Jake Vander Zanden directs UW-Madison Center for Limnology — the study of lakes. He says both zebra and quagga mussels feed on phytoplankton, the base of the aquatic food chain.
“In effect, what they do is they will undermine the basis of the food web, and that can have impacts on fisheries,” Vander Zanden said. He added that the mussels create good conditions for algae growth, which gets smelly when washing up on beaches.