BELLINGHAM — An invasive species with the potential to harm both infrastructure and the environment was found in Washington last week, the Department of Fish and Wildlife announced on Thursday. Zebra mussels were found on a Marimo moss ball, an algae commonly used to decorate fish tanks, shipped from an aquarium supply company in Renton. Here’s what you need to know.
What are zebra mussels?
Zebra mussels are a freshwater mollusk native to the Caspian and Black Seas, according to the National Park Service. They have D-shaped shells and can be identified by their black and cream-colored stripes, which give them their name.
The mussels first appeared in the U.S. in the late 1980s, beginning with the Great Lakes region before spreading to much of the center of the country. However, prior to this week, they hadn’t been seen in Washington since 2021, according to WDFW.
Are zebra mussels harmful?
Zebra mussels have “root-like threads of protein,” according to the NPS, that lets them latch onto hard surfaces when other species can’t. As a result, they can stick to the walls of pipes, causing them to clog. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, power plants with water intake pipes have to spend millions of dollars to remove the mussels.
If the mussels establish a presence in Washington, state officials estimate that it would cost over $100 million a year to maintain the state’s water pipes and power plants.
What is zebra mussels’ environmental impact?
Zebra mussels’ ability to latch onto surfaces means that they can harm the environment too. They can attach themselves to mussels native to the area, which prevents them from “moving, feeding, reproducing, or regulating water properly,” according to the NPS.
In addition to threatening local native mussel populations, zebra mussels’ feeding habits can be harmful to entire marine ecosystems. Zebra mussels feed on algae that other species need to survive. This can be a problem since they’re efficient at filtering out nearly all the algae in a given area, and since female zebra mussels can lay nearly a million eggs in a given year. As a result, the mussels can take over an ecosystem and leave it without enough food for native species.
Preventing a zebra mussels infestation
Because they reproduce so quickly, zebra mussels are difficult to get rid of once they’ve established themselves in a habitat, according to the NPS. Because of that, environmental agencies focus on preventing outbreaks in the first place.
According to WDFW, in light of last week’s discovery, people who have bought a moss ball recently should check for zebra mussels.
“We are asking anyone who has purchased Marimo moss balls within the last year from any retailer to inspect the moss balls and take steps to decontaminate their aquarium or water garden for invasive zebra mussels,” Justin Bush, the department’s aquatic invasive species policy coordinator, said in a press release. “Anything that moves can move invasive species; problem plant seeds can hitchhike on your boots, aquatic animals can attach to your boat or equipment, and harmful species can also move by hitchhiking through commerce, as we see in this case.”
