Invasion
Invasion Description
between Point Pelee and Erieau/Ontario/Lake Erie (4-11/1986, Carlton 2008)
Geographic Extent
between Point Pelee and Erieau/Ontario/Lake Erie (4-11/1986, Carlton 2008)
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Probable | Ballast Water |
Regional Impacts
| Economic Impact | Industry | |
| Fouling of natural gas wellheads by zebra mussels, off Ontario, caused maintenance problems by 1990 (Carlton 2008). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Food/Prey | |
| Diving ducks of several species (mostly Greater and Lesser Scaup, Athya marila, A. affinis) appeared in large flocks in late fall and early spring at Point Pelee, Ontario in 1991-1992. Caging experiments indicated that they sharply reduced Zebra Mussel abundance, but these effects disappeared in a few months. Ice cover prevented predation in winter (Hamilton et al. 1994). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Parasitism | |
| Dreissena polymorpha was found to be an important host for trematode parasites, including the cosmopolitan Echinoparyphium recurvatum which can cause fatal infections in waterfowl (Karatayev et al. 2013). | ||
References
Carlton, James T. (2008) The Zebra Mussel Dreissena polymorpha found in North America in 1986 and 1987, Journal of Great Lakes Research 34: 770-773Hamilton, Diana J.; Ankey, C. Davison; Bailey, Robert C. (1994) Predation of zebra mussels by diving ducks: An exclosure study, Ecology 15(2): 521-531