Zebra mussel
Common mussel species as invasive animal in rivers and lakes with high information level for water pollution
The zebra mussel is a sedentary inhabitant of slow-flowing and stagnant waters, where it filters vegetable and animal microorganisms. As a consequence, it is exposed to hazardous substances, whether in solution or particulate suspension and, therefore, useful in active biomonitoring and in toxicity and impact tests. To ensure quantitative availability, easy access and improved reproducibility, an exposure system has been developed using uncontaminated breeding sites which can be colonized by larvae until adulthood.
The entire soft body is used as a specimen. Sampling takes place yearly between September and late November, preferably after final spawning.
Guideline for Sampling and Sample Treatment Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
Recommended analysis examples
Search data
Target organs/Matrices
| Soft body | The soft body of the mussel enriches the filtrated substances. It consists of muscles and inner organs. |
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Sampling area
| Saarländischer Verdichtungsraum | Important, old-industrialised conurbation in Germany. |
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| Bornhöveder Seengebiet | Main water divide between the North- and Baltic Sea |
| Rhein | Longest river in Germany |
| Elbe | Fourth largest river area in Central Europe. |
| Donau | Second largest river in Europe. |
Analytes
| Metals | Eighty percent of all elements on earth are metals |
|---|---|
| Nonmetals | Only eighteen elements in the periodic table |
| Organometallic compounds | Organic substances with at least one metall atom |
| Chlorohydrocarbons | Group of organic compounds with at least one covalently bonded chlorine atom |
| Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons | Group of organic compounds with at least three condensed six-membered rings |
| Supplementary parameters | Additional information for the interpretation of contamination data |
Sampling period
1994 - 2010
Extended information
Links to external information and legislation
Literature
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Mercury levels and trends (1993-2009) in bream (Abramis brama L.) and zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) from German surface waters
Lepom, Peter; Irmer, Ulrich; Wellmitz, Jörg
Chemosphere 86 (2012), 2, 202-211, 2012