2. •Small shellfish (mollusk) with
striped patterns on shells.
•Usually alternating light and
dark bands.
•Some don’t have these
patterns.
•Typically 2 inches or less in size.
•Lifespan of 4 to 8 years.
•Extremely high reproductive
rate of 30,000 to 1,000,000 new
mussels per year.
•Able to reproduce at 1 year
of age.
•About 2% of zebra mussels
reach adulthood.

3. •Fairly wide ranges of
environmental conditions.
•Temperatures between
68 F and 77 F and water
currents 0.15 to 0.5 meters
per second.
•Mid 50 F range when
spawning.
•Can adapt to saline water.
•Lakes with high calcium
content.

4. •Not native to the U.S.
•Filter feeders.
•Disrupt aquatic ecology.
•Secrete durable elastic strands,
called byssal fibers, which allow
them to attach to any surface.
•Threat to navigation, boating,
and industry.
•Colonize water intake pipes.
•Can foul beaches and create
navigation hazards.
•Hazardous to bare feet.
•Cleanup costs are expensive.
•Impact on recreational fishing.

5. •Native to drainage basins of Black,
Caspian, and Aral Seas of Eastern
Europe.
•Balkans, Poland (former Soviet
Union).
•First appeared in North America in
1988 in Lake St. Clair, Michigan
which connects Lake Huron and
Lake Erie.
•Freshwater European Port in the
ballast water of a ship.

6.  Screen mesh.
 Increasing intake and distribution
flows.
 Physically scraping the mussels.
 Oxygen deprivation and thermal
controls.
 Draining cooling systems.
 Dumping bait buckets.
 Inspecting boats thoroughly.
 Bleach solutions and other chemicals.