Loosestrife & Mussels

A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Choking Off the Galaxy:

It’s interesting to note that both of these invaders arrived in our region through international commerce. Globalization has allowed exotic species like zebra mussels and purple loosestrife to hitchhike the world. Purple loosestrife arrived first. “The plant was introduced both as a contaminant of European ship ballasts and as an medicinal herb for treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, bleeding, wounds, ulcers and sores” (Blossey 2001).  Zebra mussels showed up in Lake St. Claire, a lake within the St. Lawrence Seaway, in 1988. They must have hopped a ship, hiding in the ballast tanks, from their home in the Caspian and Black Seas, and then slid out into the local waters when one the tanks were emptied (USDA 2000).

Once here, it’s really hard to get rid of these space invaders. In their homelands, they had predators that kept their populations in check. But, unfortunately, the insects and animals that normally feed on purple loosestrife and zebra mussels, didn’t book the same cruise. Today, the two insidious species are found throughout the Upper Midwest, including the Coulee Region of Wisconsin.