In the 1980s, they began appearing in the Great Lakes of North America, likely having been transported in the ballast water of transatlantic ships. The zebra mussel is a small, freshwater mussel native to the lakes of southern Russia. How Were Zebra Mussels Introduced To The Chesapeake Bay? Within ten years of arriving in the river basins of the Great Lakes, Mississippi, Tennessee, Hudson, and Ohio, these mussels had colonized them.

Their first voyage to the Great Lakes region occurred in the late 1980s as a result of an Atlantic vessel’s ballast water discharge. In the 1940s, a rapidly expanding range of mussels began to spread throughout Scandinavia, and mussels have since become a common sight in the waters of the former Soviet Union. The zebra mussels were discovered in inland waterways throughout Central and Western Europe by the late 1800s. This article discusses the possible effects of this invasive species as well as what people can do to avoid its spread. Our aquatic ecosystems and infrastructure are jeopardized by the presence of these organisms. Municipal water supplies and power plants’ intake pipes are frequently damaged. However, because zebra mussels are currently restricted to a small area of Maryland, the number of them is increasing. They were eradicated by a chemical treatment method in 2006. According to reports, the species was discovered in a Virginia quarry, known as Millbrook Quarry, a popular recreational diving spot near Haymarket. There are several areas of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Pennsylvania and New York where zebra mussels have been discovered. In the Chesapeake Bay, they were first discovered in 1996. They have spread to all of the Great Lakes and many inland lakes and rivers. The zebra mussel is considered to be one of the most successful invasive species in North America. It is believed that they were introduced to North America through the ballast water of ships coming from Europe. Native to the lakes of southern Russia, they were first discovered in the United States in the Great Lakes in the 1980s. The zebra mussel is a small, freshwater mussel.

Zebra mussels in pa