California Floater Mussels Take Fish For an Epic Joyride | Deep Look

The California floater mussel does a surprising amount of travel - for a bivalve. First it gets ejected from its parent's shell into the wide watery wilderness. Then it leads a nomad's life clamped on the fins or gills of a fish. Once it's all grown up, the mussel goes to work filtering the water, keeping it clean for all the life that depends on it.
Check out Antarctic Extremes on PBS Terra: • What Do You Eat in Ant...
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
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California floater mussels have evolved an ingenious method of launching their larvae, or glochidia, into the water, where they clamp onto a fish gill or fin. The larvae hitch a ride on the fish for a few weeks, absorbing nutrients from their hosts, until they drop off and begin life as a young mussel on the lake bed.
If they’re lucky, the larvae on the fish will make it to the juvenile stage, and grow up to be hardworking living water filters.
Adult mussels can live ten years. They can filter up to 38 gallons of water each per day.
The mussels have two openings to take in and excrete water. Inside them, water passes through their gills, which are lined with thousands of cilia, tiny arms that filter out the nutrients and particles.
Thousands of mussels in a small lake or waterway can improve overall water health and clarity, according to researchers. Also, their industrious filtration and sensitivity to pollutants makes them reliable indicators of freshwater quality. In 2013 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cut the water quality standard for ammonia content in half, based on research done with freshwater mussels.
Mussels share their watery homes with a world class array of freshwater fish, snails, crayfish, and insects.
--- Do all mussels need fish to fully develop?
Many of the 300 or so other North American freshwater mussel species require one specific species of fish to help spread their numbers, some of which have evolved incredibly realistic fish lures, but the California floaters don’t seem to be so picky.
--- Are freshwater mussels endangered?
The California floater mussel is just one of about 300 species of native freshwater mussels in North America, approximately three-quarters of which are threatened, endangered or a species of special concern.
--- Are these native California floater mussels different from the invasive freshwater mussel species?
Invasive freshwater mussels like the Asian clam, zebra mussels and quagga mussels all attach to surfaces and inside pipes with sticky threads, wreaking havoc on boats, docks, water treatment plants and power plant cooling systems from Lake Tahoe to the Great Lakes.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
www.kqed.org/science/1961648/...
---+ Shoutout!
🏆Congratulations🏆 to the following fans on our Deep Look Community Tab for being the first five to correctly identify the - glochidia - mussel larvae!
Gavin Bock
Tristan Simpson
Mohammed Suhail
Sampson Ng
MrSpodes
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[@piyamaslimaichay9061]

The​ relationship between​ species​ on​ different​ branches of​ the​ animal​ always​ astounds me.

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

LOL

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

Afoot

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

They have corona viruses.

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

Sticky train criminals hiding in closed shells.

[@pokemoglis]

Yea súpreme Grand Master

[@blumac9801]

Mussels do the same thing as giant clams. That’s why I have a giant clam in my Salt water tank. They help filter the water.

[@AryaPDipa]

Do you still need water filter after that? Just curious.

[@jeidun]

@@AryaPDipa yes, because the clams only filter loose food. the poop still becomes ammonia so, you need a tank filter to provide more surface area for the beneficial bacteria to grow and consume the ammonia/nitrite and convert it to nitrates, which plants consume/water changes take away.

[@blumac9801]

Arya P. Dipa yea.

[@i.robles5785]

Mussels and clams are giant ammonia bombs when they die. It's not recommended to keep em in the aquarium.

[@blumac9801]

I. Robles or you just make sure that they don’t die, or keep an eye on them to see if they die and remove them quickly.

[@dardardarner]

3:01 Polychaete Worm: You can't beat me! Mussel: I know, but he can! 3:14

[@thechrischong]

I understood that reference!

[@Thunder_Cheek01]

GET OFF OF ME!! I need to tell them I understood that reference too!

[@brianisme6498]

Darwin Azodnem Ik that reference but can’t remember where it’s from!

