Freshwater Mussel
Date Submitted: July 11, 2010
Observer: Paul Lauenstein
Observation Date: 7/9/10
Observation Time: 4:40 p.m.
Observation Location: Gavins Pond outflow pool
Plant or Animal? Animal
Common Name: Freshwater Mussel
Scientific Name: Elliptio complanata
Photos:
Comments: Mussels are filter feeders that cleanse water. Of the 12 species native to Massachusetts, 7 are in trouble because of pollution and/or compromised stream flow. Elliptio complanata mussels are relatively common, but well pumping for lawn irrigation threatens these individuals by drying up their pool during a drought.
Mussel veligers hitch a ride on fish gills for a few weeks before settling on the bottom to take up a sessile existence as a filter feeder that can last decades. Veligers of each mussel species attach to a specific species of fish. By hitching rides on fish, mussel colonies can repopulate upstream. However, if the fish species that the mussel depends on dies out, so eventually does the mussel species, along with the water filtration services they provide.
More Information: University of Massachusetts