Our research

The National Geographic Society has funded a one-year project (2018-2019) to investigate whether mussel cover protects soft rock platforms from weathering and erosion and, ultimately, to explore potential benefits – or services – in terms of coastal protection that humans might be deriving from the presence of these common, but publicly underappreciated organisms.

 

By means of mussel removal experiments in the field, we are testing for causal relationships between mussel cover and platform erosion rates, pool formation, and exposure to weathering and erosion agents. Our focus is placed on mussels because they establish enduring cover at mid to high elevations on soft rock platforms distributed all along the Argentinean coastline. Here, mussels may have important influences on shore dynamics both locally (i.e., by protecting platform surfaces) and geographically (i.e., by maintaining protection of cliffs fronted by platforms at multiple, widely-distributed sites).

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As mussels are globally widespread rocky shore inhabitants, we expect that our findings be of interest to coastal scientists, managers, and conservationists worldwide.