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UMaine Scientists: Mussels, Lacking Noses, Find Homes Using Smell

Courtesy: University of Maine
Mussel settlers in an adult mussel patch.

PORTLAND, Maine - Mussels don't have noses, but they do respond to smells. That's according to new research from the University of Maine that may provide a clue to mussels' decline in the Gulf of Maine.

Researcher Scott Morello says mussel larvae can recognize smells associated with predators of adult mussels, such as green crabs and dog whelks.

"Larvae will swim away from odors from species that will eventually prey on their adult stage, and they'll swim toward the odor from those adult mussels," Morello says.

Morello says the larvae's tendency to swim toward places where adult mussels are already settled could accelerate decline in mussel populations.

The mussel fishery is Maine's fifth-largest by poundage.  Morello says the reasons for the mussels' decline aren't clear.

Nora is originally from the Boston area but has lived in Chicago, Michigan, New York City and at the northern tip of New York state. Nora began working in public radio at Michigan Radio in Ann Arbor and has been an on-air host, a reporter, a digital editor, a producer, and, when they let her, played records.