In our laboratory, we joke that we work in a “mussel gym” because one of our current projects is to develop ‘energy budgets’ for our native New Zealand species of mussel Perna canaliculus. Why, you might ask, would we want to create energy budgets for a species that seems so extremely un-athletic?  Most shellfish are not exactly known for their athletic prowess! And most shellfish are not really known for their parenting skills either… but you may be surprised if you read on!