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Could mussels fix coastal erosion? Ecologists are working to find out

Published January 13, 2023 at 1:45 PM EST
A group of ribbed mussels that coastal restoration ecologist Annalee Tweitmann has just planted in a section of degraded marsh at Joppa Flats. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
A group of ribbed mussels that coastal restoration ecologist Annalee Tweitmann has just planted in a section of degraded marsh at Joppa Flats. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

More than 40% of the salt marsh in Massachusetts has dwindled since colonial times, and much of what’s left is threatened by sea level rise, development and pollution.

Ecologists are now studying whether a small creature called a “ribbed mussel” could help. WBUR’s Barbara Moran reports.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.