1. ZEBRA MUSSELS

2.  West Asia  Live in the drainage basin in the Black, Aral, and Caspian Sea  Invaded many bodies of water in Europe, the Netherlands, and northeastern Poland  They are microscopic with a yellow or brown shell  They can grow very big.  Able to tolerate many environmental conditions which makes it hard to kill them

3. Why are they here  Not completely known  Believed that there are here accidentally  Came on European cargo ships into the Great Lakes on the east side of America  In 1988 was their 1 st discovery in Lake St. Clair  1992 they were found in Wisconsin and as far as Mississippi.  Now they are in New York too

4.  Known as aqueduct hitchhikers  Attach themselves to objects or other animals  Messing up the food chain because they get into fragile systems and consume critical amounts of these microscopic organisms  They could increase exposure to organic pollutants because they could rabidly accumulate so much with their tissues  Eat animals and algae which is also the food for larval fish  Zebra mussels filter water; up to a quart of water per day  Because of this mussels causes a related and frequently dramatic increase in water clarity in infested lakes and rivers.  Severely effect native mussels and clams by inferring with their feeding

5. Work Cited  Tammi, Karin. "Zebra Mussel: An Unwelcome Visitor." Road Island Sea Grant. N.p.. Web. 18 Apr 2013..  "Harmful Aquatic Hitchhikers." Protect your Waters. ANS Task Force. Web. 18 Apr 2013..  "Zebra mussel." Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, n.d. Web. 18 Apr 2013..  http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/biology/a_zm.htm l