HR: 08:45h
AN: NB41D-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Seasonal Variation of Glochidia in Stream Drift in the Sipsey River, Alabama
AU: * Culp, J
EM: jacobculp@hotmail.com
AF: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 United States
AU: Haag, W R
EM: whaag@fs.fed.us
AF: USDA Forest Service, Center for Bottomlands Hardwood Research, Oxford, MS 38655 United States
AU: Arrington, D A
EM: aarrington@perryinstitute.org
AF: Perry Institute for Marine Sciences, 100 N. U.S. Highway 1, Suite 202, Jupiter, FL 33477 United States
AB: We determined seasonal variation of freshwater mussel larvae (glochidia) in stream drift in the Sipsey River, west-central Alabama, from May 2004 to April 2005. We identified glochidia to species using shell morphometrics and discriminant functions generated from a reference library of known glochidia. Total glochidia abundance was high from mid-May to early August, but low from mid-August through fall and winter. In general, the most frequently occurring species in the drift corresponded to the most abundant mussel species in benthic mussel communities in the Sipsey River. An exception to this pattern was noted for Amblema plicata, which were rare in the benthic community but regularly constituted large proportions of glochidia in the drift. The prevalence of glochidia of A. plicata in the drift coupled with its high fecundity suggests that this species releases glochidia using a broadcasting strategy. Our results indicate that factors influencing glochidia abundance in stream drift include adult density, species-specific fecundity, and mode of host infection.
DE: 9901 NABS Student Award - Basic Research
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly