Blue Mussels: Hanging on by a Thread
Most people are relatively familiar with blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), even if only from a menu at a seafood restaurant. This popular edible bivalve (a shellfish with a hinged pair of shells) is circumpolar in its range, and in the western Atlantic Ocean extends as far south as South Carolina. Unlike the ribbed mussel that is commonly found in salt marshes and brackish water areas, the blue mussel is more common along rocky saltwater shorelines. These rocky areas in which…