Ok, wow. I had no idea that freshwater mussels were parasitic for part of their life cycle. I checked out the New Zealand species, and it turns out that they are as well. That's so cool.
Yes! That is true of all freshwater mussels. As they hitch rides on the host fish, they are transported to new areas of their streams. I mentioned that it helps them move to new territory and recolonize places from which they have been extirpated, but it also helps the species to maintain genetic diversity, moving offspring around to mate with others that are not closely related. Thanks so much for the comment.
Ok, wow. I had no idea that freshwater mussels were parasitic for part of their life cycle. I checked out the New Zealand species, and it turns out that they are as well. That's so cool.
Yes! That is true of all freshwater mussels. As they hitch rides on the host fish, they are transported to new areas of their streams. I mentioned that it helps them move to new territory and recolonize places from which they have been extirpated, but it also helps the species to maintain genetic diversity, moving offspring around to mate with others that are not closely related. Thanks so much for the comment.