[@zerolev7404]

Ok this made me laugh you deserve a like. It’s Thor and Hela with Surtur.

[@PD-ws4td]

Brian Is Me It’s from Star Wars The last Airbender.

[@cherylamabel6653]

My god didn’t know mussels could be this cute!!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

IKR Cheryl

[@dioscorodonguines8970]

they look like tiny ballsacks

[@NafeeDoesStuff]

@@dioscorodonguines8970 way to ruin it but i agree

[@JesBdoinItAgain]

@Lolicon Rule34 intensifies*

[@m.b.82]

They are not friggen cute

[@yogaagungnugroho1528]

3:14 that one mussel be like "how lucky i am"

[@BothHands1]

omg right!! at first i thought the person filming had used a sharp object to scare it away before it hurt the mussel, but really it was a fish that ate the worm lolol

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

LOL

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

They have corona viruses.

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

Sticky train criminals hiding in closed shells.

[@Armendicus]

He gon be in church one Sunday like "the devil thought he haaad meee".

[@syaban430]

3:15 "Leave him alone,you monster"

[@juliosalgado956]

And then, they produce a video about that worm and we all agree it's cute after all...

[@badimaaa4a548]

I want to like it, but it's at... _the_ number

[@napalm3899]

"Thanks for eating that mean worm, fish bro!" "No problem, thanks for making the water clean, mussel bro!" nom nom nom nom nom nom

[@AlexSanzDi]

DEEP LOOK! the quality of this video blew me away! Everything, every angle was just perfect and kept me on thinking how the crew managed to take those awesome shots, the music and editing was superb as well, congratulations on another masterpiece! cheers from Mexico.

[@billyjohn7194]

Yes omg I was thinking the same thing like I'm just a 21yo that takes pics as a hobby and I'm wondering the tools, angles, patience, mastery it took to produce these clips. Honestly would like to learn how these were taken

[@corbeau-_-]

@@billyjohn7194 often it takes forever and lots of times they create settings for shots. It all depends. Sometimes it's just luck. Some of it is animated (because too freaking hard/expensive to film), I think some of it is done through a microscope, or at least magnification. It also helps a lot the mussels are quite stationary, repetitive and have seasonal behavior. In case of the infected fish, like said, it blows tens of thousands of offspring into the water. Getting a good shot might be hard, but that's where the patience comes in, I suppose. I've seen documentaries about this with Attenborough, where he explains how they get most of their shots. Can't remember the name, though. With insects they often use glass plates and they dig a hole to see stuff like ants, termites, etc. moving around in their lair.

[@corbeau-_-]

the edits and music are often done by a team. When they 'feel' eachother, you get magic ;)

[@Cockadoodledoo1003]

8's actually in an aquarium

[@Lilowillow42]

there are going further and faster than me in this quarantine

[@BothHands1]

there? where? what? quarantine's got you speaking in tongues lol

[@kyles5960]

lol

[@cavangriffin1514]

The music in this was something special 👌

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Our composer is Seth Samuel, and is awesome.

[@YeppyNope]

Awesome.

[@jun_meh5456]

Yeas agree with you

[@kari7403]

@@KQEDDeepLook I have always rather enjoyed the music in your videos. It really stands out, but in a good way! Easily my favorite music in any nature kind of show. Mr. Seth Samuel's got some skills! Thanks for letting us know who creates the audio magic for these vids, it's much appreciated.

[@kari7403]

I have to agree, Caveen. The music in this video really was something else. It grabbed my attention right away. Not in a way that would distract me from the video, but instead, it engaged me further. I always enjoy the music on this channel. But this video really brought the good stuff.

[@Neontronique]

I loved seeing the babies, I've owned a few mussels before. I didn't know how tiny the offspring are.

[@mark-co4do]

3:10 Worm: Hmmm.. This might be a good prey. Baby Mussel: Uh Oh.. Fish: What are you up on? Worm: Uhm n-nothing. OMG I am super dead..

