Studying these freshwater mussels is not an easy feat. The researchers were unable to determine the host fish of some of the species because they were unable to locate any of these mussels that were carrying offspring to rear in a laboratory setting. This demonstrates how rare and difficult to locate these species are! Also, for other at risk mussels for which they had individuals to populate a subsequent generation, an attempt to rear juveniles in the lab proved challenging. Still, the researchers were able to infest various host fish with some mussel larva and successfully rear them. Certain fish species were found to make much better hosts than others and this depended on the species of mussel being targeted. However, almost no larvae or juveniles survived long enough to mature. But since the researchers managed to get important data about the ideal conditions for the mussels to reproduce and survive, this research is good news for freshwater mussel conservation.
