Cliff's Notes

From January, 1997 (Update #29)

It didn't surprise me when a high-school biology teacher told me that he had received a new textbook featuring zebra mussels. I found them in the first section of the first chapter under the title "Rowdy Newcomers in the Great Lakes." As described in the teacher's edition, "Students jump right into the study of biology as they examine the complex and contemporary ecological problems resulting from the invasion of North American waters by zebra mussels." As I read further, I realized that the symbolism and mythology of zebra mussels has taken on a life of its own. Now beginning to enter textbooks, zebra mussels continue to invade our culture as a symbol of ecological havoc, yet some of the associated myths are as overblown as the feats of Zeus. Consider these quotes from the textbook: "Americans expect to spend at least $4 billion in the 1990s"; "In many areas, daily removal is necessary just to keep pipelines clear"; "The added weight of the mussel colonies sinks many channel markers and so deprives boaters of essential safeguards." I guess we cannot help but exaggerate a good story. A credible $60 million to $120 million in expenditures isn't nearly as riveting as $4 billion. The "daily removal" quote - included with a photo of two people shoveling a huge pile of mussels - presents a great image, but it's ridiculous. And has anyone ever seen a buoy sunk by zebra mussels? Nonetheless, I think that the overall symbolism of zebra mussels is appropriate. They have had a greater impact on human activities than most multicellular organisms, and their ecological impact is even more impressive. We just need to keep the stories on target by blaming them for what they are responsible and not wildly accuse them of everything imaginable (they stink, they're ugly, they contribute to lower S.A.T. scores, they...). Let's also keep the stories fresh and interesting and leave behind the worn-out myths. Stephen Jay Gould has written that certain myths of the development of evolutionary theory have been repeatedly copied from textbook to textbook (Lamarck...Darwin...giraffe necks), even though they are misleading. We are currently in the midst of ratifying zebra mussels as a symbol - the "poster child" for exotic species - and I'm sure that many textbook publishers will pick up this theme. As we shape zebra mussel stories and myths; we should remember that these might be the longest lasting legacy of this animal.

ID: 199701-9.

The Zebra Mussel Update was a 4- to 8-page quarterly national newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute from May 1990 through May 1997. The ZMU documented the spread of the zebra mussel -- an exotic nuisance mussel -- through North America's freshwater environments, especially the Great Lakes, and on efforts to control it.