[@crabenjoyergoat]

That polychaete worm looks like something from deep sea

[@Zaxares]

There are bigger (and hungrier) relatives of similar worms that do live in the sea. Google "Bobbit Worm" for an example. :)

[@crabenjoyergoat]

@@Zaxares I know about them, I was referring to the midwater worms but they truly look similar

[@davidrobleemalapira3369]

@@Zaxares GOD, THEY ARE NIGHTMARES

[@javierth1238]

What if theres bigger down the bottom of the oceans........

[@Matty80822]

how that fish came in. nature, gotta love it

[@thehornwortofhornwort9832]

Most people: aww the mussels are riding the fish. Me: IS THAT ICH

[@Wotterblue]

#fishkeeperproblems

[@glowcloudwheatproducts495]

No, but glocchidia mussel larvae are parasitic, same as ich

[@mainakdeb8322]

Are all mussel larvae parasitic? So should i remove mussels( freshwater asian ) from my aquarium?

[@glowcloudwheatproducts495]

@@mainakdeb8322 no, just glocchidia

[@mainakdeb8322]

@@glowcloudwheatproducts495 thanks

[@RandomGuy-qc8ml]

3:14 "Don't worey bruh I gotchu"

[@deshawnglosson6275]

Now see we learn something everyday...I have never heard of that worm or that stickelback fish...lol I know I'm spelling wrong typing as I'm watching don't judge me...everyone please stay safe and blessed much love from San Antonio and wash hands...

[@lostpockets2227]

thanks deshawn

[@jeromelee428]

if you're not sure on how to spell it, you can always check the closed captions. they're actually pretty accurate on most of science channels as there are hardworking people transcribing it

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

Afoot

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

They have corona viruses.

[@duaneromano0312]

Mussels is stronger than muscles...

[@rawonions8827]

Fan Boy you think they’re called that because they’re really just pieces of muscle inside a shell

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

LOL

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

Afoot

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

They have corona viruses.

[@supremegrandmaster6841]

Sticky train criminals hiding in closed shells.

[@infallibleblue]

Hi Seth Samuel! Your music is outstanding!

[@andrealghn]

Content I need for this quarantine! Great video as always ♥️

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thank you, Andrea - we're glad to bring a little humor and science in these difficult times.

[@ashereaton7443]

@@KQEDDeepLook deep look is my favorite channel, pds eons is a close second.

[@Mali-pz2ng]

@@ashereaton7443 me too

[@kari7403]

Hahaha! Im loving That alien/space/mysterious music playing while the polychaete worm is digging in the sand. That was awesome.

[@Mitch-rd9gs]

This is incredible to me. I remember catching fish and always seeing these small white dots on the fins of them. Now I know what they were!

[@rademfam6856]

Mitchell Zabel yeah I thought it was a diseased fish smh

[@adithyalfc]

The amount of hardwork goes into making these videos is just mindboggling..filming at the right moment..editing them..making the final output..phew..kudos to u guys

[@martincaballero4201]

Its hard for me to think that Mussels have this much stuff going on in their life. Still cant shake the fact that they're like living rocks

[@BothHands1]

amazing video, as always. you're definitely in the top ten of educational channels, so it's a shame you don't have more subs, like pbs spacetime, or any of the other very informative channels. things like scishow give just a basic understanding that most of us already know, but i like the "deep look" mentality a lot.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thank you, Danielle. :-)

[@BothHands1]

Deep Look

[@crystalstarspark]

I'm always down for a new deep look video! Loves this one, can't wait for the next!

[@bigred8438]

Thanks Laura, this was simply wonderful.

[@id2609]

Really enjoying this channel recently-thanks for great contents you guys make!

[@chineseduckscriedinladakh3760]

They are so so so cute!! Thank you deep look for making us, especially people like me who never sat in biology class 😅, thank you for making us understand wild life better even at tiny scales! Love your content! And always excited to see more from you... *Lots of love and respects* especially for the camera team!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

You are so kind - take care.

