Freshwater Mussels of the Chehalis Basin

F. Teal Waterstrat USFWS

What is a Freshwater Mussel? A Bivalve in the Order UNIONOIDA with a

• Complex and fascinating life history

• “Long” and sessile (stationary) adult life

• Filter feeding passion

• Highest species diversity in North America

• Great life in the Chehalis River

North America has ~300 of the ~850 species in the Order Unionioda

Typical Life Cycle

Nedeau, E. J., A. K. Smith, and J. Stone. 2009. Field Guide to the Freshwater Mussels of the Pacific Northwest. Fish and Wildlife Service.

• Mussels attracting fish videos

Looks like a good snack to a big fish! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0YTBj0WHkU&feature=related

Salmon and Mussels

• Mussels only go where the fish go

• Everyone cares about salmon and restoring their habitat

Freshwater Mussel Species in the Chehalis Basin and PNW

Western Pearlshell Margaritifera falcata

Western Ridged Mussel Gonidea angulata

Floaters Anodonta sp(p)

Western Pearlshell Margaritifera falcata

Photo Roger Tabor USFWS

Photo Lee Cain Astoria High School

Juvenile Western Pearlshell Margaritifera falcata

with byssal thread

Photo Kevin Aitkin USFWS

Chehalis River near the Wakefield Road

Bridge near Elma, WA

Western Ridged Mussel Gonidea angulata

Photo Kevin Aitkin USFWS

Photo Kevin Aitkin USFWS

Chehalis River near the Wakefield Road

Bridge near Elma, WA

Floaters Anodonta spp.

Photo Roger Tabor USFWS

Photo Roger Tabor USFWS Lake Quinault, WA

Where in the Chehalis are the Mussels?

• Insert Chehalis Watershed map with mussels

• Add circles to thesis sites

Study objectives

• Identify relative abundance, summer distribution, and fish assemblages in the mainstem and Upper Chehalis sub-basin

• Document presence of all species observed (including freshwater mussels) in study area

Riverscape Methods

Habitat Characteristics

• Maximum depth

• Average depth

• Wetted/bankfull width

• Substrate type

• Pool count

• Offchannel area count

• Tributary/water inputs

• Channel type

Non-detection

What Ecological Services do Mussels Provide?

• Cleaning the Water

• Concentrating Nutrients

• System Sentinels

– Record keepers

– Bioaccumulation

– Reproduction

• Food Source

The Chehalis River bed just south of Elma is covered in over 100,000 Pearlshell and a

Smattering of Ridged Mussels

Watch as mussels improve water quality…

Cleaning the Water

Mussels filter water 24 hours a day!

Old-growth of the Rivers

www.rmtrr.org

www.utmsi.utexas.edu

Concentrate Nutrients! Record keepers!

• ~300 species in North America

• Most endangered faunal group in North America

– 70% of the species are imperiled or extinct

Freshwater Mussel Status

Photo by USFWS

Vanishing in the Northwest

• !

1993

2000

2012

Why are They Vanishing in the Northwest?

• Urbanization

• Dams

• Host Fish

• Water Quality

• Habitat

• Invasive Species

• Restoration Projects!

Ohop Creek Restoration

What needs to be done for mussels

• Map their distribution

• Monitor the populations

• Inform the conservation agencies

• Look before you restore-de-water

Non Native Mussel Species

Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

• Native to Caspian Sea and Ural River in Asia

• 700,000 per meter2 in Great Lakes

• Cut water flow that power companies draw from the Great Lakes

• Does not occur in Washington

Quagga Mussel Dreissena rostriformis bugensis

• Native to Dneiper River drainage of Ukraine and Ponto-Caspian Sea in Asia

• Up to 4cm in length

• First found west of Mississippi at Lake Mead in January 2007

• Found at depths up to 130 meters

• Does not occur in Washington

Compare: Zebra Mussel to Quagga Mussel

Zebra Mussel Invasion

Zebra and Quagga Mussel – Present Distribution

Asian Clam Corbicula fluminea

Photo USFWS

Photo Roger Tabor USFWS Lake Washington, WA

Any Questions Before We talk about What to Wear?