Native lilliput mussels (l) and invasive zebra mussels (r). (Credits: Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Flickr Creative Commons)

In honor of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, we’re posting daily “dupes” — invasives that can easily be confused with native species. Today we’re featuring two tiny freshwater mussels that couldn’t have less in common.

This Aug. 17, 2021, photo shows Quagga mussels cover the engine of a Bell P-39 Airacobra military plane in Lake Huron, Mich., as maritime archaeologist Carrie Sowden, rear, documents the site.(Wayne Lusardi via AP)

An invasive mussel is destroying shipwrecks deep in the depths of the Great Lakes, forcing archeologists and amateur historians into a race against time to find as many sites as they can before the region loses any physical trace of its centuries-long maritime history.

Rough waves coughed up the remains of one of Lake Michigan’s most troubling invasive species, quagga mussels. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Recent storm waves stirred up deposits of invasive mussels from the bottom of Lake Michigan and brought them ashore, begging the question: Would you know a quagga mussel if you saw one?

Algae blooming in Lake Erie. Image credit: NOAA/USGS

Quagga Mussels Wreak Havoc on Ecosystem

A tiny, fingernail-sized organism that some are calling the scourge of the Great Lakes is fundamentally altering marine life. Ash-har Quraishi reports on a devastating invasive species that is causing ripples all the way up the food chain.

Algae blooming in Lake Erie. Image credit: NOAA/USGS

Quagga Mussels Wreak Havoc on Ecosystem

A tiny, fingernail-sized organism that some are calling the scourge of the Great Lakes is fundamentally altering marine life. Ash-har Quraishi reports on a devastating invasive species that is causing ripples all the way up the food chain.

Algae blooming in Lake Erie. Image credit: NOAA/USGS

Quagga Mussels Wreak Havoc on Ecosystem

A tiny, fingernail-sized organism that some are calling the scourge of the Great Lakes is fundamentally altering marine life. Ash-har Quraishi reports on a devastating invasive species that is causing ripples all the way up the food chain.