[@chineseduckscriedinladakh3760]

@@KQEDDeepLook OMG! Thank you...!! You just made my day! (≧ω≦) You guys too, please take care...!

[@R.Oates7902]

I had biology class. It was boring. Not nearly as interesting as Deep Look!

[@michealhollis5656]

Thank you for continuing to upload videos! this channel has taught me so many things that I never would notice happening in our everyday lives!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

You are so welcome!

[@dakshkumarsharma8166]

Love you Deep Look!

[@DavidAusman]

That was fascinating. I never knew an animal like that could be so interesting!

[@Sleipnirseight]

Nice! I used to help propagate endangered fresh water mussels on the east coast. Very cool how many species around the world share the same life cycle

[@bari2883]

Love deep look. Cant wait for each new instalment.

[@constantregret8310]

"Mom launches them by the tens and thousand into wide watery wilderness..." Awwhh thats so sad :'( "... along with some of her wastes" Wtf whyyyy?!!

[@theeoneandonlyushygushy]

ummm...you do know that human childbirth is quite the same as this right?

[@KChow-nb1pz]

same opening for both, no choice :/

[@chrono-glitchwaterlily8776]

@@theeoneandonlyushygushy no I didn't.

[@ragnaky9151]

YEET

[@rouxquier6578]

She's basically the janitor of the sea, if she wants to release some waists while giving birth, she has everyright to and NOBODY can judge her for that

[@kimbratton9620]

Deep look never gets boring!

[@NabPunk]

Common name: Polycheate worm, Species nam... WAIT A MINUTE.

[@GZxuanChannel-nx9vi]

AMAZING Video, @Deep Look

[@MaessyChan]

I literally paused from munching my snack until I finished this whole video! Those tiny mussels are awesome!! 😍

[@smol9217]

Been waiting for this vids!!

[@DeanaLiu]

Never have I ever seen a mussel larva before and ngl they're kinda freaky

[@jellycookie8886]

2:12 : me when I’m trying to run away after my mom told me no more candy

[@ZAPRandom]

Mike did an amazing job with sound mix, it was fun!

[@_.yuariia._]

Y'know, watching this video made me realize something... *I wonder how many clam babies I accidentally inhaled as a kid at the beach.*

[@Zindel42]

Not just clam babies, babies and eggs of many many different animals are in the water. And when we get out of the water we probably kill a bunch of them that are all over us. But that's nature. Smaller animals make so many offspring because many of them are not meant to live

[@renivideht]

All part of the circle of life.

[@MatthewF-up4rj]

This is the most amazing and fascinating thing I have seen in years! I never thought what a baby mussel looks like and I never would have thought they would look like this! Perfectly Created!

[@dakshkumarsharma8166]

Who could have guessed that the structure was Glochidia? This challenge was tough still awesome!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thanks - many of us had never heard the term before this episode.

[@geniusaboutsockss3573]

I’ve been watching this channel for years, I’m a big fan and this is one of my favorite videos!! I had to screenshot some of the shots in this video because they were so pretty, I love muscles

[@TheLadyDelirium]

Wow this was amazing! Those baby muscles were really cute.

[@mhm77887]

These closeup shots are so good.

[@rayaguirre2084]

When it said freshwater mussel I thought it was going to show a picture of me. Informative thank you.

[@personalpurgatory]

these types of videos are the best

[@yhcranom4220]

This video has been sitting on my recommendation for 2 days now and I have no regrets watching this lol

[@baroonono]

thanks for the great vid!

[@mandyritchie7115]

Great imagery, loved this. Thanks for sharing.

[@SaikaVa]

Amazing footage as always!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Roody_Patootie]

You guys are amazing! You teach is so much about these critters that seem like nothing to us!

