Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Longitudinal patterns in abundance of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in the upper Mississippi River
Cope, W. G., Bartsch, M. R., and Hayden, R. R., 1997, Longitudinal patterns in abundance of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in the upper Mississippi River: Journal of Freshwater Ecology, v. 12, no. 2, p. 235-238.
Abstract
We assessed the abundance of zebra mussels in the upper Mississippi River during 1995, four years after they were first found in the river. Samplers were deployed from May 30 to October 19, 1995, at 19 lock and dam facilities in the upper Mississippi River from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Muscatine, Iowa. Zebra mussels were found at every lock and dam except the two sites farthest upstream (Minneapolis). Generally, densities of zebra mussels were greatest at sites 161 km and farther downstream of the Minneapolis area. The greatest mean mussel density was 11,432/m(2) at Fulton, Illinois.
Keywords: Impact, dispersal, bivalves