Relationship of Freshwater Mussel Distribution and Species Richness to Local and Regional Scale Variables in South-east Louisiana <p> HR: <span class="hr"> 11:15h<br></span> AN: <span class="an"> NB42D-04 <a href="../absbook/sm05_NB42D.html">[Abstracts]</a><br></span> TI: <span class="ti"> Relationship of Freshwater Mussel Distribution and Species Richness to Local and Regional Scale Variables in South-east Louisiana <br></span> AU: <span class="au"> * Bambarger, R <br></span> EM: <span class="em"> abamba1@lsu.edu<br></span> AF: <span class="af"> Louisiana State University, 383 Life Science Bldg. LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 United States <br></span> AU: <span class="au"> Brown, K M<br></span> EM: <span class="em"> kmbrown@lsu.edu<br></span> AF: <span class="af"> Louisiana State University, 383 Life Science Bldg. LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 United States <br></span> AB: <span class="ab"> The Southeastern United States has the most diverse and imperiled freshwater mussel fauna in the world. The community structure and decline of these assemblages is the result of complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors, but the local scale of most community studies has failed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of these interactions. We test the hypothesis that mussel species richness, distribution and abundance are related to a combination of local scale habitat variables and regional scale landscape variables. We used semi-quantitative, timed sampling to census the mussel assemblages of the Tickfaw and Tangipahoa river drainages in south-eastern Louisiana during the spring and summer of 2004. At each site, we recorded the relative abundances of mussels, microhabitat descriptors and GPS coordinates. We then used GIS to determine land use and geological formations within a 100 meter buffer extending 1Km upstream of each site as well as within each sub-basin. Stepwise multiple regression coupled with multivariate descriptive statistics revealed both longitudinal changes in species richness and abundance along rivers, anthropogenic impacts caused by land use, and differences in species richness between sub-basins. <br></span> DE: <span class="de"> 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings)<br></span> DE: <span class="de"> 9901 NABS Student Award - Basic Research<br></span> SC: <span class="sc"> North American Benthological Society [NB]<br></span> MN: <span class="mn"> 2005 Joint Assembly<br></span></p></body></html>