Quagga mussel

Thequagga mussel(Dreissena rostriformis, also known asDreissena bugensisorDreissena rostriformis bugensis) is a species (or subspecies) offreshwater mussel, anaquaticbivalvemolluskin the familyDreissenidae. It has an average lifespan of 3 to 5 years.
The species is indigenous to theDnipro Riverdrainage ofUkraine, and is named after thequagga, an extinct subspecies of Africanzebra, possibly because, like the quagga, its stripes fade out towards the ventral side.
Theinvasivequagga mussel is currently of major concern as it spreads in the rivers and lakes of Europe and also in theGreat Lakesof North America where it was brought by overseas shippers that use theSaint Lawrence Seaway.
The quagga mussel shell is generally black, yellow, and/or zig-zagged. However, a large range of shellmorphologiesis seen, including a distinct morph inLake Eriethat is pale or completely white. The shell has a rounded carina and a convex ventral side.
The quagga mussel resembles thezebra mussel, just as its namesake (quagga) resembles the zebra. The quagga mussel shell can be distinguished from the zebra mussel shell because it is paler toward the end of thehinge. It is also slightly larger than the zebra mussel, about 20 mm (0.8 in) wide, roughly about the size of an adult human's thumbnail.
The quagga mussel is afilter feeder; it uses itsciliato pull water into its shell cavity through an incurrent siphon, where the desirable particulate matter is removed. Each adult mussel is capable of filtering one liter or more of water each day, where they removephytoplankton,zooplankton,algae, and even their ownveligers. Any undesirable particulate matter is bound withmucus, known aspseudofeces, and ejected out the incurrent siphon. The particle-free water is then discharged out the excurrent siphon.
The quagga mussel is a prolific breeder, possibly contributing to its spread and abundance.Dreissenaspp. aredioecious(either male or female) with external fertilization. A fully mature female mussel is capable of producing up to one million eggs per year. After fertilization, pelagic microscopic larvae, or veligers, develop within a few days and these veligers soon acquire minute bivalve shells. Free-swimming veligers drift with the currents for 3 to 4 weeks feeding by their hair-like cilia while trying to locate suitable substrata to settle and securebyssal threads. Mortality in this transitional stage from planktonic veliger to settled juvenile may exceed 99%.In 2019, the genome of a quagga mussel from theDanube Riverin Austria was sequenced, revealing how larvae use a system of intercellular 'cleavage cavities' and an expanded set ofaquaporintransmembrane water channels forosmoregulationin low-salinity freshwater environments during the early stages of their development.
Quagga mussels are presumed to have originated in the Ukrainian section of theBlack Seaand probably began to spread further into eastern Europe in the 1940s. Today, they are an invasive species found throughout western Europe.
In Romania, quagga mussels were first found in 2004 in the Danube River.InGermany, quagga mussels were first identified in 2005, and now populate many inland waters, such as theRhine–Main–Danube Canal, theMain, and theRhine. They were first identified inSwitzerlandin 2015,and inLake Constancein 2016, where they have since spread massively and caused considerable problems, in particular to the machinery inwaterworks.
In 2014, the species was reported atWraysbury Reservoir, not far from London's Heathrow Airport in the valley of theRiver Thames.
InIreland, the mussels were first discovered in 2021 in two lakes on theRiver Shannon:Lough DergandLough Ree.The mussel is expected to compete with existing zebra mussels and native species, becoming widespread due to itsecological toleranceand suitability to Irish climatic conditions.
Zebra mussels, the first dreissenid mussel introduced in North America, rapidly spread throughout many major river systems and theGreat Lakes, causing substantial ecological and environmental impacts. The quagga mussel was first observed in North America in September 1989, when it was discovered inLake ErienearPort Colborne, Ontario. It was not identified as a distinct species until 1991. By 2021 thebiomassof quaggas in the lower 4 Great Lakes was estimated to be so great as to become the primary regulator ofphosphorus, remetabolizing and recirculating it instead of allowing it tosedimentizeas normal.
The introduction of both dreissenid species into the Great Lakes appears to be the result ofballast water dischargefrom transoceanic ships that were carrying veligers, juveniles, or adult mussels. The genusDreissenais highly polymorphic and prolific with high potential for rapid adaptation attributing to its rapid expansion and colonization. Still,  other factors can aid in the spread of these species across North American waters, such as larval drift in river systems or fishing and boating activities that allow for overland transport or movement between water basins. The success of overland transport ofDreissenaspecies depends on their ability to tolerate periods of desiccation, and results suggest that given temperate summer conditions, adultDreissenamussels may survive 3-5 days of aerial exposure.
