Kvarnbäcken

The pearl mussel is one of the most long-lived species in our Swedish fauna. Kvarnbäcken has one of the county's richest populations, with up to 140,000 mussels.

In the clean water of Kvarnbäcken there are large accumulations of river pearl mussels, which are a highly endangered and fascinating species. The mussels can live for over 250 years and play a major role in the aquatic ecosystem. This is why the mussel and the rivers it lives in are important to protect and conserve.

The mussel has high habitat requirements for reproduction and needs good quality flowing water, stable bottoms of suitable material, good water turnover in the substrate and good access to trout. Trout act as host fish for the larvae of the mussel as part of the complex process of reproduction.

In order to survive, mussel larvae need to be attached to the gills of trout during the first year. Only one mussel larva in a hundred million (!) develops into a mussel.