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WATER

MUSCLING IN
ON NATIVE SPECIES

source: www.panda.org/downloads/
freshwater/WETTHREATSENG.doc

Alien invasive species are important agents of biodiversity loss and represent a global threat to freshwater habitats and biodiversity…

African countries alone spend an estimated US$60 million on the control of aquatic invasives;

at least 140 alien species exist in the Great Lakes of North America, 10% of which are known to have had significant impact on the local aquatic flora and fauna.

Did you know?

In less than 20 years, the zebra mussel - a species inadvertently introduced by ships trading between Europe and North America - have not only out competed native mussel species and changed freshwater ecosystems in central and the eastern United States, but also cause expensive fouling problems on boats, docks and power plant intakes.

Lake Victoria originally had a high diversity of fish species, dominated by more than 300 cichlid species, 99% of which were endemic. 20 years after the introduction of the Nile perch to the lake – in a bid to provide larger fish for consumption – the ecological balance has been completely transformed. The Nile perch and two other species now dominate the fish fauna; as many as 60% of the lake’s endemic cichlids are feared extinct.

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