|
|
Ecology and reproduction: Freshwater pearl mussels have a fascinating life cycle, which depends on salmonid fish (salmon and trout). Reproduction starts when male mussels release sperm into the water in early summer, which is inhaled by females and fertilizes their eggs. When the eggs have developed they are released as tiny larvae called 'glochidia'. Some of these glochidia are able to attach themselves to the gills of juvenile salmonids, where they develop in this oxygen-rich environment until the following spring, when they drop off and bury into the riverbed to grow into adults. It takes freshwater pearl mussels 12 years to reach sexual maturity. This curious life cycle does not appear to affect the fish adversely.
|
