By Ayi Ajavon
For this article of The Deposit, I briefly forgot I was in charge of it! I hurriedly sent messages asking some of our contacts their thoughts on this mussel. Few saw the message, and even fewer gave their insights -but no harm done!
Easily looked over and forgotten, the zebra mussel is a small bivalve with a LARGE range. Just like some of the daily tasks we’ve all come to be in charge of, the zebra mussel slipped through the cracks of oversight. Not due to a lack of care, but more likely just another case of a full plate. But this is how it thrives! Dreissena polymorpha hails originally from Russia and Ukraine, but has established itself in waterways around the world. One of the common ways it spreads is through the ballast water that ships intake during travel and discharge upon arrival. Seemingly innocent to most, the zebra mussel actually costs half a billion dollars each year -acting as a parasite to important infrastructure like power plants, water systems and docks.
Quin Shingai (Emerge year 2 fellow) describes these as marauding mussels that would definitely eat you if they were given the chance. As terrifying and costly as they may be, zebra mussels are also, as Quin put it, persistent, family oriented, boundless, and extremely well traveled.
With negatives and positives included, zebra mussels are still a species worth protecting -BUT ONLY IN THEIR NATIVE RANGE. If you see them elsewhere squish them! But please do it through a tight hug. Just like our many tasks, roles, and responsibilities, they can be forgotten and neglected at times until they come back with a vengeance. So remember to give yourself grace when you forget to sign that document, collect that data, or write that article. Just don’t forget to come back to it apologetically, or else you too may be out half a billion dollars this year!
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