Golden mussels behave much like Zebra mussels, the invasive species that have invaded much of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River, clinging to manmade objects whenever they have the chance. Photo by CSIRO/CC.

BRASILIA, Brazil, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Like so many other invasive species propagating throughout the ecosystems of the Western Hemisphere, the golden mussel traveled all the way from Asia.

Since arriving from Chinese freighters in the 1990s, the tiny mollusk has invaded much of South America's waterways. So far, the Amazon -- the region's largest and most important river -- has remained uncolonized by the disruptive species, but researchers worry it is only a matter of time before the bivalve shows up along the banks of Brazil's hydrological engine.


Like the most successful invasive species, the golden mussel is a prolific breeder. It quickly reproduces, unfettered by any natural predators. The invader can wreck both natural and man-made systems, clogging pipes and disrupting dams and other hydraulic structures. Their filter feeding habits augment phosphorous and nitrogen levels in the water, encouraging blooms of toxic algae that can suck up oxygen and choke out other aquatic animals.

Though the mussels can quickly become a favorite food source of fish, bolstering local populations, the disruption of the natural order can have unintended consequences.

"In some rivers, there is evidence showing that the fish population has increased 20 percent because they have a new food resource in the mussels," computational biologist Marcela Uliano da Silva, a native of Brazil who's trying to thwart the mussels' proliferation, told the TED Blog.

"But when you increase the number of fish, it has a domino effect, as they are at the top of the food chain," said Silva. "Ultimately, when the mussel invades, it transforms the ecosystem, decreasing biodiversity and homogenizing the environment."

Da Silva is a fellow with TED Global, and is currently working on a virus that targets the species genome. Released into the water, the virus could infect the mussels and render them infertile.

Of course, many are skeptical of Silva's plan. Some even say it's dangerous, as the virus, or so-called biobullet, could do more harm than good once released into the wild.

"We know that evolution does not stop," James Collins, an evolutionary biologist at Arizona State University, told OZY.

But Silva says a large problem like the golden mussel requires bold ideas.

"Every day, I'm anxious," Silva admitted. "But you have to be able to live in agony. Otherwise, you're not going to do great things. ... You cannot be safe. You need to take risks."

But techniques that would enable genetic manipulation of the species remain in their infancy, at least four years away from being part of an executable plan. Meanwhile, conservationists can only hope to contain the invader. The golden mussel advance has so far been stopped in wetlands just 1,000 miles from the Amazon. But a single boat carried across land to the Amazon, with just a bit of water in the bottom, could deliver several thousand mussel larvae.