Mussel gossip

Introduction

Using mathematical models and data from different marine populations, researchers found a new fact on mussel life: the six-centimetre-long shelled creature can communicate across thousands of kilometres. When these mussels release larvae or die, species living at a completely different region of the coast can come to know of it. This is because the messages are relayed by one population to the other. This fact must change fishery management and conservation practices which focus only on the local areas where the animals are found.

Source

Down To Earth, June 2010