This report presents results of the first systematic study of the diversity and distribution of fishes and mussels in Avon Park Air Force Range (APR). We also provide information on crayfishes and aquatic snails taken during our fish and...
moreThis report presents results of the first systematic study of the diversity and distribution of fishes and mussels in Avon Park Air Force Range (APR). We also provide information on crayfishes and aquatic snails taken during our fish and mussel sampling activities. Our ...
Abstract This book provides a detailed risk assessment and biological synopsis of the black carp, Mylopharyngodon piceus, a mollusc-eating cyprinid fish native to eastern Asia. Controversy surrounds the presence of this species in the...
moreAbstract This book provides a detailed risk assessment and biological synopsis of the black carp, Mylopharyngodon piceus, a mollusc-eating cyprinid fish native to eastern Asia. Controversy surrounds the presence of this species in the United States. Those ...
The Coosa Elktoe, Alasmidonta mccordi Athearn, 1964, was previously known only from the type specimen collected in the Coosa River, St. Clair County, Alabama. Based on the discovery of five previously misidentified specimens in three...
moreThe Coosa Elktoe, Alasmidonta mccordi Athearn, 1964, was previously known only from the type specimen collected in the Coosa River, St. Clair County, Alabama. Based on the discovery of five previously misidentified specimens in three museum lots, we extend the distribution of A. mccordi into the Etowah and Conasauga Rivers, tributaries of the Coosa River in northwest Georgia. Shell morphology of these museum specimens compare favorably with the only known specimen of the species. The conservation status of A. mccordi is examined in light of its wider historical distribution in the Coosa River drainage. We include recommendations for future research to detect extant populations of this presumed extinct freshwater mussel.
Abstract - Recent and comprehensive surveys of Ochlockonee River basin mussel fauna are lacking, particularly in the lower portion of the basin which historically has been undersampled. We present the results of surveys conducted between...
moreAbstract - Recent and comprehensive surveys of Ochlockonee River basin mussel fauna are lacking, particularly in the lower portion of the basin which historically has been undersampled. We present the results of surveys conducted between 2006 and 2017 to assess the status of freshwater mussels in the Ochlockonee River basin, and examine historical survey records to assess changes in mussel distribution and population status in recent decades. We gave particular attention to the current status and distribution of 3 federally endangered mussels, Hamiota subangulata (Shinyrayed Pocketbook), Medionidus simpsonianus (Ochlockonee Moccasinshell), and Pleurobema pyriforme (Oval Pigtoe), and 1 threatened mussel, Elliptoideus sloatianus (Purple Bankclimber). During the 12-year period, 3 agencies made 257 collections throughout the basin, encountering 19 of the basin's 22 native mussel species. Shinyrayed Pocketbook and Oval Pigtoe were not detected and are possibly extirpated from the basin. Alasmidonta wrightiana (Ochlockonee Arcmussel), a basin endemic, was not found during the surveys. It has not been collected in more than 85 years, suggesting that the species is likely extinct. A remnant population of Ochlockonee Moccasinshell, also a basin endemic, was detected in a 23-km reach of the lower Ochlockonee River. Although encountered in most of their respective historical ranges, Cyclonaias infucata (Sculptured Pigtoe) and Purple Bankclimber appear to have declined in some areas of the upper basin. Watershed alterations in the basin that may have adversely impacted the mussel fauna include the conversion of forests to agricultural and urban lands, impoundment of the mainstem by Jackson Bluff Dam, introduction of Corbicula fluminea (Asian Clam), and the effects of droughts and water use by humans. Although we detected a relatively intact fauna in the lower Ochlockonee River, our findings suggest declines in 5 mussel species in the basin since 2000, including the 4 federally listed mussels.
An important physiological constraint influencing distributions of coastal freshwater organisms is their tolerance for saline conditions. We experimentally evaluated salinity tolerance for three freshwater mussel species (Utterbackia...
moreAn important physiological constraint influencing distributions of coastal freshwater organisms is their tolerance for saline conditions. We experimentally evaluated salinity tolerance for three freshwater mussel species (Utterbackia imbecillis, Elliptio jayensis, and Glebula rotundata). Mussels were transferred abruptly from well water to one of five treatments (0 [control], 6, 12, 18 or 24 parts per thousand [ppt]) with no acclimation. Utterbackia imbecillis survived on average about 2 days at treatments greater than 6 ppt, while Elliptio jayensis survived slightly longer (about 4 days). Glebula rotundata was most tolerant to salinity, surviving as well at 6 and 12 ppt as it did in the control. Additionally, G. rotundata survived at higher salinities (18 and 24 ppt) for an average of 7-8 days. To our knowledge, this is the highest salinity tolerance ever reported for a unionid. The salinity tolerance of U. imbecillis may be influenced by its inability to completely seal its valves...
