Aquatic Epidemiology Conservation Laboratory


Why should we care about freshwater mussels?� For some, conserving a species for its own sake is hard to whole-heartedly support.� So consider this.� For starters, they are not only a vital part of an ecosystem of which many other animals depend, but they are excellent indicators of the quality of the water on which we humans depend. If mussels are dying, it means something is wrong with our water. Additionally, as filter-feeders, mussels are Mother Nature's water purifiers. They filter algae, bacteria and other fine organic matter from the water column as their food source. More than that, mussels can even remove inorganic sediments from the water by filtering it out, packaging it with mucous and depositing it on the bottom of the stream. On average, a single mussel may filter up to � gallon of water per day. Multiply that by the thousands of mussels that could live in a single mussel bed, and that becomes a serious water-purifying service - completely at no cost to us! And even though they may not seem to have the charisma of warm furry mammals or maybe even a fish, we believe that if you peruse this site, watch our videos, and learn about these animals, you will find them to be simply amazing.