Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: Ontario/Lake St. Clair, southern portion on the lake (1988, USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic species program 2012)
Geographic Extent
Ontario/Lake St. Clair, southern portion on the lake (1988, USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic species program 2012)
Vectors
Level | Vector |
---|---|
Probable | Ballast Water |
Regional Impacts
Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
After the invasion of Lake St. Clair, the abundance and diversity of macrobenthos increased. Water clarity increased, and macrophytes (Potamogeton sp., Vallisneria americana, and Elodea canadensis), and filamentous algae became abundant (Griffiths 1992). | ||
Economic Impact | Health | |
The city of Windsor, Ontario, spent between $CAN 400,000–450,000 on charcoal filtration of water from Lake St. Clair, to control taste and odor problems after the Zebra Mussel invasion (Colautti et al. 2006). | ||
Ecological Impact | Food/Prey | |
Round Gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) in the Detroit River fed largely on Zebra Mussels. The size and numbers of mussels eaten were proportional to the length of the fish (Ray and Corkum 1997). | ||
Ecological Impact | Competition | |
In Lake St. Clair, fouling of native unionid mussels by Zebra Mussels has caused an estimated 97% decline in abundance (Schloesser et al. 1996; Ricciardi et al.1998). | ||