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Why are zebra mussels so bad? What do zebra mussels do?

Zebra mussels: These animals have a bad reputation because they're invasive to many parts of the world and their presence in non-native ecosystems has harmed native animals by reducing food and habitat available to them.

zebra mussel

What do zebra mussels do to humans?

So, zebra mussels can be bad news, there are plenty of other articles on this topic though today we're going to focus on the animal itself and not the unintentional destruction it has caused remember zebra mussels have spread around the world because of humans. So let's not be so quick to blame the mussels zebra mussels are native to slow-moving fresh water systems of Eurasia and perhaps more specifically to lakes of southern Russia and the surrounding regions.

What do zebra mussels do to humans

They can be beneficial to freshwater systems because like oysters a large colony can filter huge amounts of plankton from the water which makes the water more clear thus allowing more light to penetrate to aquatic plants which then provide food and habitat to other organisms. It's the circle of life in action zebra mussel adults are cecil meaning they remain in a single place until they die.

That doesn't technically mean they can't move because they're able to settle onto other animals that are able to move around like crabs but for the most part these bivalves prefer hard surfaces like rocks. They stick to these surfaces by releasing threads that hold them in place. Though they have the name zebra muscle for their striped appearance.

zebra mussels facts

These mollusks also come with no stripes and just a single color one way to tell them apart from other muscles is to see if they can stand up on their own the bottom of a zebra muscle shell is so flat that it can stand on a smooth surface without rolling in size. Adults max out at two inches in length these bivalves start out life as an egg males and females who may begin reproducing after their first year.

In optimal temperatures release sperm and eggs into the water column to be fertilized externally the eggs hatch about three to five days later into larvae they'll live as larvae for about a month before settling onto a surface. This is a hazardous time for the zebra mussel as the larvae are easy targets to small fish copepods hydras and freshwater sponges.

zebra mussels

Though they don't have eyes if adults are disturbed or pick up chemical cues that someone unpleasant is nearby they'll close their shells. Predators to zebra mussel adults include fish with strong enough beaks to break the mussel's shell like bream and carp as well as ducks, gulls, crabs, crayfish and more. If they can avoid these predators they can live anywhere from three to nine years of age.

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvPdie2FVK0

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Are Velvet spiders poisonous? Where are velvet spiders found?

These arachnids are known as velvet spiders because their bodies are covered in hair-like structures that give them a velvety appearance.

Velvet spiders

Velvet spiders

They have eight eyes which may cause someone to mistake them for a jumping spider. Though these groups aren't closely related there are currently over 100 described species in the velvet spider family. Velvet spiders are most commonly found in Africa, Europe and Asia. Some however live in south America nearly all of the members of this family are ground-dwelling spiders and many are found in dry arid regions including deserts.

Some stand out from the rest however and are observed in rainforests one genus is arboreal meaning they live in trees and other plants the family can be separated by how they construct their nests as well as their social behavior some live alone until they meet up with a mate ladybird spiders are well known velvet spiders due to their bright ladybug-like appearance.

Velvet spider

In these spiders much the opposite of what their name might suggest the males are the individuals that display the bright red colors that give them their common name females are mostly black and are rarely seen because they rarely leave their burrows. Velvet spider burrows may be constructed under rocks logs or even a dense sheet of their own silk other members of this family are social and construct their nests together.

These groups consist of closely related members who catch and consume prey with one another this means that they can catch larger prey than individual spiders the social colonies which may contain hundreds of members remain together for life and don't have territorial disputes.

Velvet spider facts

Velvet spider size

Velvet spiders average about half an inch in length and most often catch flying insects in their webs or ground insects that walk by their burrows. They may live to be five years old depending on the species females can take up to four years to reach maturity but they'll perish after laying their eggs this is not unlike an octopus mother who dies shortly after her eggs hatch velvet spider mothers sacrifice themselves to feed their young after producing an egg sac.

Velvet spiders facts

The female velvet spider's insides will begin to liquefy she'll vomit up her own liquid innards to feed her newborn children when she's out of organs she'll die and the babies will eat her remains it may sound gruesome but it's a huge help in ensuring that her children survive to adulthood.

Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F29JpEAtFrg

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