Where do mussels live?
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.S., but most of the diversity of species lives in the
drainages of the Mississippi and Ohio River systems and in the Southeast United
States.
Mussels live on the stream bottom, often completely
burying themselves in the substrate (photo) leaving only their siphons
exposed. They are hard to see because they blend in with the bottom
and because any exposed part of the shell grows algae. In good
habitat, mussels will form dense concentrations called mussel beds (photo). Mussel
beds can have thousands of individuals sometimes reprensenting dozens
of species all living in one place.
Crooked River at Smith Rocks State Park, Oregon
, home of the Western Ridged mussel
Photos, courtesy of Al Smith, Pacific NW Native Freshwater
Mussel Workgroup
Eastern pearlshell (Margaritifera margaritifera)
stream in eastern Pennsylvania.
Photo credit: Nevin Welte, Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission
Ecological benefits:
Mussels are food for fish, raccoons, river otters,
mink and muskrats, and mussel beds actually create habitat for many other
invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn serve as a food base, supporting
fish and other animals in the aquatic ecosystem. Because mussels
release unwanted food items in a mucus strand, they transfer suspended
food from the water column to the stream bed, making this food available
for aquatic insects and other small animals. As filter feeders, they clean
harmful bacteria and parasites from the water.