Misidentification of freshwater mussel species (Bivalvia:Unionidae): contributing factors, management implications, and potential solutions

Shea, Colin P.; Peterson, James T.; Wisniewski, Jason M.; Johnson, Nathan A.

doi:10.1899/10-073.1

Cited by 81 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…For example, a surveyor may unwittingly misidentify a case with great confidence and vice versa. Actually, the expertise of botanists involved in species identification has been referred to as a relevant cause of species misidentifications [25,28,30]. Data acquired in circumstances such as the emerging framework of citizen science [55] need, therefore, careful consideration as surveyors with highly variable skill levels are often involved [56].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With regard to species misidentification, substantial error rates have been reported in the literature. For example, ∼7% for plants [25], ∼20% for sharks [26], 23% for hawks [27], ∼27% for freshwater mussels [28], and ∼70% for robber flies [29]. The magnitude of the problem of species misidentification varies as a function of several factors, namely the surveyor's level of expertise and the species involved.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of Species Misidentification on Species Distribution Modeling with Presence-Only Data

Costa

Foody

Jiménez

et al. 2015

IJGI

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Spatial records of species are commonly misidentified, which can change the predicted distribution of a species obtained from a species distribution model (SDM). Experiments were undertaken to predict the distribution of real and simulated species using MaxEnt and presence-only data "contaminated" with varying rates of misidentification error. Additionally, the difference between the niche of the target and contaminating species was varied. The results show that species misidentification errors may act to contract or expand the predicted distribution of a species while shifting the predicted distribution towards that of the contaminating species. Furthermore the magnitude of the effects was positively related to the ecological distance between the species' niches and the size of the error rates. Critically, the magnitude of the effects was substantial even when using small error rates, smaller than common average rates reported in the literature, which may go unnoticed while using a standard evaluation method, such as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Finally, the effects outlined were shown to impact negatively on practical applications that use SDMs to identify priority areas, commonly selected for various purposes such as management. The results highlight that species misidentification should not be neglected in species distribution modeling.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Species Misidentification on Species Distribution Modeling with Presence-Only Data

Costa

Foody

Jiménez

et al. 2015

IJGI

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“…Recently the number of species has been greatly reduced-with only 16 for Europe -but the enormous morphological plasticity of the shells (e.g., Melnychenko et al, 2004;Gural & Gural-Sverlova, 2008) remains a problem in need of explanation, as it still leads to many cases of misidentification (Shea et al, 2011;Morais et al, 2014), hampering research on species distribution, conservation, and invasiveness (Sousa et al, 2007;Guarneri et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What can we infer from the shell dimensions of the thick-shelled river mussel Unio crassus?

Zając

Ćmiel

2017

Hydrobiologia

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We studied shell variation in the thickshelled river mussel (Unio crassus Philipson, 1788) sampled from two sites of very different character: (1) a rocky channel (San river) and (2) a fine-sediment channel (Zborowianka river). The analyzed mussels differed significantly between the sampled channels in almost all analyzed phenotypic traits and shape indices. Intersexual variation was so low that it cannot be used effectively for sexing in this species. The growth rate was much higher in the fine-sediment and nutrient-rich channel than in the rocky one, but the asymptotic shell length for the rocky channel was larger than for the fine-sediment channel, suggesting higher survival in the mountainous, unmodified river. Shell size differed significantly within the rocky channel, depending on microhabitat: shell size and dorsal arching were much greater in mussels living in the strong current of the rocky midchannel than in those inhabiting still water at the nearest bank. The results demonstrate that microhabitat conditions significantly determine shell shape.

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“…The same, highly experienced 3-person crew conducted most surveys in this study, and all additional surveyors had !5 years of experience at searching for and identifying freshwater mussels. The extensive experience of field crews combined with the distinctive morphological characteristics of Suwannee Moccasinshell ( Figure 2) led us to conclude that the risk of species misidentification in this study was low (Shea et al 2011). …”

Section: Mussel Surveysmentioning

confidence: 64%

Cumulative Spring Discharge and Survey Effort Influence Occupancy and Detection of a Threatened Freshwater Mussel, the Suwannee Moccasinshell

Holcomb

Shea

Johnson

2018

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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Freshwater mussels (Unionidae) are among the most imperiled groups of organisms in the world, and the lack of information regarding species distributions, life-history characteristics, and ecological and biological requirements may limit the protection of remaining mussel populations. We examined the influence of hydrologic factors on the occurrence of the Suwannee Moccasinshell Medionidus walkeri, a federally threatened freshwater mussel species, endemic to the Suwannee River Basin in Georgia and Florida. We also evaluated the influence of survey effort on detection of Suwannee Moccasinshell during field surveys. We compiled all recent (2013-2016) mussel survey records in the Suwannee River Basin. We calculated cumulative discharge contributed by upstream springs for each of 220 survey locations. We combined the spring discharge predictor variable with Suwannee Moccasinshell detection and nondetection data from each survey location to develop a suite of occupancy models. Modeling results indicated that detection of Suwannee Moccasinshell during surveys was strongly and positively related to survey effort. Modeling results also indicated that sites with cumulative spring discharge inputs exceeding~28 cubic meters per second were most likely (i.e., predicted occupancy probabilities .0.5) to support Suwannee Moccasinshell populations. However, occupancy declined in the lowermost reaches of the Suwannee mainstem despite high spring discharge inputs, presumably due to greater tidal influences and differences in physicochemical habitat conditions. Historical localities where Suwannee Moccasinshell has presumably been extirpated are all devoid of springs in their upstream watersheds. We hypothesize that springs may buffer extremely tannic, and at times polluted, surface waters, in addition to maintaining adequate flows during periods of drought, thereby promoting the persistence of Suwannee Moccasinshell populations. Our study suggests that springs are a critical resource for Suwannee Moccasinshell and may be more important for conservation planning than was previously recognized.Keywords: ArcHydro; ArcGIS; groundwater; hydrology; imperiled species; Unionoida; unmarked

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Misidentification of freshwater mussel species (Bivalvia:Unionidae): contributing factors, management implications, and potential solutions

Cited by 81 publications

References 37 publications

Impacts of Species Misidentification on Species Distribution Modeling with Presence-Only Data

Impacts of Species Misidentification on Species Distribution Modeling with Presence-Only Data

What can we infer from the shell dimensions of the thick-shelled river mussel Unio crassus?

Cumulative Spring Discharge and Survey Effort Influence Occupancy and Detection of a Threatened Freshwater Mussel, the Suwannee Moccasinshell

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