SMART Science April 2009

Alien Invader Alert!

Aliens are among us right now. Have you ever heard the phrase “small but mighty”? This is a phrase that could describe a tiny mollusk called a zebra mussel, an alien species (not native to the area) that has invaded the waterways of the Ohio River Valley. It has multiplied rapidly over the last several years, spreading from where it was introduced to the U.S. (Great Lakes region) to many watersheds, including the Ohio River. The zebra mussel is originally from the lakes of Southeast Russia and is thought to have “hitchhiked” to the U.S. on ships from Europe.

This small relative of clams, snails, and even octopus is in the group called mollusks. Mollusks have soft bodies, no bones, and often have some sort of shell. Zebra mussels have two halves of a shell, or valves. It is called a bivalve for this reason. It has a striped pattern on its valves and is shaped like a “D”. The valves open and close. They are hinged together and allow water to flow in and the zebra mussel to filter anything out of the water that it might like to eat. It then digests small organisms and other material found in the water. In some areas of the Great Lakes region, zebra mussels have caused murky water to become almost clear in a relatively short period of time.

That sounds pretty good…An animal that cleans up the water couldn’t be all bad, could it? The problem is that this animal has few natural predators in American waters and reproduces rapidly. It competes with other native species for food and for space to live. Sometimes it attaches to the valves of native mollusks and eventually kills them. It also can accumulate poisons from the water in its body. These poisons can be transferred to other animals that eat the zebra mussels. This animal can stick to pipes and other solid surfaces that water runs through and interfere with the operations at water treatment plants and other facilities.

ZEBRA MUSSELS ON WOOD

To learn more about zebra mussels, teachers can sign out the zebra mussel trunk available at the Oglebay Good Zoo. This trunk is a great supplement to any environmental unit. Invasive species, water quality, and even food chains can be taught with the materials in the trunk. The zoo is also developing programs for grades 6-8 with a new aquatic invasives kit. For more information on zebra mussels, please visit our website at www.smartcenter.org/ovpm/zebramussels

OLIVIA LUCEY WITH ZEBRA MUSSELS

According to Vickie Markey-Tekely of the Oglebay Good Zoo, another “invader” may soon reach our waterways. It has not yet been discovered in West Virginia, but the Quagga mussel looks much like the zebra mussel except the shape is more rounded. Like the zebra mussel, it is also very small (around 4 cm). Both the zebra mussels and the Quagga mussel are tough creatures. They can survive out of water for over five days!

Other alien invaders in addition to the zebra mussel are highlighted in the Oglebay Good Zoo’s word search in this month’s issue. Information about Japanese knotweed may be found in our September 2006 OV Parent issue— www.smartcenter.org/ovpm/september-06.html

Fourth Annual West Virginia Kite Festival

Brooke Hills Park will host the fourth annual West Virginia Kite Festival on April 25, 2009 at the Cardinal Shelter. The event begins at 1:00 p.m. and ends at 6:00 p.m. with an evening StarWatch beginning at 8:00 p.m. The first 100 children will receive a free kite to fly at the event. This event is sponsored in part by the NASA WV Space Grant Consortium, the Near Earth Object Foundation, ASTROLABE astronomy club, and the SMART-Center. If you have a kite of your own, bring it to fly with all the others! For more information, visit www.smartcenter.org/ovpm/kites