Editing Mussel (section)

==Life habits==
[[File:Mytilus with byssus.jpg|thumb|left| A ''Mytilus'' with its [[byssus]] clearly showing, at [[Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California|Ocean Beach]], [[San Francisco]], [[California]]]]
[[File:Starfishmussel.jpg|thumb|right|A [[sea star]] consuming a mussel in [[Northern California]]]]

===Feeding===
Both marine and freshwater mussels are [[filter feeders]]; they feed on [[plankton]] and other microscopic sea creatures which are free-floating in seawater. A mussel draws water in through its [[Siphon (mollusc)|incurrent siphon]]. The water is then brought into the branchial chamber by the actions of the [[cilia]] located on the [[gill]]s for ciliary-mucus feeding. The wastewater exits through the excurrent siphon. The labial palps finally funnel the food into the mouth, where digestion begins.{{Sfn|Haag|2012|pp=26-28}}

Marine mussels are usually found [[Sessility (zoology)|clumping]] together on wave-washed rocks, each attached to the rock by its byssus. The clumping habit helps hold the mussels firm against the force of the waves. At low tide mussels in the middle of a clump will undergo less water loss because of water capture by the other mussels.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

===Reproduction===
Both marine and freshwater mussels are [[Gonochorism|gonochoristic]], with separate male and female individuals. In marine mussels, fertilization occurs outside the body, with a larval stage that drifts for three weeks to six months, before settling on a hard surface as a young mussel. There, it is capable of moving slowly by means of attaching and detaching byssal threads to attain a better life position.

Freshwater mussels reproduce sexually. [[Sperm]] is released by the male directly into the water and enters the female via the incurrent siphon. After fertilization, the [[Egg cell|eggs]] develop into a larval stage called a [[glochidium]] (plural glochidia), which temporarily parasitizes fish, attaching themselves to the fish's fins or gills. Prior to their release, the glochidia grow in the gills of the host fish where they are constantly flushed with oxygen-rich water. In some species, release occurs when a fish attempts to attack the mussel's mantle flaps, which are shaped like minnows or other prey, an example of [[aggressive mimicry]].<ref name="haag">{{cite journal |author= Wendell R. Haag|title=Adaptations to Host Infection and Larval Parasitism in Unionoida |journal=Journal of the North American Benthological Society |date=2008 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=370–394 |doi=10.1899/07-093.1}}</ref>

Glochidia are generally species-specific, and will only live if they find the correct fish host. Once the larval mussels attach to the fish, the fish body reacts to cover them with cells forming a [[cyst]], where the glochidia remain for two to five weeks (depending on temperature). They grow, break free from the host, and drop to the bottom of the water to begin an independent life.{{Sfn|Haag|2012|pp=41-42}}

===Predators===
Marine mussels are eaten by humans, [[starfish]], seabirds, and by numerous species of [[predatory]] marine [[gastropod]]s in the family [[Muricidae]], such as the [[dog whelk]], ''Nucella lapillus''. Freshwater mussels are eaten by [[muskrat]]s, [[otter]]s, [[raccoon]]s, ducks, [[baboon]]s, humans, and geese.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

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