Science Takes On a Silent Invader

Caroline Maxwell
7 March 2014
Period 1
Published: 24 February 2014

Summary: In 1991, a species of mussels were introduced in the United States, by the Hudson River. These mussels were called Zebra mussels, and were about the size of a pistachio. These were a type of very invasive species, and within a year, they multiplied to 500 billion. The mussels would attach onto a native freshwater mussel and cause it to die. They would also eat all of the phytoplankton, which are at the bottom of the food chain. Clogging the pipes of cities and factories is another one of their harmful actions. A bacterium has been discovered that kills the mussels. This strain is called "Pseudomonas fluorescens strain CL145A", which kills the Zebra mussels, but does not harm the native freshwater species. All of the tests have been positive, and agencies are thinking about using the bacterium in the open water. The starins destroys the digestive system in the mussels.

Connection: This connects to what we have been learning in many different ways. It connects to the ecology unit, with the phytoplankton. It is necessary for the phytoplankton to be at the bottom of the food chain because it provides food for all the aquatic species. It also relates to our microbe unit, dealing with bacteria. It took the scientists many different experiments to see which bacterium was most effective against the mussels. We also talked about invasive species, taking up space and creating competition for the native species, which is what is happening in this case as well.



Url: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/25/science/science-takes-on-a-silent-invader.html?action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry505%23%2Fbacteria%2Fsince1851%2Fallresults%2F1%2Fallauthors%2Fnewest%2F