# Are zebra mussels an ecological threat in Europe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 10, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511 "2008-08-10T17:39:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/1 "2008-08-10T17:39:19Z")
Apparently, the zebra mussels that are rife in the Great Lakes came here via a ballast water dump by a vessel that picked them up in Europe someplace. There is some question as to their ecological impact, and many people consider them to be somewhat of a disaster ecologically. The environmentalists seem to view them as a real pest and a threat. I’m wondering if they occupy similar niches in other parts of the world, i.e. invasive species that upset the standing ecosystems. Any help, dopers? xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/2 "2008-08-10T21:53:29Z")
America is not unique when it comes to being susceptible to invasive species. I don’t know a lot about zebra mussels, but milling around in the back of my mind there’s an idea that hundreds of millions of dollars a year are spent on keeping piping systems and other waterside infrastructure clear in the Great Lakes because of them. I don’t know how they effect the local aquatic life, but if they’re anything similar to the _Potamicorbula_ we have invading the West Coast, serious changes in the life of ecosystems (like certain types of fish becoming incredibly rare, where before they were common enough to support fisheries) can occur because of the change in biological filtration and feeding of these molluscs. I don’t have any cites handy - anyone have some helpful ones? ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/3 "2008-08-10T22:14:10Z")
[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_mussel) seems to have a pretty comprehensive article on the species. [QUOTE=Wikipedia] Zebra mussels are an invasive species in North America, the British Isles, Spain, and Sweden. [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > Crayfish could have a significant impact on the densities of 1 to 5 mm long zebra mussels. An adult crayfish consumes an average of nearly 105 zebra mussels everyday, or in all about 6000 mussels in a season. Crayfish, yum! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/4 "2008-08-10T22:20:04Z")
ISTR non-native crayfish (as opposed to the native ones) are causing problems in Britain’s waterways by burrowing into the banks. Great lakes? Hm… Introduce crayfish to eat the zebra mussels. Then introduce something else to control the crayfish. Then introduce something else to control the something elses. Add some tomato and garlic and such, and you have bouillabaisse! ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/5 "2008-08-10T23:28:56Z")
My Niece works for the California Coastal Commision and they are working on trying to find ways to get rid of the mussels. They are a huge problem there. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/6 "2008-08-10T23:59:54Z")
[QUOTE=robcaro] My Niece works for the California Coastal Commision and they are working on trying to find ways to get rid of the mussels. They are a huge problem there. [/QUOTE] Yeah, they’ve shut down our local lakes to trailered boats in order to try to keep them from invading. \*\* Johnny L.A.\*\*, don’t worry, there’s already an invasive species, the Rusty Crayfish, in the Great Lakes. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/7 "2008-08-11T01:52:10Z")
[http://www.great-lakes.net/envt/flora-fauna/invasive/invasive.html](http://www.great-lakes.net/envt/flora-fauna/invasive/invasive.html) The great lakes started with the lamprey eels. They devastated the lake trout many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/8 "2008-08-11T04:55:59Z")
Zebra mussels are now largely gone from the Great Lakes. They were driven out by the Quagga mussels, which are slightly larger and slightly more voracious than the Zebra mussels. Yes, really. ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/9 "2008-08-11T08:11:09Z")
[The Master Speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060922.html) about zebra mussels in Lake Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/10 "2008-08-11T13:19:28Z")
I can’t really tell from the Wiki article or from Unca Cecil’s response if the animals are viewed elsewhere with the same hairy eyeball they are here. “I’m wondering if they occupy similar niches in other parts of the world, i.e. invasive species that upset the standing ecosystems.” ---
**Author:** ![KRSOradio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/0ea827/32.png) [@KRSOradio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRSOradio)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/11 "2008-08-13T02:22:12Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] ISTR non-native crayfish (as opposed to the native ones) are causing problems in Britain’s waterways by burrowing into the banks. Great lakes? Hm… Introduce crayfish to eat the zebra mussels. Then introduce something else to control the crayfish. Then introduce something else to control the something elses. Add some tomato and garlic and such, and you have bouillabaisse! [/QUOTE] Could you sterilize all the crayfish so they couldn’t reproduce. That way after they were done eating the mussels they’d die out. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/12 "2008-08-13T02:41:27Z")
[QUOTE=KRSOradio] Could you sterilize all the crayfish so they couldn’t reproduce. That way after they were done eating the mussels they’d die out. [/QUOTE] Actually I was just making a joke. It wasn’t very good. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/13 "2008-08-13T03:10:56Z")
That’s too bad, I was looking forward to enjoying a fresh bucket of cajun crawdadds in Chicago sometime in the future. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/14 "2008-08-13T12:17:38Z")
[QUOTE=CC] I can’t really tell from the Wiki article or from Unca Cecil’s response if the animals are viewed elsewhere with the same hairy eyeball they are here. “I’m wondering if they occupy similar niches in other parts of the world, i.e. invasive species that upset the standing ecosystems.” [/QUOTE] Yes, at least in the UK. > **[Untitled Document](https://www.introduced-species.co.uk/Species/molluscs/zebra%20mussel.htm)** > **[BBC NEWS | UK | England | Cambridgeshire | Toxic pill attacks zebra mussels](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cambridgeshire/4673638.stm)** > > Scientists develop a Trojan horse technique to get past the zebra mussel's defences. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-zebra-mussels-an-ecological-threat-in-europe/459511/15 "2008-08-13T17:30:41Z")
[QUOTE=WarmNPrickly] That’s too bad, I was looking forward to enjoying a fresh bucket of cajun crawdadds in Chicago sometime in the future. [/QUOTE] After each one has taken in all the toxins from 6000 zebra mussels? No thanks!