Larger fish which feed on the small fish decrease in number. The zebra mussels take food, space, and oxygen, causing the death of native mussels. The zebra mussel can quickly encrust things, like this crayfish. Zebra mussels are also just plain tough. Veligers can survive for a month in water with little or no food.
Adults can survive a week or more out of water.
They reproduce so rapidly that they outcompete other animals. With few natural predators, scientists are concerned about when and where the invasion will end. Don t be an alien helper, watch out for hitchhikers. Zebra mussels have already invaded the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Other lakes and streams in Wisconsin are at risk.