Every parent has to explain ‘the birds and the bees’ at some point, but have you ever wondered how freshwater mussels work their magic? Turns out, it’s not a simple story!
North American native freshwater mussels belong to the Order Unionoida, and have a rather unique life history strategy, unlike that of other bivalves. Invasive zebra mussels, Asian clams, and marine oysters have a different birds & bees story.
The tale of our native mussels is filled with weird vocabulary, like spermatozeugmata (= balls of sperm that float through the water) and glochidia (= larvae). And, fishing is involved – in some cases, the mussels literally catch fish! If successful, their larvae stow away in the gills of their host fish until their ready to live on their own. Take a couple minutes and check out their story in this short video produced by The Nature Conservancy – I promise you will not be disappointed!