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Cheering News for Depressed Mussels

June 19, 2001

One of Britain's rarest animals could soon be enjoying a revival in the country's waterways, thanks to researchers at the University of Cambridge.

Depressed River Mussel populations have suffered a 30 per cent drop in the last 100 years through pollution and modern dredging techniques, and the species has been made a conservation priority by the Government, alongside otters and bitterns.

Zoologists at the University of Cambridge have now succeeded in rearing juvenile Depressed River Mussels in the laboratory and hope their techniques may eventually be used to replenish stocks of the mussel in Britain's rivers.

Anna McIvor explained:
"Rearing these mussels is not a straightforward process. The larvae must attach themselves to fish, and then over three to four weeks, they undergo a metamorphosis to become juvenile mussels. After that, they drop off and bury themselves in sediment to grow into adult mussels.
"In the wild, almost all of these larvae would perish because of high levels of pollution - or they would be eaten by fish."

Freshwater mussels play a vital role in river ecology because they filter algae from the water, which increases the amount of light that can get through, resulting in more plants, fish and other creatures.

Rearing the mussels in the laboratory means the Cambridge team have completed the first stage in a long term project to reintroduce the mussel to the sites from where it has been lost.

Cambridge, University of

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