Zebra mussels and polystyrene

The growth of settled and metamorphosed larvae of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is clearly retarded when polystyrene plates are used as a substrate compared with the growth of those forms attached to PVC plates. Possibly, low molecular weight compounds are released into the aquatic environment by the polystyrene and these materials may have a strongly adverse effect upon the growth of young zebra mussels. There is no difference in colonization of young mussels between PVC and polystyrene plates if these plates are sufficiently overgrown with bacteria and algae.