Once they were introduced into the lake they began to reproduce at an alarming rate. The problem was at first, just as with most other alien species there were not any known predators in order to keep the numbers at bay. Soon after other problems began to develop. The mussels liked to be around flowing water, because that would bring food to them. This posed a big problem

for those who relied on intake pipes such as power plants. The mussels would crowd around these intake pipes so tightly that they would in some cases actually stop the flow of water through these pipes. Also the zebra mussel "devours microscopic plants at the bottom of the food chain" (Faber B1). These plants are vital to the survival of the native species of the lake. If a part of the food chain is broken especially close to the bottom then the entire ecosystem suffers. In some cases the introduction of this species to lake Erie was thought to be "worse than the oil spill in Alaska" (Faber B1). Reason being, exotic introductions are permanent and spreading, they can't be cleaned up like oil spills. In a hundred years it is possible to substantially clean up an oil spill, but for the zebra mussels they will have spread across America. It was only at first that this mussel was thought to be all bad, but after a couple years of research that thought was hindered.

It was found that

Some common words found in the essay are:
Zebra Mussels, B1 Reason, Studies Mussels, Lake Erie, Faber B1, zebra mussel, food chain, lake erie, zebra mussels, intake pipes, levy 14, introduced lake, oil spill, native species, people panicked,
Approximate Word count = 666
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)