“We define invasive species according to a few characteristics,” Dr. By the late 1800s, scientists recognized zebra mussels as invasive species. They infested Hungary’s waterways in 1794 and London’s in 1824. In his chapter titled “Noxious Cargo,” he explains the mussels’ destructive history. That’s exactly what the zebra mussel did to the Great Lakes.ĭan Egan, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes,” describes zebra mussels as cancer cells. Put simply, it will turn an environment upside down. It will out-compete native species for resources, deplete waters of microorganisms that fend off bacteria, destroy aqueous infrastructures and crowd the ecosystem due to its lack of predators. Second photo: Zebra mussels affix themselves to and outcompete other native species, like this fat mucket mussel - North America’s most widespread mussel. (All photos from Wikimedia Commons)īut take a zebra mussel out of its saline-sea home, and it will wreak havoc. Top photo: Zebra mussels, which have invaded the Great Lakes, are approximately the size of a pistachio or fingernail.
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