A mussel starts by traveling with a fish
Two lives connected under the surface.
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The larvae of Margaritifera margaritifera, called glochides, are attached to the gills of salmonids, such as trout. The fish is host and transports them as they develop.
After the transformation, they drop and pass to the bottom. The success of this stage also depends on where they fall: dispersing and finding conditions to survive are different things. The scheme summarizes general biology, not a reproduction observed in the municipality.
This journey does not end immediately in an adult able to reproduce. The form of the ICNF places sexual maturity between the ages of seven and twenty and refers to great longevity. They are general values presented at that source, not ages measured in copies of Cabeceiras. The presence of adults and the arrival of new generations are therefore different questions when studying a population.
A TRAVEL IN THREE MOMENTS
1 · Fixing on fish
The larvae are attached to the gills.
2 · Travel and transformation
The host moves as the larvae develop.
3 · Arrival at the bottom
They let go and pass to the riverbed.
Source and context
ICNF — Margaritifera margaritifera, ecology, reproduction and threats, pp. 2–3
Accessed:
PDM — Environmental Assessment, p. 50
Accessed:
Editorial summary; the date of consultation is not the date of the facts.