MUSSELS suffer panic attacks when menaced by predatory dog whelks.
Roger Hughes of the University of Wales in Bangor and his colleagues used
infrared sensors to record the heartbeats of mussels in an aquarium. When the
researchers added dog whelks—which feed on mussels—to the tank, the
molluscs’ hearts beat significantly faster, peaking when the whelks touched
their shells. Their hearts continued to race for a day after the whelks were
removed (Animal Behaviour, vol 58, p 707).
Hughes believes that increased heart rate may improve the mussels’ chances of
fending off whelk attacks by upping the tempo at which they open and close their
shells. “If they do this more frequently, it may deter the whelks,” he says.