[@Kyoon_egg]

I always feel sleppy watching this not bc it's boring or what i love this kinds of video it's your voice it's so calming and soothing🥺🤧

[@spaceboy7041]

I love how the fish protects the muscles from the worms

[@savagedabs8536]

I think I spotted Russel the Love Mussel! Excellent work Deep Look

[@mansoorhussaini2011]

Love you videos. Thanks for sharing all the great contents.

[@footfault1941]

We know its taste, but practically know nothing about its biology without a video like this!

[@sadcat747]

3:15 I can only imagine ZeFrank A.K.A true facts saying "welp, there goes Mr. polychaete"

[@Nmohawk21]

I just love this channel so much ❤️ love every single episode!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thank you Rachel.

[@Jartopia]

Fascinating video!

[@PhilTruthborne]

Such simple creatures yet so fascinating

[@paulhengesbach9336]

I loved the animations, made it really better for me to understand.

[@sharkboss]

Thank you for doing such videos. I really do. Thank you all

[@demianschultz3749]

Thank you for this informative and fun video

[@ghostx4862]

Never thought i'd witness the life cycle of a mussel, very fascinating

[@ThiccJungles]

I love these guys( little water purification centers ), as much as I love the ocean. 🌊

[@yasharfarzaneh4695]

Perfect Thank You!!!!!

[@WaterlandFilms]

Informative video deep look!

[@madil2259]

Amazing footage! 😍

[@goodnatureart]

Great storytelling!

[@SimplyCube]

Your videos are always so interesting.

[@537CH]

By hard working, you mean sitting still and eat. Sign me up for that!

[@MrTwotimess]

Wonderful to see the fine balance in nature.

[@DClifeMr]

It is so nostalgic. I use to watch my yellow square-shaped friend with his net chasing and catching those cute butterfly clams. He is usually with his pink star-shaped friend whom he had a hard time teaching the basics of net fishing. Although his friend is mentally impaired, he is still respectful at him. The disability really doesn’t bother their friendship though. Good times, good times...

[@meredithgrubb7027]

The babies r so cute. I love how mom just craps them right out lol.

[@andysuryantorovanruzzette8085]

A nice and informative, interesting video, have a well deserved sub!

[@judysilva2871]

That's really cool! Love the vids keep it up!!!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thanks Judy!

[@saficlear]

Thank you

[@StevenCasteelYT]

Great timing in the editing.

[@user-qh9ft7lh8o]

Love your videos

[@mcnuggets899]

This is so fascinating

[@hl9252]

Very enjoyable episodes I actually really look forward to New episodes love watching it thanks

[@feminico2613]

Polychaete worm: noooo you can't just get saved by another species from my grasp. Mussel: haha fish go glub glub

[@BellaBungalow]

I LOVE THIS KZbin CHANNEL. Post Notifications are on. Forever now

[@13catfishswim]

This is a great video!!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Glad you think so!

[@hokostudios]

How neat! I never gave muscles much thought, but now I can appreciate them a little more. Didn't know the young were little hitchhikers, that's pretty cool!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

They are!

[@Username-le4eq]

3:14 the literal definition of "Eat or be Eaten" you scary nature D;

[@SamanthaSmith-mw7hi]

at first i thought the fish just had ick, i was pleasantly surprised it was baby mussels!

[@TheOrangeRoad]

This is the kind of stuff PBS should be doing

[@darylbuckner5596]

Life cycle of all living things can be amazing

[@VyvienneEaux]

I had literally been obsessing over freshwater mussels and sticklebacks for weeks before you announced this video's release. I think I must be in heaven.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Awesome Vivian!

[@heheh8877]

Humans: we should take care of our babies Mussels: FETUS YEETUS

[@NatureWitch]

Wow that's amazing I had no idea that they did that! Are a lot of clams and mussels cleaning lakes like that?

[@poanochung-wahlee1567]

I really enjoyed this

[@jimtessin4130]

Thank you!!!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

You're welcome!

[@colevincent5800]

Mussel: “hop in cuz, I’m takin you on a ride”

[@subscriberswithvideos-up2wl]

3:21: I thought that was a fish for a sec