Invasion
Invasion Description
1st Record: offshore between Longpoint and Port Colborne/Ontario/Lake Erie (4-11/1986, Carlton 2008)
Geographic Extent
offshore between Longpoint and Port Colborne/Ontario/Lake Erie (4-11/1986, Carlton 2008); Erie/PA/Lake Erie (1989, USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Program 2012)
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 | Competition | |
| In Presque Isle Bay (PA), fouling of native Unionid mussels by Zebra Mussels is reported to have caused an 89% reduction in their population (Maleski & Masteller, cited by Ricciardi et al.1998). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Herbivory | |
| Reduction in chlorophyl a and increased light penetration, since the onset of the dreissenid invasions, was also seen in the eastern basin of Lake Erie (North et al. 2012). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Parasite/Predator Vector | |
| 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. 2012). | ||
References
Carlton, James T. (2008) The Zebra Mussel Dreissena polymorpha found in North America in 1986 and 1987, Journal of Great Lakes Research 34: 770-773North, Rebecca L. and 6 authors (2012) Distribution of seston and nutrient concentrations in the eastern basin of Lake Erie pre- and post-dreissenid mussel invasion, Journal of Great Lakes Research 38: 463-476
Ricciardi, Anthony, Neves, Richard J., Rasmussen, Joseph B. (1998) Impending extinctions of North Americam freshwater mussels (Unionoida) following the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) invasion, Journal of Animal Ecology 67: 613-619