“Just a few years ago, people would be hard-pressed to find mussels around the Lynnhaven River. But James said officials have recently seen an ‘explosion’ of the muddy mollusks.

And they’re growing seemingly without help from humans…

The mussels popping up in the river are not the same kind that diners encounter at a restaurant, which are typically smooth, blue mussels that live on rocks or pilings.

The Chesapeake Bay’s aptly named ribbed mussel, on the other hand, has a ribbed shell and prefers to attach to the roots of marsh grass and burrow in the mud.

That makes them great at stabilizing marshes to prevent erosion, which is particularly important in the face of rising sea levels…

Like oysters, ribbed mussels filter nutrients that run off land and cause pollution, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. But they also consume bacteria, which is a step further than oysters, which pass through and excrete bacteria.

Together, the bivalves are powerhouses for cleaning the river. Their recent growth likely reflects improvements in water quality, which then becomes a happily reinforcing cycle, James said.”

From WHRO Public Media.