Why can’t mussels get rid of the heavy metal in their bodies?
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Because evolution takes the easiest path to the best outcome, it doesn’t optimize per what humans might think is “Best”, it optimizes for *what works*.
In this case, it was easier for sea creatures to learn to tolerate toxic metals that it was to isolate them, concentrate them, and expel them.
There may be additional secondary effects in which by removing toxic metals from the surrounding area mussels ended up creating a “healthier than normal” region where other sea life could thrive. This in turn benefits the mussels by creating a more ideal ecosystem in their other life functions, such as increasing the general availability of nutrients or attracting predatory fish that will eat the organisms that prey on young/larval mussels.
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