Zebra Mussel
Zebra mussel population growth in the Great Lakes is a growing concern. Zebra mussels are not native to North America, and due to their ability to rapidly multiply, they have been depleting the food sources for many of the native fish species in the Great Lakes. They are also associated with causing toxic algal blooms, preventing sunlight and oxygen access to many plant and fish life in the lakes.
Three years ago, a 5 km3 section of the Great Lakes was studied and approximately 89 000 zebra mussel colonies were found.
Each colony produced 120 colonies over a three-year period. However, only 2% of the new colonies survived past the first year.
Over the three years, there were 97 000 dead colonies that were washed ashore in the Great Lakes.
Many of the zebra mussels attach themselves to hard surfaces, such as boats and trailers. It was estimated that approximately 85 000 colonies attached themselves to boats and left the area. Many of these zebra mussels died, but some managed to hitchhike on boat equipment and enter other waterbodies. Negligible numbers of zebra mussels migrated from other lakes.
1. Calculate the change in population size.
2. Calculate the population growth rate.
3. Calculate the per capita growth rate over the three year period.
4.Calculate the population density at the end of the third year.
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