Freshwater mussels may be the most amazing Virginia natural wonder you’ve never heard of. Let’s start with their strange names — the Green Floater, the Creek Heelsplitter, the Atlantic Pigtoe, the Creeper, the Sheepnose and the Appalachian Monkeyface, to name a few.
These titles give us intriguing hints about mussels, the unsung heroes of Virginia’s rivers and streams. As mussel populations across the country face extinction, Virginia legislators are now considering proposals that could help bring them back.
Freshwater mussels are powerhouses that quietly clean and filter water 24 hours a day, removing algae, sediment and bacteria. Large groups amass in shoals, stabilizing the river bottom and keeping it from washing away. They fulfill a role much like the coral reefs of tropical seas.
Wood and Kreps: Floaters, heelsplitters and pigtoes — why Virginia must invest in freshwater mussels | Columnists | roanoke.com
These titles give us intriguing hints about mussels, the unsung heroes of Virginia’s rivers and streams. As mussel populations across the country face extinction, Virginia legislators are now considering proposals that could help bring them back.
Freshwater mussels are powerhouses that quietly clean and filter water 24 hours a day, removing algae, sediment and bacteria. Large groups amass in shoals, stabilizing the river bottom and keeping it from washing away. They fulfill a role much like the coral reefs of tropical seas.
Wood and Kreps: Floaters, heelsplitters and pigtoes — why Virginia must invest in freshwater mussels | Columnists | roanoke.com