Many factors influence the ability of a zebra mussel population to become established in a particular water body. These include both chemical and physical characteristics. Among the most important are several physical characteristics including pH, temperature, calcium levels, dissolved oxygen, and salt concentrations. While other physical and biological factors impact the level of zebra mussel success, as discussed in the Ecology section, these five physical characteristics are often used to estimate the success of zebra mussel establishment in a given habitat.
It cannot be stressed strongly enough that any predictions must be based on at least a year of regular data collection.