zebra mussel
Pipe-clogging bivalve
A zebra mussel is a small freshwater mollusk with distinctive striped shells, native to Eastern Europe but now invasive in North American and Western European waterways.
Zebra mussels attach in dense clusters to pipes, boats, and native shellfish, clogging water systems and disrupting ecosystems: The lake's been overrun with zebra mussels.
Non-saline aquatic environment
- bivalveTwo-shelled mollusk
- molluskSoft-bodied invertebrate, often shelled
- lakeEnclosed body of freshwater
- riverLarge flowing watercourse
ecosystem · waterway · benthic · substrate · larvae · colonization · biodiversity · food web
Made formally acquainted
- non-nativeNot indigenous here
- exoticStrikingly unusual, foreign-seeming
- alienNon-native being
- pestHarmful creature or nag
infestation · spread · colonization · displacement · competition · bioinvasion · translocation · nonindigenous
Animal straining waterborne nutrients
- phytoplanktonPhotosynthetic aquatic drifters
- suspensionTemporary halt or exclusion
- water clarityLiquid's optical transparency
- algaePrimitive aquatic photosynthesizers
particles · siphon · gills · plankton · detritus · microorganisms · turbidity · nutrients
Hardened surface deposit
- cloggingObstructing a passage
- pipelinesTubes for transporting fluids
- cooling systemsMechanisms that dissipate heat
- ship hullsVessels' main structural bodies
infrastructure · blockage · attachment · clusters · power plants · water treatment · docks · buoys
freshwater
Non-saline aquatic environment
- bivalveTwo-shelled mollusk
- molluskSoft-bodied invertebrate, often shelled
- lakeEnclosed body of freshwater
river · ecosystem · waterway · benthic · substrate · larvae · colonization · biodiversity · food web · population
introduced
Made formally acquainted
- non-nativeNot indigenous here
- exoticStrikingly unusual, foreign-seeming
- alienNon-native being
pest · infestation · spread · colonization · displacement · competition · bioinvasion · translocation · nonindigenous · Great Lakes
filter feeder
Animal straining waterborne nutrients
- phytoplanktonPhotosynthetic aquatic drifters
- suspensionTemporary halt or exclusion
- water clarityLiquid's optical transparency
algae · particles · siphon · gills · plankton · detritus · microorganisms · turbidity · nutrients · water quality
encrustation
Hardened surface deposit
- cloggingObstructing a passage
- pipelinesTubes for transporting fluids
- cooling systemsMechanisms that dissipate heat
ship hulls · infrastructure · blockage · attachment · clusters · power plants · water treatment · docks · buoys · maintenance
striped
Having contrasting bands
- bandingAdding decorative strips
- triangularThree-cornered in form
- D-shapedHaving one flat edge
small · brown · cream · patterned · calcium carbonate · valve · hinged
- bivalvesclams, clam, scallops, cockles, oyster
- freshwater wildlifebeaver, river otter, otter, muskrat, largemouth bass
- mollusksclams, mollusk, mollusks, snail, snails
- pest speciescockroach, cockroaches, rat, rats, mosquito
- Aquatic PestsAsian carp, silver carp, lionfish, snakehead, sea lamprey
- freshwater invertebratescrayfish, freshwater snail, leech, dragonfly nymph, freshwater shrimp