{"id":579,"date":"2015-02-20T11:50:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-20T16:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/put-a-little-mussel-in-it\/"},"modified":"2015-02-20T11:50:00","modified_gmt":"2015-02-20T16:50:00","slug":"put-a-little-mussel-in-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/put-a-little-mussel-in-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Put a Little Mussel Into It!"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nWestcott Phillip, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never been to the Wagner Free Institute of Science<\/a>\u00a0 at 1700 West Montgomery Avenue (not far from Temple University), then this coming Thursday, February 26, is a great chance to visit this \u201cunusual natural science and history museum in its original Victorian setting<\/a>.\u201d At 6pm, Dr. Danielle Kreeger, Science Director for the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary<\/a> (PDE), will give a talk on Aquatic Underdogs: How Freshwater Mussels Can Help Save our Great Waters<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mission of the PDE (which the Philadelphia Water Department works closely with!) is \u201cto lead science-based and collaborative efforts to improve the tidal Delaware River and Bay, which spans Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.\u201d Among these efforts is Dr. Kreeger\u2019s work on the ecology<\/a> and restoration of bivalve shellfish and coastal wetlands, as well as climate adaptation, living shorelines, and ecosystem services.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And freshwater mussels are some amazing\u2014if severely challenged\u2014little bivalves in need of restoration. PDE has great info about freshwater mussels<\/a>\u00a0including how they, as filter feeders, \u201csuck water in and trap solids such as dirt, algae and other pollutants then release the clean filtered water back into the environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, as the title of Dr. Kreeger\u2019s lecture suggests, the freshwater mussels in this area have faced a steep decline, from over a dozen different species to just one now commonly found in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The freshwater mussel has been described as \u201cthe most imperiled of all organisms in North America.\u201d Dr. Kreeger\u2019s presentation \u201cwill describe the fascinating lifestyle and status of freshwater mussels and chronicle how local efforts to restore these animals will protect our waterways.\u201d<\/p>\n

The museum at the Wagner Free Institute of Science<\/a> (often called a museum of a museum) will be open prior to the lecture, which begins at 6pm. There is no cost to attend but registration is required. Click here to register.<\/a><\/p>\n


\nFreshwater Mussels from the Unionidae Collection at the Wagner Free Institute of Science<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve never been to the Wagner Free Institute of Science at 1700 West Montgomery Avenue (not far from Temple University), then this coming Thursday, February 26, is a great chance to visit this \u201cunusual natural science and history museum in its original Victorian setting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"custom_css":"","custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","tag-event","wpautop"],"acf":{"suggested":null},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/phila.gov\/blog\/put-a-little-mussel-in-it\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Put a Little Mussel Into It!","url":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/put-a-little-mussel-in-it\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/put-a-little-mussel-in-it\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Events","author":[],"creator":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"@PhillyH2O Blog","logo":""},"keywords":["event"],"dateCreated":"2015-02-20T16:50:00Z","datePublished":"2015-02-20T16:50:00Z","dateModified":"2015-02-20T16:50:00Z"},"rendered":"