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Zebra Mussel (Dreissena Polymorpha) Habitat Associations In Four West-Central Minnesota Lakes, April Rose Londo

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In 1989, zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) were first documented in the land of ten thousand lakes in the Lake Superior Basin at Duluth. Zebra mussels are successful invaders because the species attaches to substrates with byssal threads, can adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions, and has a free-swimming veligers that are easily transported. Although invasive mollusks pose a range of economic and ecological threats to inland waters, our understanding of zebra mussels in Minnesota lakes remains limited. To gain additional information regarding zebra mussel ecology in lake systems, I conducted research in four west-central Minnesota lakes that were …