Deep Dive: Exploring the Mussel Tussle

Mussels are a kind of bivalve. Like their cousins the oysters, clams, and scallops they live a shelled (although not completely sheltered) life in freshwater rivers & ponds to expansive oceans all across the globe, filtering water for tiny morsels worth eating.

Mussels of course can be worth eating themselves as a tasty meal, as all these recipes show. Then again, some mussels, like the Zebra mussel, have become difficult pests in areas like the Great Lakes, drastically changing ecosystems and causing economic hardship...

But what about the overall biological lives of freshwater mussels? What about the risk of extinction for others? What factors are at play. To answer these questions we only need to read Lauren Hughes' zine Deep Dive: Into the Secret Live of Freshwater Mussels to get a rich visual guide to the topics, and others besides (click on the comic below to magnify):


- - If you want to download the printable and foldable PDF version, click here.

Wonderful zine contribution and winner of the "Oceans & Water" category of this past year's Zine-a-Thon contest!

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