Horse Mussels

Horse mussels (Modiolus modiolus) are large bivalve molluscs which predominantly exist part-buried in soft or coarse sediments to depths of around 280 m. Horse mussel beds provide a solid foundation for sessile animals and algae to attach to, as well as a habitat for commercially important species such as scallops and whelks. They are Priority Marine Features. Photogrammetry has been used to count and size exposed mussels to rapidly and non-invasively quantify their contribution to seabed biomass and respiration.