HR: 1330h
AN: NB33P-15    [Abstracts]
TI: Freshwater Mussel (Family: Unionidae) Community Trends: A Commentary on the State of Great Plains Rivers?
AU: * Pennington, O G
EM: obie@ku.edu
AF: University of Kansas, Kansas Biological Survey, 2101 Constant Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66047 United States
AU: Thorp, J H
EM: thorp@ku.edu
AF: University of Kansas, Kansas Biological Survey, 2101 Constant Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66047 United States
AB: The long-term health of a stream ecosystem may be judged by following the extended progress of a group of closely related species, such as unionid mussels. We compared current and historical distribution and abundance data for unionid mussels at 48 sites within six southeastern Kansas rivers. The current states of these communities were also correlated with instream environmental conditions (e.g., distribution with substrate size) and watershed condition, evaluated using a vegetation greenness index (NDVI) obtained from satellite imagery. Fusconaia flava (SINC) ranked in the top five in species abundance in each river, a very pleasant finding. Amblema plicata, the region's most abundant species, experienced severe declines in the Verdigris and Walnut Rivers. Between-year comparisons show 65-80% community similarity, except in the Walnut, which may have lost one-third to one-half of its species diversity in the last 25 years, while between-river comparisons show 35-65% similarity. Within and among species, mussels preferred medium-sized gravel (32-64 mm). Factors affecting the distribution and abundance of unionid mussels will be discussed along with a comparison of the current and historical states of the mussel populations. This evaluation is especially important in light of the recent invasion of Kansas by the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha.
DE: 1899 General or miscellaneous
DE: 9901 NABS Student Award - Basic Research
DE: 9903 NABS Student Award Methodology
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly