into the lakes in the ballast water of ocean-going ships traversing the St. Lawrence Seaway. Another possible often neglected mode of introduction is on anchors and chains, although this has not been proven. Since adult zebra mussels can survive out of water for several days or weeks if the temperature is low and humidity is high, chain lockers provide temporary refuge for clusters of adult mussels that could easily be released when transoceanic ships drop anchor in freshwater ports. They have become an invasive species in North America, and as such they are the target of Federal policy to control them, for instance in the National Invasive Species Act (1996).
As zebra mussels have to attach themselves to the crayfish bait, this is one of the ways they have spread to different waterways.[21]
By Location From their first appearance in American waters in 1988, zebra mussels have spread to a large number of waterways, including Lake Simcoe in the Great Lakes region and theMississippi, Hudson, St. Lawrence, Ohio, Cumberland, Missouri, Tennessee, Michigan, Colorado, and Arkansas Rivers. Today the invasion continues. For instance, in 2009 the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation confirmed that zebra mussels had been found in Laurel Lake in the Berkshires.[22] That same year the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that live zebra mussels have been found in Pelican Lake, Minnesota. This was the first confirmed sighting in the Red River Basin, which extends across the international border into the province of Manitoba.[23] In July, 2010, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department confirmed the presence of zebra mussel veliger in the Red River between Wahpeton, N.D. and Breckenridge, Minnesota.[24] As recently as 2010 California similarly reported invasions.[25] In 2011 an invasion of the mussels has resulted in reduced water supplies during a drought year, worsening water restrictions across the Dallas area [26]
A common inference made by scientists predicts that the zebra mussel will continue spreading passively, by ship and by pleasure craft, to more rivers in North America. Trailered boat traffic is the most likely vector for invasion into Western North America. This spread is preventable if boaters thoroughly clean and dry their boats and associated equipment before transporting them to new bodies of water. Since no North American predator or combination of predators has been shown to significantly reduce zebra mussel numbers,[citation needed] such spread would most likely result in permanent establishment of zebra mussels in many North American waterways.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel> accessed 5/2/2013