A Review of the Biology and Ecology of the Quagga Mussel (Dreissena bugensis), a Second Species of Freshwater Dreissenid Introduced to North America

Seasonal and size-related variation of subcellular biomarkers in quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) inhabiting sites affected by moderate contamination with complex mixtures of pollutants

“…For in situ pollution assessment of freshwater habitats bivalves, including the zebra mussel 6 (Dreissena polymorpha) proved to be suitable bioindicator organisms due to their widespread 7 distribution, sedentary and filter-feeding nature and their fairly good tolerance to physico- invasion of quagga mussel (Dreissena bugensis) in the last decades which shifted their 13 dominance over the formerly established zebra mussel populations (Mills et al 1996; Bij de 14 Vaate et al 2014), therefore, the already established biomarker assays should be performed on 15 this new species as well. 16 Based on the wealth of knowledge of previous researches of the field, the main goal of our 17 study was to provide data by the in situ assessment on: i. the seasonal variability of selected 18 biomarkers, known to be influenced by reproductive cycle, temperature, food availability and 19 quality.…”

Early invasion population structure of quagga mussel and associated benthic invertebrate community composition on soft sediment in a large reservoir

“…Although Dreissena prefer hard substrates (Mills et al 1996), it has been observed that D. bugensis can better persist in deep, offshore waters within soft substrate compared to zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha; Dermott and Munawar 1993). In Lake Erie, D. bugensis was abundant on sand and sandy silt at depths between 10 and 30 m, on profundal sediments beyond 40 m (Dermott and Munawar 1993) and have also been observed in Lake Ontario soft sediments down to 130 m (Mills et al 1993, Claxton andMackie 1998).…”

Interspecies comparison of selected pollution biomarkers in dreissenid spp. inhabiting pristine and moderately polluted sites

“…Currently, investigation of the species specific variability in biomarkers baseline levels and their modulation due to natural environmental factors and anthropogenic impact appears to have actuality for dreissenid mussels: the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis). The rapid range expansion of D. bugensis in freshwaters was noted both in North America and Europe, resulting in a relevant dominance shift from the established D. polymorpha populations to D. bugensis (Mills et al, 1996;Nalepa et al, 2010;Bij de Vaate et al, 2014). Several differences in the physiological attributes of the two species were suggested to support the gradual displacement of D. polymorpha by D. bugensis.…”

“…Thus, the application of zebra mussels in monitoring the quality status of freshwaters appears a reliable approach. However, the widespread invasion of the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis), resulting in an overgrowth of the quagga mussels within dreissenid populations (Mills et al, 1996;Bij de Vaate et al, 2014) calls for knowledge on the modulation of the routinely used biomarkers also in quagga mussels in response to anthropogenic pollutants. Interspecies differences in bioaccumulation of pollutants for the two dreissenid species have already been reported (Richman and Somers, 2005;Mathews et al, 2015).…”