April 29, 2016 — For people looking to settle down, a location’s odor can be a factor in whether they stay or go.
Turns out the same is true for mussel larvae.
Mussel larvae swim toward odors from adult mussels, and swim away from odors from predators, including green crabs and dog whelks, says Scott Morello, a visiting researcher at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center in Walpole, Maine.
Morello found mussel larvae can recognize and respond to a broad range of odor cues when deciding whether to settle in wild beds or on aquaculture lines.
And, says Morello, the predator odors he used are from species that do not directly feed on mussel larvae, or even on newly settled mussels. The odors were from predators that feed on older mussels, which indicates larvae assess future risk on some level when they make settlement decisions.