Let's Get Musscular!
What Do We Do?
At the Minnesota Mussel Movement, our group of ten teens research and share the most pertinent issues that have, and still are affecting the United State's most endangered organism to this day. Covering the impacts of pollution, dams, and the past button craze, we strive to educate people of all ages on these issues so we can acknowledge the past and build our future. Our mission is to recruit YOU to help us make the world a better place one freshwater mussel at a time. Let's get musscular!
What Can You Learn?
Here at MNMM, we hope you not only learn about freshwater mussels, but also discover how YOU can help them in your every day life. We provide you with ways to get musscular on your own, as well as ways you can encourage other people in your life to participate! Click on any of the three groups below to begin.
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Freshwater Mussles
Freshwater mussels are a group of bivalve mollusks native to freshwater waterways. They are keystone species to their environments, meaning all the different species in ecosystems rely on the work of these aquatic engineers. They provide means of sustenance for fauna like otters, racoons, and birds, as well as clean water for them to live off of. Freshwater mussels are filter feeders, meaning they filter out water in the process of consuming phytoplankton, filtering up to 10 gallons of water per day! This action sustains good water quality and clarity, supporting everyone living in or off of the freshwater, including us humans! These bivalves are so involved, that scientists are able to detect changes in water quality or bodies of water just by observing it's local mussels. Not only important to our environment and our science, freshwater mussels were also once an important resource for native American tribes, used for food, tools, jewelry, and more, continuing as a part of their cultures. Crucial for so many different factors of our planet, these mollusks definitely have the musscles to show it! Now knowing mussel importance, who would want to leave them to disappear from our world?