Page 1. COPEIA, 1968, NO. 2 New distributional records of some Minnesota fishes. Proc. Minn. Acad. Sci. 29:255-258. RADFORTH, S. 1944. Some considerations on the distribution of fishes in Ontario. Contr. Roy. Ont. Mus. Zool. No. 25, 116...
morePage 1. COPEIA, 1968, NO. 2 New distributional records of some Minnesota fishes. Proc. Minn. Acad. Sci. 29:255-258. RADFORTH, S. 1944. Some considerations on the distribution of fishes in Ontario. Contr. Roy. Ont. Mus. Zool. No. 25, 116 pp. STAHL, JB 1966. ...
We reveal the presence of three North American cyprinodontids in the British Museum of Natural History (BMNH) that have been overlooked by some authors of recent ichthyological literature. Brief descriptions are given of the three...
moreWe reveal the presence of three North American cyprinodontids in the British Museum of Natural History (BMNH) that have been overlooked by some authors of recent ichthyological literature. Brief descriptions are given of the three specimens and comparisons are made with recently collected material. The BMNH specimen of Cyprinodon elegans is a syntype, the specimen of C. gibbosus (= C. variegatus), although not a type, is of historical importance, and the C. mydrus (= Floridichthys carpio) specimen was collected by Silas Stearns and we believe should be considered as a syntype.
This book provides a detailed risk assessment and biological synopsis of the black carp, Mylopharyngodon piceus, a mollusc-eating cyprinid fish native to eastern Asia. Controversy surrounds the presence of this species in the United...
moreThis book provides a detailed risk assessment and biological synopsis of the black carp, Mylopharyngodon piceus, a mollusc-eating cyprinid fish native to eastern Asia. Controversy surrounds the presence of this species in the United States. Those ...
The Mobile Basin historically supported one of the most diverse freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionidae) assemblages in North America. More than 65 species of mussels are known from the Basin, but it is difficult to determine how many...
moreThe Mobile Basin historically supported one of the most diverse freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionidae) assemblages in North America. More than 65 species of mussels are known from the Basin, but it is difficult to determine how many species were present historically. The drainage's unique physical habitat was largely destroyed between the late 1800s and mid-1900s by impoundment and channel modifications of most of the larger rivers. Many species that were once common are now restricted to small headwater rivers and mid-sized tributaries. Recent Coosa River tributary surveys revealed a new, undescribed species of Pleurobema. This new species, Pleurobema athearni, is distinctive in outward appearance, shell morphometry and reproductive morphology, and can be distinguished from other Coosa River drainage unionids. Our analysis indicates that P. athearni is morphologically different from other similar taxa. It differs both in shell width/length and width/height ratios and thus prov...
Three new species of Percina are described from upland drainages of the Mobile Basin. Two of the three species are narrowly distributed: P. kusha, the Bridled Darter, is currently known only from the Conasauga River drainage in Georgia...
moreThree new species of Percina are described from upland drainages of the Mobile Basin. Two of the three species are narrowly distributed: P. kusha, the Bridled Darter, is currently known only from the Conasauga River drainage in Georgia and Tennessee and Etowah River drainage in Georgia, both tributaries of the Coosa River, and P. sipsi, the Bankhead Darter, which is restricted to tributaries of Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River in northwestern Alabama. The third species, P. smithvanizi, the Muscadine Darter, occurs above the Fall Line in the Tallapoosa River drainage in eastern Alabama and western Georgia. In a molecular analysis using mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence data, P. kusha and P. smithvanizi were recovered as sister species, while Percina sipsi was recovered in a clade consisting of P. aurolineata (P. sciera + P. sipsi). Two of the three species, P. kusha and P. sipsi, are considered to be imperiled species and are in need of conservation actions to prevent their e...
Objectively delimiting species boundaries remains an important challenge in systematics and becomes urgent when unresolved taxonomy complicates conservation and recovery efforts. We examined species boundaries in the imperiled freshwater...
moreObjectively delimiting species boundaries remains an important challenge in systematics and becomes urgent when unresolved taxonomy complicates conservation and recovery efforts. We examined species boundaries in the imperiled freshwater mussel genus Cyclonaias (Bivalvia: Unionidae) using morphometrics, molecular phylogenetics, and multispecies coalescent models to help guide pending conservation assessments and legislative decisions. Congruence across multiple lines of evidence indicated that current taxonomy overestimates diversity in the C. pustulosa species complex. The only genetically and morphologically diagnosable species in the C. pustulosa species complex were C. pustulosa and C. succissa and we consider C. aurea, C. houstonensis, C. mortoni, and C. refulgens to be synonyms of C. pustulosa. In contrast, all three species in the C. nodulata complex (C. necki, C. nodulata, and C. petrina) were genetically, geographically, and morphologically diagnosable. Our findings have im...