They have as of August 2024 been for the first time found inland at the small freshwaters of Geneva Lake in Wisconsin. 
Quaggas are prodigious water filterers, removing substantial amounts ofphytoplanktonand suspended particulates from the water. By removing the phytoplankton, quaggas, in turn, decrease the food source forzooplankton, therefore altering the food web. Impacts associated with the filtration of water include increases in water transparency, decreases in meanchlorophyllconcentrations, and accumulation of pseudofeces. Water clarity increases light penetration, causing a proliferation of aquatic plants that can change species dominance and alter the entire ecosystems. The pseudofeces that are produced from filtering the water accumulate and impact the environment. As the waste particles decompose, oxygen is used up, water acidity increases (decreasedpH), and toxic byproducts are produced. In addition, quagga mussels accumulate organic pollutants within their tissues to levels more than 300,000 times greater than concentrations in the environment, and these pollutants are found in their pseudofeces, which can be passed up the food chain, therefore increasing wildlife exposure to organic pollutants.Another major threat involves the fouling of native freshwater mussels. Since quaggas were discovered in Lake Michigan in 1998, plankton rings formed by the passage of storms have been eaten away by the quagga mussels, threatening the local ecosystem.
Each coin-sized quagga can filter up to a liter of water per day, stripping away the plankton that for thousands of years directly and indirectly sustained the native fish.  Much of that food supply has now been sucked to the lake bottom; for every pound of prey fish swimming in the lake today, an estimated three to four pounds of quaggas are clustering on the lake bed.
Dreissena's ability to rapidly colonize hard surfaces causes serious economic problems. These majorbiofoulingorganisms can clog water-intake structures, such as pipes and screens, therefore reducing pumping capabilities for power andwater-treatmentplants, costing industries, companies, and communities. Recreation-based industries and activities have also been impacted;docks,breakwalls,buoys,boats, andbeacheshave all been heavily colonized. Many of the potential impacts ofDreissenaare unclear due to the limited time scale of North American colonization. Nonetheless, the genusDreissenaclearly is highly polymorphic and has a high potential for rapid adaptation to extreme environmental conditions, possibly leading to significant long-term impacts on North American waters. Also, the colonization of deeper water byD. r. bugensis, exposes the quagga to a new range of environmental conditions and new habitats.
It causes many of the same problems (stripping life-supporting algae,damaging boats, power plants, and harbors and destroying the native mussel population) as the equally invasive zebra mussel of Russia. It is also displacing native burrowingamphipod(Diporeia hoyi) from the deep waters of Lake Erie.
In January 2007, quagga mussels were discovered at a marina in the Nevada portion ofLake Mead, and two other lakes on theColorado River,Lake MohaveandLake Havasu.
In 2008, the threat of quagga mussels being introduced atLake Casitasand Westlake Lake in California from recreational boating resulted in the lakes' banning the use of outside boats.As of March 2008, other lakes such as Castaic and Lake Cachuma are considering similar bans. In June 2008, the mussels were confirmed inLake Granby, Colorado. Larval quagga mussels were found in the water.After 5 years of negative testing Lake Granby, Colorado has been classified as a negative waterbody for quagga mussel veligers.
Quagga mussels are now in all parts of Lake Powell on the Utah and Arizona border. They were also suspected in Deer Creek Reservoir at the top of Provo Canyon in Utah, but this body of water has since been delisted as a quagga-suspected water after 3 years of negative testing.
In 1994, invasive-species biologistAnthony Ricciardidetermined that North Americanyellow perchfound the invasive dreissenid species palatable. In 2004, he determined that yellow perch, over the intervening 10 years, had developed an appetite for the quagga mussel. While this sounds like good news, the problem is that this feeding process introduces contaminants into thefood chain, notablyClostridium botulinum.
Redear sunfish, a specialized mollusk-eating fish, are now being stocked in the Colorado River drainage as a defense against the quaggas.As with the yellow perch, this predator–prey relationship could cause toxins and micro-organisms to move up the food chain.
Although quaggas are edible for humans, eating them is not recommended due to the accumulation of toxins, pollutants, and microorganisms within the mussels' bodies.