The Zebra Mussels

The Puget Sound, home to wildlife and some of the business of this region, is dirty. Specifically, it is dirty with the toxins in people’s lives. The Puget Sound may be recovering, but it is still polluted. With people polluting the Puget Sound, people, businesses, and marine life may be harmed.

Identify the problem: In a vast array of Michigan lakes, a crusty brown algae is spoiling the waters it comes into contact with. (Some lakes include Torch Lake, Elk Lake, and Lake Charlevoix).

Zebra mussels are small, bivalve mussels originally from the lakes and rivers located in Eastern Europe and in the western parts of Russia, which includes the Caspian Sea. Macalester.edu states that “they are filter feeders, pulling nutrients directly from the water.” They are about the size of your fingernail and can grow up to two inches long. They most likely came over to America “in the ballast water of ocean-going ships entering the Great Lakes. They spread further by latching on to recreational boats that were later used in new, uninfected bodies of water.” states macalester.edu.

Determining how water quality affects aquatic creatures includes large study areas. The watersheds of both the Chesapeake Bay and the New River are largely inclusive of multiple county boundaries. A larger study area makes it simpler to come by study samples, as fish are plentiful throughout. Protecting the quality of our watersheds is important because watersheds serve many purposes to both living and nonliving organisms. “These water bodies supply our drinking water, water for agriculture and manufacturing, offer opportunities for recreation and provide habitat to numerous plants and animals.” Pollution is degrading our waters and one of the best forms to study the change in water quality is testing contaminants in fish that inhabit

It would effect everything on the planet, plants would be less able to produce the suns energy and living organisms would be in big trouble. A short term effect would be decreasing plant populations and a long term effect would be a decreasing population of every organism on the planet.

Nutrient pollution coming from agricultural runoff and other fertilizers allows for the growth of species that upset the balance of the ecosystem such as Cattail, harmful algae bloom, and duckweed. The sulfur in the agricultural fertilizers leads to accumulation of toxic mercury in fish, birds, and mammals. Also, exotic animals or invasive species displaced native and threatens to disrupt the ecosystem balance. The purpose of this experiment is to determine how the water quality affects the Everglades ecosystem and how water pollution impacts different species. Urbanization is a big threat that contributes to poor water quality in water pollution. The production of crops in residential areas are causing the Everglades to be drained and decreased in volume. The water flowing from the urban areas to the Everglades are polluting its waterways with pesticides and fertilizers which affect the biodiversity. If the water quality is higher today, then there will be a lower amount of species in the Florida

As said by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” This theme is presented many times throughout the story, “Zebra,” by Chaim Potok. The main character Adam, better known as Zebra, goes through several experiences that lead to his outlook on life changing. Overall his experiences render him to become a better person. One of the main experiences that changed Zebra was meeting John Wilson. Here’s how and why the experiences that Zebra went through changed him, and how he lived his life.

My first reason we should rid of the zebra mussel is because they cost the economy lots of money. According to the article Zebra Mussels by MNDNR, “Zebra mussels can be a costly problem for cities and power plants when they clog water intakes.” They cost America 5 billion dollars a year just to replace things this small mussel has ruined.

Traverse City Michigan is a small town in Northern Michigan, with a port, an airport, a rail system running through it, and lots of roads. While there is most likely the most freight carried through trucking on the roads, I would like to talk about the shipping industry. Because Traverse City is located with access to the Lake Michigan there is obviously a great deal of materials shipped over the water.

Quagga Mussels can filter up to four liters water per day. Positively it has helped Lake Michigan’s water clarity which people like said Dr. Bootsma.

It is important to establish preventive measures because once present invasive species are hard to eliminate and also cost a lot of money. An example is law passed by Canada and the United States in 2006 which requires ships to treat and flush its ballast water before discharge, this aid in the control of zebra mussel. Electric barriers are also being used in Romeoville, Illinoi to control Asian carp and restrict them from swimming to Lake Michigan. In Ontario the possession and sale of several invasive fish is prohibited. Educating people about the impacts of these invasive species can also lead to enlightenment and boost control. Pesticides such as lampricides and chemicals are being used to target invasive species such as purple loosestrife and sea lamprey. Since prevention is not always guaranteed, these lakes should be closely monitored for invasive species and in a case where it occurs rapid eradication should be practiced to prevent their growth and save further

Invasive species are becoming a big problem in today’s society. They are not native to the local habitat. A lot of times, invasive species are extraordinarily good at adapting to the environment. However, they can block out and do harm to other native organisms. Due to Minnesota having a tremendous amount of lakes, it opens up doors for new invasive species to come in and take over. A popular specie that has been taking over lakes lately are zebra mussels. Although another invasive species that doesn't get too much attention is Eurasian Watermilfoil.

About 71 percent of our planet Earth is covered by water, and the majority comes from the oceans (about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water). It remains as the most expansive, diverse, and mysterious places on planet Earth. But it is being threatened by the pollution by people and nature itself. By polluting the habitat of marine organism will indirectly affect the ecosystem of the marine life. Marine life is dying and as the result the oceanic ecosystem is threatened.

Marine pollution such as presence of organic matter in the ocean can result in the condition known as hypoxia or oxygen depletion and this can have adverse effect on the marine life including plant and animals and fish. Death of these fish can result in loss of millions of US dollars that are generate from the fishing industry. Marine pollution can also result in presence of foul smell resulting from the decomposing sewage being directed to the ocean and this has the effects to hinder recreational activities taking place in the sea as well as cause discomfort and breathing problem to the surrounding population (Laura, 11).marine pollution can also result in danger to human health. The human swimmers and water sport lovers can become endangered by swimming in the polluted marine waters (Laura,

Intro: Water pollution has caused so many problems to our waterways that no one really knows how to help. Water pollution caused; dead zones, oil spills, garbage floating around, and unsafe drinking water. People disagree about water pollution because, people have found ways to improve and help out the problem that water pollution has caused around the world. Others believe that that water pollution has created situations and are in the process of figuring out solutions. Marine life habitats are getting destroyed, marine life is declining everyday, how and where the garbage is getting into the oceans, and the drinking water is becoming seriously unsafe to drink. Water Pollution is a huge environmental problem that has serious effects on marine habitats, animals, and water quality.