Amer. Zool. 36(3): 271-286 (1996)

In addition to the zebra mussel, the invasive quagga mussel has also established itself in the Laurentian Great Lakes in the past twenty years.  Both of these mussels have been known to eat away at the native zoo plankton populations at alarmingly high rates.

Edward Mills and his colleagues at the Cornell Department of Natural Resources recorded data of the two species from the Great Lakes.  Their research showed that the quagga mussels are more abundant in certain areas of the lake where the zebra mussels used to be dominant.  The quagga mussels could possibly be better suited to the lakes’ conditions and could eventually out compete the zebra mussels.  Mills and his colleagues are concerned about the possibility of the quagga mussel becoming the dominant mussel in the Great Lakes and the effects that would ensue from this change.