What do mussels need to survive

Marine mussels are prey for some birds, sea stars, and some marine snails. Marine mussels reproduce by releasing their eggs and sperm into the water.

The young then begin life as floating plankton for between one and six months before settling on the bottom as an adult. With freshwater mussels, the male releases sperm into the water which then enters the female via her incurrent siphon. After feeding on the fish during their larval stage, they detach themselves, fall to the bottom, and begin their adult stage.

Most marine mussels and the invasive freshwater Zebra mussel; which is not within either the Palaeoheterodonta or Pteriomorphia subclasses use threads calls byssus to attach themselves to underwater rocks, jetties, and other structures.

Freshwater mussels are more mobile, using their powerful foot to move along the substrate and bury themselves. Freshwater mussels are also known for their longevity.

Some species are known to live for over years. Although some marine clams are thought to surpass the century mark, marine mussel likely do not. Tags: endangered species , marine , mussels , New Jersey. This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, at pm and is filed under Invertebrates , Marine.

Most freshwater mussels live in flowing water, in everything from small streams to large rivers. A few species can live in lakes. They are found across the U. Mussels live on the stream bottom, often completely burying themselves in the substrate photo leaving only their siphons exposed. The movement of mussels is limited.

Most mussels stay in one place for their entire lives, but some mussels use their single foot to move around on the riverbed. Just like us, mussels have a heart, kidneys, a stomach, and a mouth! Like fish, mussels also have gills.

The gills of mussels help these animals filter water. Mussels survive by taking in water, keeping microorganisms and nutrients for food, and releasing water back to the river cleaner than it was when it first entered the mussel. Mussels feed by filtering water, but filtering water also means that mussels are highly vulnerable to pollution. High concentrations of pollution, bacteria, and sediment in rivers make mussels sick and can kill off entire populations of mussels.

A river that is unable to support healthy populations of mussels usually indicates that the river has poor water quality. Mussels also have this amazing and unusual lifecyle that includes fish as a host. Glochidia or mussel larvae attach themselves to the gills of fish, where they develop into juvenile mussels before detaching into the stream or river. This process does not do any harm to the fish. To attract fish, mussels have developed very ornate lures that resemble small prey fish.

Take a look at the videos below to see the amazing lures of the Plain Pocketbook and Wavyrayed Lampmussel, two common mussel species found in the Tippecanoe River. Learning about and conserving mussels are essential activities for preserving the health of our waterways. One way humans measure our health is by checking our hearts. Mussels are like the heart of a river.