Invasive zebra mussel found in NC pet stores - North Carolina Health News
Invasive zebra mussel found in NC pet stores - North Carolina Health News Invasive zebra mussel found in NC pet stores - North Carolina Health News Posted: 29 Apr 2021 01:51 AM PDT Zebra mussel cluster. Photo taken by D. Jude, Univ. of Michigan. Photo credit: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab By Greg Barnes In the 1980s, the water in Lake Michigan was a cloudy, blue-green soup of algae and other living microorganisms. Fast forward to today. The lake is so clear that bathers standing neck-deep in it can easily see their feet on the bottom. And that's not a good thing. Invasive zebra mussels, first detected in Michigan's Lake St. Clair in 1988, have multiplied into the billions in the Great Lakes, profoundly changing its ecosystem. While the mussels are masters at filtering algae and pollutants from the water, they threaten the Great Lakes' fishing industry, clog municipal drinking water intakes, and have r...