The byssal threads of a water-dwelling mussel which attach to a surface are commonly called its?
Mussel continuous with the byssus pit. In this pit, a viscous secretion is exuded, entering the groove and hardening gradually upon contact with sea water. This forms extremely tough, strong, elastic, byssal threads that secure the mussel to its substrate allowing it to remain sessile in areas of high flow. The byssal thread is also sometimes used by mussels as a defensive measure, to tether predatory molluscs, such as dog whelks, that invade mussel beds, immobilising them and thus starving them to death. In cooking, the byssus of the mussel is known as the "beard" and is removed before the mussels
Blue mussel proteins which serve as a bioadhesive. Blue mussels occasionally form clumps, or aggregates, of individuals when population density is low.The mussels attach to one another via collagenous protein strands called byssal threads. The aggregates are observed mostly in Mussel fields, which are short-lived populations of Mussels, usually exhibiting a clumped distribution pattern. It is hypothesized that the mussels form these aggregates to increase reproductive success in low density populations. This hypothesis, however, has yet to be conclusively proven. Alternative possible reasons for the behavior include resisting wave action and increasing water flow through the siphons of the mussel. The significance