Where did quagga or zebra mussels come from?
Quagga mussels are native to the Dneiper River drainage of the Ukraine. Zebra mussels are native to the Caspian, Black, and Azov seas of Eastern Europe. These exotic mussels were first discovered in the United States in Lake Saint Clair, Michigan, in 1988 and are believed to have been introduced in 1986 through ballast water discharge from ocean-going ships. Since their initial discovery, zebra mussels have spread rapidly throughout the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin states and other watersheds throughout the eastern and central United States. Quagga mussels have not spread as extensively. How did these invasive mussels get to Lake Mead? These invasive mussels in Lake Mead are 1,000 miles farther west than any other known colony of zebra mussels. The primary method of overland dispersal of these mussels is through human-related activities. Given their ability to attach to hard surfaces and survive out of water, many infestations have occurred by adult mussels hitching rides on
