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Drinking Water Week
American Water Works Association (5/6)
Drinking Water Week, May 4-10, is a unique opportunity for water professionals and the communities they serve to join together to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives.
American Wetlands Month
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (5/2)
This May will mark the 18th anniversary of American Wetlands Month, a time when EPA and its partners celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to the Nation's ecological, economic, and social health. It is also a great opportunity to discover and teach others about the important role that wetlands play in our environment and the significant benefits they provide.
Great Lakes Regional Research Information Network (GLRRIN)
GLIN's May 2008 Site of the Month (5/1)
Established in 2006 by NOAA Sea Grant, GLIN and regional partners, GLRRIN provides a powerful means to foster collaboration, acquire funding, highlight research needs and issues, and increase the overall impact of Great Lakes research. GLRRIN is a free service and offers research-related news and upcoming events, and profiles of Great Lakes researchers and their current projects.
Mother Earth Water Walk
(4/28)
Two Anishinawbe Grandmothers, and a group of Anishinawbe Women and Men have taken action regarding the water issue by walking the perimeter of the Great Lakes. The 2008 Lake Michigan walk kicked off April 26.
Shipwrecks and Maritime Tales of the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail
Ohio Sea Grant (4/24)
The shipwrecks within this website are a mere sampling of the hundreds of shipwreck sites located in the depths of Lake Erie. The goal is to make the visitor aware of the rich maritime history which lies beneath the surface of Ohio's Lake Erie.
Michigan Wildlife Conservancy
(4/21)
The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy provides the technical and financial assistance that landowners and managers need to restore and maintain wildlife habitat on their own land.
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
2 | The Zebra Mussel
Zebra mussels are a stark example of the explosive growth potential of non-native species. Zebra mussels were first discovered in the Great Lakes in the 1960s. Just one year after introduction, their population was estimated at densities of 35,000 per square yard (30,000 per square meter). Many scientists now consider the ecosystem changes caused by zebra mussels to be more significant than the changes caused by nutrient and toxic loadings combined.
See also: GLIN Zebra Mussels in the Great Lakes Region
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are small, fingernail-sized mussels native to the Caspian Sea region of Asia. They are believed to have been transported to the Great Lakes via ballast water from a transoceanic vessel. The ballast water, taken on in a freshwater European port was subsequently discharged into Lake St. Clair, near Detroit, where the mussel was discovered in 1988. Since that time, they have spread rapidly to all of the Great Lakes and waterways in many states, as well as Ontario and Quebec.
Detailed Map: The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system
See also: Maps illustrating zebra mussel range in North America, 1988-Current
Zebra mussels have had extensive economic impacts. According to a 1995 Ohio Sea Grant study, large water users on the Great Lakes spend an annual average of $350,000 to $400,000 per user just to clear zebra mussels from their intake pipes. The mussels are also affecting the tourism industry, as their sharp-shell remnants clutter beaches and are encrusting historically significant shipwrecks throughout the Great Lakes. Quagga mussels, a near relative of the infamous zebra mussel, are able to survive in deeper waters and different sediment types, effectively expanding the infestation to new areas of the lakes.
Graphics: Zebra mussels (with black stripes) attached to freshwater snails, courtesy Univ. of Michigan, Center for Great Lakes and Aquatic Sciences; Zebra mussels cover a car pulled from the bottom of the Great Lakes, courtesy R. Griffith/Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
