Media report on visiting researcher’s mussel study
The Associated Press and Maine Public Broadcasting Network reported on research conducted by Scott Morello, a visiting researcher at the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center in Walpole. Morello found mussel larvae swim toward odors from adult mussels, and swim away from odors from predators, including green crabs and dog whelks. According to his research, even though mussel larvae don’t have noses, they can recognize and respond to a range of odor cues when deciding whether to settle in wild beds or on aquaculture lines. The predator odors Morello used are from species that feed on older mussels, which indicates larvae assess future risk on some level when they make settlement decisions. “They can smell, for all intents and purposes,” Morello told the AP. “They are doing everything they can so they don’t end up settling near a predator.” Chicago Tribune, Portland Press Herald, Business Insider, timesunion, Sci-Tech Today and Sun Journal carried the AP report.