Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Rare mussels almost 'wiped out'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18627801
The freshwater pearl mussel recently joined giant pandas and Javan rhinos in a list of the world's 365 "most endangered species", assembled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) last year.
The species is thought to be one of the longest-living invertebrates in existence ,with individuals surviving for up to 150 years.
"The bloated corpses of animals born when Charles Darwin was alive have been floating out of their beds and (are) being swept into the Irish Sea," said Matt Shardlow.
The mussels take 10-12 years to reach sexual maturity, meaning that it takes time to build up numbers.
"If you get to the point where the river is just uninhabitable, you cause 150 years' worth of damage, and that's what's happened in this instance," said Matt Shardlow.
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
> "The bloated corpses of animals born when Charles Darwin was alive have been
> floating out of their beds and (are) being swept into the Irish Sea," said Matt Shardlow.
> The species is thought to be one of the longest-living invertebrates in existence,
> with individuals surviving for up to 150 years.
> "If you get to the point where the river is just uninhabitable, you cause 150 years'
> worth of damage, and that's what's happened in this instance"
