A short documentary by the American Museum of Natural History. The video highlights zebra mussels in the Hudson River and the Cary research that closely analyzed the river before, during and after the invasion.
Humans have carelessly moved thousands of species outside their native ranges through activities such as transfer of ballast water, release of pets and bait, movement of untreated wood, escapes from agriculture and aquaculture, and deliberate release of species that we thought to be beneficial.
One of the best-known bits of folk wisdom about invasive species is that they settle down after a while to become part of a rebalanced ecosystem, and stop being a problem. This is an appealing idea, but how often is it true?
If you’ve walked much along the Hudson’s shores, you’ve probably seen thorny, black water-chestnut seedpods piled up along the high-tide line, thick stands of common reed in wetlands and along the railroad tracks, mute swans gliding across the water, carp splashing in the shallows, chunky shells of Atlantic rangia on the beaches of Haverstraw Bay, and the thin, sharp shells of zebra mussels littering shorelines from Newburgh north.
Subscribe to RSS - Zebra Mussel
