Mortality, movement and behaviour of native mussels during a planned water‐level drawdown in the <scp>U</scp>pper <scp>M</scp>ississippi <scp>R</scp>iver

Newton, Teresa J.; Zigler, Steven J.; Gray, Brian R.

doi:10.1111/fwb.12461

Cited by 39 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The positive effect of slope on mussel densities in drawdown lakes observed in this study aligns with findings from Newton et al (2015) where high slopes tend to have lower mussel mortality under water level drawdown conditions. The positive effect of slope on mussel densities in drawdown lakes observed in this study aligns with findings from Newton et al (2015) where high slopes tend to have lower mussel mortality under water level drawdown conditions.…”

Section: Landscape and Habitat Influences On Mussel Densities And Dsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Mussels can respond to drawdowns by tracking water levels via directed horizontal movement (Gough, Landis, & Stoeckel, 2012;Newton et al, 2015;Richardson et al, 2002) and permit survival during a drawdown event. Mussels can respond to drawdowns by tracking water levels via directed horizontal movement (Gough, Landis, & Stoeckel, 2012;Newton et al, 2015;Richardson et al, 2002) and permit survival during a drawdown event.…”

Section: Acute Mortality In Winter Drawdown Lakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Annual winter water level drawdowns limit shallow‐water mussel densities in small lakes

Carmignani

Roy

Hazelton³

et al. 2019

Freshwater Biology

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Regulated water level fluctuations alter the physical, chemical, and biological environments in lakes. However, few studies have measured the effects of repeated annual winter drawdowns on freshwater mussel populations (Bivalvia: Unionida), and it is unknown whether drawdowns permanently constrain mussel populations to deeper depths or are resilient to the annual disturbance. We quantified mussel densities during normal water levels and their mortality after the initiation of drawdown in lakes with annual winter (December–March) water level drawdown regimes that have existed for several decades. We used systematic quadrat sampling and visual snorkel surveys to estimate the number of live mussels at the surface and buried, and shell length in six drawdown and three control lakes at exposed (0.5‐m) and unexposed (1‐m) depths during winter drawdown. We also estimated mortality of mussels along the exposed lakebed for nine drawdown lakes. Study lakes were dominated by Elliptio complanata and Pyganodon cataracta. During normal water levels, mussel densities were much lower in drawdown lakes than control lakes at 0.5‐m depths. When mussels were present in drawdown lakes at 0.5‐m depths, they were often burrowed in the substrate and smaller than buried mussels in control lakes. At unexposed 1‐m depths, mussel densities were primarily explained by geographic region (western versus central Massachusetts), and found higher densities in drawdown lakes compared to control lakes. Mussel mortality after a single drawdown event in nine drawdown lakes was not correlated with drawdown magnitude or rate. Concordance of shell length‐frequency distributions between dead and buried living mussels in drawdown lakes suggests annual mortality of colonising individuals, which are typically small and presumably of young cohorts. Annual winter drawdowns still limit densities of E. complanata and P. cataracta in shallow‐water habitats in the following autumn (September–October) after 4–5 months of potential recovery, and hence constrain their distribution in lakes exposed to drawdowns. The development of sustainable water level management practices will be essential to minimise impacts to native mussel populations.

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Section: Landscape and Habitat Influences On Mussel Densities And Dsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Acute Mortality In Winter Drawdown Lakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual winter water level drawdowns limit shallow‐water mussel densities in small lakes

Carmignani

Roy

Hazelton³

et al. 2019

Freshwater Biology

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“…Some species have also been shown to move horizontally to deeper or shallower areas when exposed to stress (e.g. Newton, Zigler, & Gray, ), and may be able to avoid fully anoxic areas. There are currently no data on the tolerance of E .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depth distribution of the native freshwater mussel (Echyridella menziesii) in warm monomictic lakes: Towards a general model for mussels in lakes

