Images taken from: US Army Corp of
Engineers site on zebra mussels: http://www.wes.army.mil/el/zebra/piclist.html
The Zebra Mussels are Coming!The Maryland Sea Grant is reporting Zebra mussels - which have already caused millions of dollars of environmental and economic damage in the Great Lakes region - have entered the headwaters of the Susquehanna River. Expectations are that these molluscs will spread into the Chesapeake Bay within the year.....Zebra mussels are one of the most aggressivly invasive organisms that has invaded the Northern Hemisphere since the pigeon. These dimunitive bivalves have managed to infest watersways through out much of the United States . One of the major waterways that has thus far escaped this infestation is the Chesapeake Bay.
But the bay is already home to numerous other bivalves. Oysters and clams are important resources which provide employment to watermen, skipjacks, and numerous other people. Razor clams, and freshwater mussels of several varieties provide a vital link in the food chain. If these organisms are displaced, the potential impacts are unknowable.
On this page, you will find a complete lab showing one reason why the replacement of Oysters with Zebra Mussels is a catastrophe in the making for the entire Bay. The lesson follows the '5Es' format used in Prince Georges County Public Schools, and includes links to teacher support wherever appropriate. The Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate activities are not particularly interlinked, and you can easily use pieces individually.
TEACHER PAGE.The author:Timothy P. Price
Modified by E. Iglich 6/99
For more information on the Howard Hughes supported Prince George's Middle School Science Teacher's Outreach Program contact: eiglich@mcdaniel.edu