Municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent-induced effects on freshwater mussel populations and the role of mussel refugia in recolonizing an extirpated reach

Gillis, Patricia L.; McInnis, R.; Salerno, Joseph T.; Solla, Shane R. de; Servos, Mark R.; Leonard, Erin M.

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2017.03.010

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Water and sediment pollution from point sources (e.g., chemical or quarry spills, urban or industrial wastewater discharge) and non-point sources (e.g., runoff from agriculture and roads) influences mussels (Grabarkiewicz and Davis, 2008;Gillis et al, 2017). Unionid mussels are generally underrepresented in toxicity databases used for developing of protective water quality criteria and other guidance.…”

Section: Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research priorities for freshwater mussel conservation assessment

Ferreira‐Rodríguez

Akiyama

Aksenova

et al. 2019

Biological Conservation

180

121

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Freshwater mussels are declining globally, and effective conservation requires prioritizing research and actions to identify and mitigate threats impacting mussel species. Conservation priorities vary widely, ranging from preventing imminent extinction to maintaining abundant populations. Here, we develop a portfolio of priority research topics for freshwater mussel conservation assessment. To address these topics, we group research priorities into two categories: intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are indicators of organismal or population status, while extrinsic factors encompass environmental variables and threats. An understanding of intrinsic factors is useful in monitoring, and of extrinsic factors are important to understand ongoing and potential impacts on conservation status. This dual approach can guide conservation status assessments prior to the establishment of priority species and implementation of conservation management actions.

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Section: Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research priorities for freshwater mussel conservation assessment

Ferreira‐Rodríguez

Akiyama

Aksenova

et al. 2019

Biological Conservation

180

121

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“…Gravid female wavy-rayed lampmussels ( L. fasciola ) were collected in September of 2017 from a reference site on the Speed River in Ontario, Canada, with a stable population (Gillis et al 2017a ). Gravid mussels were held at Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Aquatic Life Research Facility (ALRF) in Burlington, ON, in a flow-through system with dechlorinated Lake Ontario water at 11 ± 2 °C (to prevent glochidia release).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The standardized semiquantitative sampling protocol employed in this study is similar to that employed by this research team in the Grand River, ON, Canada (Gillis et al 2017a , b ), except that in this study the mussels collected in a given search hour were processed as an individual unit (i.e., replicate). Compared to mussel population surveys that entail excavation and sieving of sediment in standardized quadrats, the results from both the visual and tactile search methods employed here are considered semiquantitative estimators of abundance.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salt-Laden Winter Runoff and Freshwater Mussels; Assessing the Effect on Early Life Stages in the Laboratory and Wild Mussel Populations in Receiving Waters

Gillis

Salerno

McKay

et al. 2021

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol

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The widespread use of road salt for winter road maintenance has led to an increase in the salinity of surface water in many seasonally cold areas. Freshwater mussels have a heightened sensitivity to salt, which is a concern, because many Canadian mussel species at risk have ranges limited to southern Ontario, Canada’s most road-dense region. This study examined the effect of winter road runoff on freshwater mussels. The impact of two bridges that span mussel habitat in the Thames River watershed (Ontario, Canada), the second most species-rich watershed for mussels in Canada, were studied. During a winter melt event, bridge runoff, as well as creek surface water surrounding the bridges were collected. Chloride concentrations in samples from bridge deck and tile drains varied (99–8250 mg/L). In general, survival of Lampsilis fasciola glochidia exposed to those samples reflected chloride levels (e.g. 84% at 99 mg/L; 0% at 8250 mg/L), although potassium (60 mg/L) may have at least contributed to toxicity in one sample. Serial dilution exposures with the two most toxic runoff samples revealed 48-h glochidia EC50s of 44% (McGregor Creek Tile Drain) and 26% (Baptiste Creek Deck Drain). During the melt event, the chloride concentrations in creek surface waters downstream of the bridges ranged from 69 to 179 mg Cl−/L; effects on glochidia (viability 77–91%) exposed to those waters was minimal. There were no live mussels surrounding one bridge (Baptiste Creek), likely due to poor habitat. At the other targeted bridge (McGregor Creek), fewer mussels were found close (< 100 m up- or downstream) to the bridge than further (> 200 m) away. However, other contributing factors, including agriculture, were present at both study areas.

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“…The findings of the present study add support to recent findings of Ma (2018) that W. carteri's LC 50 and LC 95 thresholds may be substantially higher than previously reported when mussels are exposed to more natural high salinity conditions. Similarly, research in North America has shown that the salinity tolerance of Lampsilis fasciola glochidia is higher in natural surface water rather than reconstituted water used in many experiments (Gillis, 2011). The fact that the two lower-most sites had regular recruitment and among the highest densities in this study, while mussels were lost from other nearby sites in the lower reach, highlights the small-scale 'patchiness' that refuges may exhibit, and that mussel populations may appear robust even when they are in decline, depending on the spatial extent of the sites sampled.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, salinity at sites above Kmid1 never exceeded the higher, more recent laboratory-derived LC 50 and LC 95 values for the species, which were conducted over 30 days (Ma, 2018). Future laboratory experiments should consider chronic exposure scenarios, using lower doses over longer durations, and incorporate natural surface water and environmentally relevant mixtures of ions (Gillis, 2011, Kunz et al, 2013. Alternatively, rather than single contaminant laboratory trials, an in-field mesocosm approach might be effective, although salinity will be confounded with other stressors such as temperature.…”

Section: A C C E P T E D Mmentioning

confidence: 99%