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Zebra Mussel Research Paper

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Minnesota has recently been plagued by a Zebra Mussel infestation in many of their lakes in the state. Now, over 200 bodies of water are home to the invasive species, with Washington County’s Forrest Lake being the most recent. Minnesotan officials are saying that they have already raised boat inspection hours, however, with the continual infestation, they will have to do so once again. With the previous 1,500 annual boat inspection hours being the already heightened time, the DNR (http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/aquaticanimals/zebramussel/index.html) will raise the inspection hours to 3,100.
It is incredibly important to keep watercraft clean so that these infestations do not occur. The best way to do this is to clean the boat or other craft after each use before storing it.
Why are Zebra Mussel Infestations Harmful? …show more content…

The reasoning for this is quite clear. First off, they disrupt the local food chain. Even though they are relatively small, when they enter an ecosystem, they filter feed, taking away food from the microscopic organisms who are a vital player in said ecosystem. As a result of these microorganisms not getting food, they die off, and the various species that feed from them no longer have food. This chain of events continues the whole way up the food chain, until there are very few or even no life left in the ecosystem, save for the newly introduced Zebra Mussel

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