The increased use of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in consumer products raises the concern of environmental release and subsequent impacts in natural communities. We tested for physiological and demographic impacts of ZnO, a prevalent metal oxide ENP, on the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. We exposed mussels of two size classes, <4.5 and ≥ 4.5 cm shell length, to 0.1-2 mg l(-1) ZnO ENPs in ...

Freshwater mussels are mollusks-close relatives of clams, oysters, and saltwater mussels. Many species of freshwater mussels can live for 20 to 30 years, and individuals of some species live for more than 100 years. Freshwater mussels have been valued by humans throughout history. They can produce pearls, and their shells can be used to make buttons for clothing or to serve as seedstock for the...

Settlement and growth of quagga mussels Dreissena rostriformis bugensis were monitored in Lake Mead, NV, USA, where the first dreissenid occurrence was confirmed in the western United States. To measure the settlement rate of these invasive mussels, seven acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) pipes were attached to a line in shallow water (7.7 m below the surface) since November 23, 2007; eight...

This study quantifies the infection prevalence and intensity of the European, commensal, host-specific ciliate Conchophthirus acuminatus (Scuticociliatida: Conchophthiridae) in five zebra mussel populations within the Republic of Belarus. Laboratory and field experiments were also conducted to assess variables affecting infection. C. acuminatus was found in zebra mussels in all five waterbodies...

The invasion of zebra mussels (Dreisenna polymorpha) has had a tremendous impact on lake habitats ever since their arrival in 1986 (O’Neill 1994). They live on the hard surfaces in the lake, which includes native mussels (unionids) and rocks. Within this study, we examined surface preferences of zebra mussels by looking at living and dead native mussel shells and rocks. We constructed a plot ar...

Bioinvasions are a major cause of biodiversity and ecosystem changes. The rapid range expansion of the invasive quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) causing a dominance shift from zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) to quagga mussels, may alter the risk of secondary poisoning to predators. Mussel samples were collected from various water bodies in the Netherlands, divided into size ...

The distribution of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis spans a steep gradient of environmental stress between intertidal and subtidal habitats, and can provide insight into population-scale patterns and underlying processes of variation in physiological tolerances. I conducted a 7 wk reciprocal transplant of mussels between the upper intertidal and subtidal portion of their natural depth distributi...

Because zebra mussels spread rapidly throughout the eastern United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s, their spread to the western United States has been expected. Overland dispersal into inland lakes and reservoirs, however, has occurred at a much slower rate than earlier spread via connected, navigable waterways. We forecasted the potential western spread of zebra mussels by predicting ...

The biokinetics of p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites, p,p'-dichlorodiphenydichloroethylene (DDE) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), in the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis were characterized in this study. We exposed the mussels to DDT in aqueous or dietary sources and then compared and evaluated the absorption, accumulation, distribution and eliminatio...

While the invasive zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha has rapidly spread throughout the Great Lakes and inland waterways, it is being displaced by the quagga mussel Dreissena bugensis in shallow water habitats. However, zebra mussels remain dominant in areas with higher water velocity. We hypothesized that the persistence of zebra over quagga mussels in habitats with higher water velocity might ...