Changes

The '''blue mussel''', ''Mylius edulis'', is a type of [[shellfish]] known for its blue shell.   

The '''blue mussel''', ''Mylius edulis'', is a type of [[shellfish]] known for its blue shell.   

They live off the east coast of [[North America]] from [[Canada]] to [[North Carolina]].  They are eaten, after cooking, and can be steamed or smoked.  Each filters between 10-15 gallons of water per day.  At one point, Canadians who ate blue mussels from off [[Prince Edward Island]] became sick, experiencing short term [[amnesia]] from shellfish poisoning.<ref>[http://www.ocean.udel.edu/mas/seafood/bluemussel.html]</ref>

They live off the east coast of [[North America]] from [[Canada]] to [[North Carolina]].  They are eaten, after cooking, and can be steamed or smoked.  Each filters between 10-15 gallons of water per day.  At one point, Canadians who ate blue mussels from off [[Prince Edward Island]] became sick, experiencing short term [[amnesia]] from shellfish poisoning.<ref>[http://www.ocean.udel.edu/mas/seafood/bluemussel.html]</ref>  They serve as an indicator species as toxic chemical accumulate in their systems being relatively low on the food chain.<ref>http://www.cascobay.usm.maine.edu/pdfs/Toxics%20Chapter%205.pdf</ref>

The blue mussel is one example of rapid, short-term evolution.  As the result of the [[Asian shore crab]] eating the blue mussel, they developed a thicker shell.  Researchers were able to use a distinct population of blue mussels that did not have the [[Asia]]n shore crab as a predator as a control that did not have the corresponding change in shell thickness.  Because the control group was not naturally selected to have a thicker shell thickness, they did not evolve.<ref>[http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/060901_mussels]</ref>

The blue mussel is one example of rapid, short-term evolution.  As the result of the [[Asian shore crab]] eating the blue mussel, they developed a thicker shell.  Researchers were able to use a distinct population of blue mussels that did not have the [[Asia]]n shore crab as a predator as a control that did not have the corresponding change in shell thickness.  Because the control group was not naturally selected to have a thicker shell thickness, they did not evolve.<ref>[http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/060901_mussels]</ref>