The Zebra muscle is a small muscle, but it has very sharp edges that can easily tear skin resulting in deep cuts.

Environmental Consequences

The Zebra mussels were first detected in Canada and the United States in 1988 in Lake St. Clair. They quickly spread to the great lakes and surrounding lakes within ten years. Currently, they can be found in Lake Simcoe, the Mississippi river drainage, the Husdon river and the St. Lawrence river.

Clogging intake pipes

Zebra mussels attach themselves in water intake pipes, docks, boats and any other man made structure. They have proven to be a costly nuisance. Each year, millions of dollars is spent to clean them from municipal intake pipes and other structures.

Filtering Water

The Zebra mussels are filter feedings. However, as the reproduce at a rapid rate, their filtering has the effect or reducing nutrients in the water and altering the natural food chain. While they are attributed with cleaning several water ways, this is the result of killing off much of the natural life due to the lack of food.

Sharp

The Zebra muscle is a small muscle, but it has very sharp edges that can easily tear skin resulting in deep cuts. Whenever swimming in areas populated with zebra mussels be sure to wear swimming shoes to avoid deep cuts.

Zebra Mussels

The Zebra Mussel, (Dreissena polymorpha), is a small freshwater mussel that is native to the lakes of southeast Russia. However, these mussels started showing up in the United States, Canada and Europe starting in the 1970s. They enter foreign waters when ships released their balasts, contaminating waters ways.

Once introduced to a new habitat, the zebra mussels are there to stay and are considered an invasive species.