By the Numbers: Lake Mead Quagga Mussels

Quagga mussels and their kin, zebra mussels, are nasty invasives in our lakes and streams. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources photo.

27,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Number of quagga mussels at the end of five years if a single female quagga releases her eggs and the survival rate is 10%.

3,000,000,000,000

Estimated number of quagga mussels currently inhabiting Lake Mead.

2

Number of years since quagga mussels were first discovered in Lake Mead.

0

Likelihood that Lake Mead will ever be free of quagga mussels.

For further info, see Jim Burnett’s article on the Lake Mead quagga invasion.