•First
described from Ural
River tributary, Caspian
Sea basin
•Spread
throughout Europe in the 1800s
•Transported
in ballast water
So where do they
come from? The zebra mussel was originally described by the famous Russian
scientist and explorer Pyotr Simon Pallas from a population in a tributary of
the Ural River in the Caspian Sea Basin (Pallas 1771). Aided by the expansion
of commercial boat traffic through newly constructed canals, this species
spread west from Russia into most of Europe during the 1800s.
It’s believed
that they were transported to North America in the ballast water of a large
cargo vessel, which is used to keep the vessel in trim when it’s not fully
loaded.
