Within the past several decades, the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha has made its way to the top of the list as one of the most destructive invasive species in the North American water systems. While many studies have been made focusing on the ecological impact of zebra mussels, little is known about the geographical history of their invasions and patterns of genetic differentiation among and within populations in their native and invaded ranges (May, Gelembiuk, Panov, Orlova, & Lee, 2006). From what is known, zebra mussels were first described by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1769 and originally endemic to the northern and southern regions of the Ponto-Caspian Sea in Eastern Europe (Johnson & Carlton, 1996). As globalization took place, the construction of
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With little knowledge of the potential threat to foreign ecosystems, a cargo ship could travel from one region of the world to another, bringing with it any and all alien species aboard, whether intentional or not.
It is most commonly thought that the first zebra mussel species was brought to North America in the ballast water discharges of ships traveling from Eurasia in the late 1980’s. On this continent, the first zebra mussel invasion was detected in Lake St. Claire, a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. Since this first known appearance in the North America, zebra mussel populations have spread to an alarmingly large number of waterways, including the Great Lakes, and have continued invading in all directions on the continent: further north into Canada, south into the Gulf of Mexico, and both east and west into connecting waterways in states such as Ohio, Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Artificial channels such as the man-made Chicago Area Waterways System facilitate the
With little knowledge of the potential threat to foreign ecosystems, a cargo ship could travel from one region of the world to another, bringing with it any and all alien species aboard, whether intentional or not.
It is most commonly thought that the first zebra mussel species was brought to North America in the ballast water discharges of ships traveling from Eurasia in the late 1980’s. On this continent, the first zebra mussel invasion was detected in Lake St. Claire, a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. Since this first known appearance in the North America, zebra mussel populations have spread to an alarmingly large number of waterways, including the Great Lakes, and have continued invading in all directions on the continent: further north into Canada, south into the Gulf of Mexico, and both east and west into connecting waterways in states such as Ohio, Texas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Artificial channels such as the man-made Chicago Area Waterways System facilitate the