2017

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Freshwater mussels are large, long‐lived and can be important contributors to benthic biomass and processes. They are currently one of the most endangered groups of organisms and it is urgent to develop tools to predict their distribution and the potential effect of their decline or disappearance on these ecosystems. Cyr () showed that the distribution of Elliptio complanata (Unionidae) in Canadian Shield lakes is constrained by physical forces. Here we test Cyr's model in a very different group of mussels (Hyriidae), in different types of lakes (warm monomictic lakes) that cover a wider range of sizes and morphologies. We use data on the depth distribution of Echyridella menziesii along 38 depth transects in 11 warm monomictic lakes located in New Zealand to test three hypotheses: (1) wave‐mixed depth and bottom slope are good predictors of the depth of maximum mussel density, (2) thermocline depth does not limit the distribution of mussels in warm monomictic lakes, and (3) the lower boundary of mussel distribution is determined by the mud deposition boundary. Mussels in New Zealand lakes reach their maximum density within the epilimnion, at increasing depths with increasing lake size and increasing site exposure. The only exceptions were found in large lakes or parts of large lakes with shallow bathymetric slopes, where high mussel densities were found in relatively shallow waters. Mussel density peaks are found much deeper in the volcanic New Zealand lakes than in (glacial) Canadian Shield lakes, a discrepancy we hypothesise could be due to lower sediment stability along the steep slopes of volcanic lakes. Mussels appear to have a very broad range of depth distribution in these warm monomictic lakes. The deepest samples collected in deep oligotrophic lakes (down to 12–30 m) all contained mussels, often in substantial numbers (up to 2–186 mussels/m2), and can only offer a minimal estimate of the lower boundary of their distribution. However, the distribution of mussels in highly productive lakes is limited by hypolimnetic anoxia, and therefore by position of the thermocline. Echyridella menziesii are found in a wide range of substrates. Mussels were found below the mud deposition boundary in many lakes, suggesting that the presence of fine flocculent organic sediments does not prevent them from living in deep areas. The distribution of E. menziesii in warm monomictic lakes appears to be governed by relatively simple physical processes. This supports findings for a very different group of mussels in Canadian Shield lakes and suggests that general models could be developed to predict the distribution of mussels in lakes.

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“…Much of the previous research into the survival adaptations of mussels to dewatering has only focused on one of the two general responses of mussels, behavioural response (i.e., horizontal/vertical movement) (Bartsch et al., ; Gough et al., ; Newton et al., ; Galbraith et al., ; Table ) or physiological tolerance (Bartsch et al., ; Byrne & McMahon, ; Holland, ; Galbraith et al., ; Gough et al., ; Golladay et al., ; Johnson, Liner, Golladay, & Michener, ; Spooner & Vaughn, ; Table ). Gough et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We predict their horizontal mobility to be intermediate between equilibrium and periodic species. In respect to burrowing behaviour, studies have reported that the species with the higher desiccation tolerance tended to burrow deeper than more intolerant species (Galbraith et al., ; Gough et al., ; Newton et al., ). Accordingly, we predict that equilibrium species (with the assumed highest desiccation tolerance) will burrow deeper than periodic or opportunistic species (Table ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Move on or take the heat: Can life history strategies of freshwater mussels predict their physiological and behavioural responses to drought and dewatering?

et al. 2018

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Freshwater organisms have developed different physiological, behavioural and life history strategies to cope with drying events. Although freshwater mussels (Unionidae) are endangered and drought and dewatering events pose a major threat, especially in the southern United States, little is known about their responses to such events and how physiology, behaviour and life history strategies may be linked. Our goal was to examine whether and how behavioural responses to dewatering and physiological tolerances to desiccation are linked in five species of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) within Texas, including two state‐threatened species (Cyclonaias petrina and Lampsilis bracteata) and one federally endangered species (Popenaias popeii), and to explore how differences in responses relate to life history strategies. We measured horizontal and vertical movements under three dewatering rates and assessed desiccation tolerance by examining survival after emersion at 30 and 40°C with laboratory experiments. Amblema plicata and C. petrina had the lowest horizontal movement rates and the highest desiccation tolerances, whereas L. bracteata and L. teres were less tolerant to desiccation, but more mobile. P. popeii were intermediate in its responses. Our results show that differences between species in their behavioural response to dewatering and physiological tolerance to desiccation tend to be associated with differences in life history strategies or may be explained by differences in adaptation to certain habitat conditions. We propose a life history strategy‐based framework for responses of mussels to drying events, which may be applicable to other taxa.

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Mortality, movement and behaviour of native mussels during a planned water‐level drawdown in the Upper Mississippi River

Cited by 39 publications

References 35 publications

Annual winter water level drawdowns limit shallow‐water mussel densities in small lakes

Annual winter water level drawdowns limit shallow‐water mussel densities in small lakes

Depth distribution of the native freshwater mussel (Echyridella menziesii) in warm monomictic lakes: Towards a general model for mussels in lakes

Move on or take the heat: Can life history strategies of freshwater mussels predict their physiological and behavioural responses to drought and dewatering?

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