some of our native freshwater mussel species what the host fish are,” says Kreeger. For her, mysteries like this make freshwater mussels a thrilling species to study. With some 300 freshwater species in North America, 75 percent of which Kreeger describes as imperiled, there’s plenty of work to be done. “There’s a lot of cool things about these guys that we don’t know about, things that are just starting to be discovered,” says Kreeger. “For example, there’s no cell malignancy in a freshwater mussel. So, just for cancer research, we’d hate to lose some of these species that might help us solve some of the riddles with that disease. They also filter pathogens like giardia and salmonella and keep our water clean.” Kreeger believes that, as more is understood about freshwater mussels, their ability to improve water sources will make them an important part of conservation efforts. “Every one of
GET INVOLVED
these mussels is going to filter about 10 gallons of water every day during the summer, and collectively, a healthy bed of mussels functions like a water treatment plant,” she says. “Mussels beds can be 50 to 100 years old, so when you rebuild a mussel bed—hopefully in Tacony—they’re going to do that good work for our water for decades.” Already, Kreeger noted, the Philadelphia Water Department has expressed interest in mussel beds for their role in water filtration, and played a role in conducting mussel surveys on local waterways. “We’re looking at using mussels in habitat restoration along the tidal Delaware and tidal tributaries,” adds Lance Butler, a biologist with the Philadelphia Water Department. “Another place we’re exploring the role of mussels is in wastewater wetlands, because if you have active mussels there to help process the water even
more, obviously the water coming out into the Delaware is going to be even cleaner.” From the perspective of the Tookany/TaconyFrankford Watershed Partnership, the long-running survey and restoration project has been a rich opportunity to engage and educate residents—one of the primary functions of the nonprofit group, which receives funding from the city and other municipalities. That their volunteers could help to bring back a once-vital species is especially exciting, says Executive Director Julie Slavet. “It’s an opportunity to talk to residents about the tools that are out there to clean the creek,” says Slavet. “You go out there with the goal of surveying mussels, but you also get to talk to people about things like the biggest source of pollution being runoff, and that we have to worry about sediment … it’s just another way to open up and engage people about what’s damaging our creeks.”
Want to help out with projects like the mussel surveying and reseeding? The Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership has a variety of opportunities for residents, community organizations, schools and businesses to get involved with improving the health of the stream. Find out more at ttfwatershed.org or by emailing info@ttfwatershed.org or calling 215-744-1853.