Monitors of aquatic health: When mussels are thriving in the water, it could mean everything else in the water like water quality, fish, and other animals are living in a great ecosystem. But without mussels, the ecosystem which the mussels are the base for seems to eventually suffer from fish to eventually humans.
Ecological value: Mussels are natural filters of the water and also provide a food source for many and many fish. If fish can get their main source of food then humans can also continue to eat fish.
Economic value: freshwater mussels have been and continue to be a major economic resource; first largely used in the button industry. Mussels from North America are also greatly used in the cultured pearl industry in Asia. They also help filter the water from pollutants so humans can have the benefit of having cleaner water.
Cultural value: Mussels have been used in the past for their shells to make buttons but no one used native mussels as the native Americans did. They would use the native mussels for food, their shells, and also as a form of currency. Mussels have always been apart of North American Culture
Biodiversity: There are more than 300 mussels species in North America which compared to the rest of the world where other countries rarely have more than 20 different species. Mussels are very useful too scientific research and might have more values than we currently know. One scientific use for mussels is trying to find out why mussels do not get cancer.
What you can do to help.
Conserve energy in an effort to limit the construction of new hydroelectric power plants.
Limit or cease pesticide use to conserve soil and prevent runoff into nearby lakes and streams. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies can replace pesticides. Doing this will prevent harmful pesticides from going into the water and harm the native mussels.
Help control soil erosion by planting trees and plants to avoid soil runoff into the water.
Remove weeds from boats when leaving the water to prevent the spread of Zebra mussels. Do not throwback into water.
Pick up pet waste to prevent the waste from eventually running off into lakes and rivers.
Drain your well water to prevent Zebra mussels from going from lake to lake.
Stop building too many damns that put fish and native mussels apart and cause the mussels to die.
If we do not help the mussels now, it may be too late.
Mussels are as important as any animal in the ecosystem.
