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The Freshwater Bivalve Mollusca (Unionidae, Sphaeriidae, Corbiculidae) of the Savannah River Plant, South Carolina

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The Freshwater Bivalve Mollusca (Unionidae, Sphaeriidae, Corbiculidae) of the Savannah River Plant, South Carolina SRQ-NERp·3 The Freshwater Bivalve Mollusca (Unionidae, Sphaeriidae, Corbiculidae) of the Savannah River Plant, South Carolina by Joseph C. Britton and Samuel L. H. Fuller A Publication of the Savannah River Plant National Environmental Research Park Program United States Department of Energy ...---------NOTICE ---------, This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. Neither the United States nor the United States Depart­ mentof Energy.nor any of theircontractors, subcontractors,or theiremploy­ ees, makes any warranty. express or implied or assumes any legalliabilityor responsibilityfor the accuracy, completenessor usefulnessofanyinformation, apparatus, product or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. A PUBLICATION OF DOE'S SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH PARK Copies may be obtained from NOVEMBER 1980 Savannah River Ecology Laboratory SRO-NERP-3 THE FRESHWATER BIVALVE MOLLUSCA (UNIONIDAE, SPHAERIIDAE, CORBICULIDAEj OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT, SOUTH CAROLINA by JOSEPH C. BRITTON Department of Biology Texas Christian University Fort Worth, Texas 76129 and SAMUEL L. H. FULLER Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Prepared Under the Auspices of The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and Edited by Michael H. Smith and I. Lehr Brisbin, Jr. 1979 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 1 STUDY AREA " 1 LIST OF BIVALVE MOLLUSKS AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT............................................ 1 ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS " 2 COLLECTING TECHNIQUES 3 PRESERVATION OF BIVALVE MOLLUSKS FOR IDENTIFiCATION............................................ 4 KEY TO SPECIES OF BIVALVE MOLLUSKS OF THE SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT............................... 5 TAXONOMIC CRITERIA " 7 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE BiVALViA........................................................................ 7 Family Unionidae 7 Subfamily Unioninae 7 Genus Elliptio " 7 Elliptio complanata " 7 Elliptio icterina " 9 Elliptio lanceo/ala 10 Elliptio congaraea " 11 Elliplio Iratema 12 Genus Uniomerus 12 Uniomerus tetralasmus 13 Subfamily Anodontinae 13 Genus A/asmidonla " 13 A/asmidonta triangu/ata " 13 Genus Anodonta 14 Anodonta imbecillis 14 Anodonta couperiana 15 Anodonta cataracla 15 Genus Slrophitus .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .... .. .. ..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. ..... .. .. .. .. .. ... .. 15 Strophitus undu/atus 16 Subfamily Lampsilinae " 16 Genus Carunculina " 16 Carunculina pulla 16 Genus Villosa " 16 Villosa aeiumbts 16 Villosa vibex 17 Genus Lampsilis 17 Lampsilis cariosa 17 Lampsilis radiata sp/endida 18 Family Corbiculidae 19 Genus Corbicula 19 Corbicu/a fluminea ,..................................... 19 Family Sphaeriidae 20 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 21 LITERATURE CiTED 22 GLOSSARY 24 ILLUSTRATIONS 26 PLATE I 28 PLATE II 30 MAP LEGENDS 32 INTRODUCTION laboratory where research can be conducted in both undisturbed and stressed ecosystems. This is the third in a series of guides to the fauna of During May, June, and July 1977, one of us (JCB) the National Environmental Research Park of the spent several weeks surveying the various aquatic Savannah River Plant. As with the former work, on the habitats on or near the SRP for bivalve mollusks. A total decapod crustaceans (Hobbs et al., 1976), the main of 46 specific localities was visited, of which 26 proved purpose of the present paper is to aid investigators with to have at least one species of bivalve. Additional the identification of a taxonomic group which is often material was provided (by SLHP) from extensive difficult for inexperienced investigators to identify - in collections made during numerous stream surveys for this case, the bivalve mollusks that can be expected to the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia be found at the Savannah River Plant (SRP). (ANSP). Within the last ten years, two important studies have been made of the unionid mussels of the southern Atlantic slope drainage. The first (Johnson, 1970) is LIST OF BIVALVE MOLLUSKS AT THE SRP monographic in scope and is an indispensible guide to the unionid shells from southern Georgia to Virginia and There are several suprageneric classifications of the Maryland. The second paper (Fuller, 1971) is more Unionacea, including those by Ortmann (1910, 1911, restricted in scope, dealing primarily with mussels of the 1912, 1916, and 1919), Frierson (1927), Modell (1942, Savannah River system, but is important because of the 1949, 1964), Haas (l969a, 1969b) and Heard and Guckert emphasis upon the soft-part morphology of bivalves. The (1971). Following the similar treatments by Johnson present paper is in no way intended to supplant either of (1970) and Fuller (1971), we employ the Ortmann system these important studies. The reader is encouraged to here. Three families, 14 genera, and 26 species are have both papers readily available before any extensive recognized with geographic ranges which include or are research on the Bivalvia of this region is attempted. You near the SRP. They are included in the following list. will find here, however, a handy guide and reference to Twenty-three of these species were collected during the the more common and abundant bivalves in the waters summer of 1977 andlor during ANSPISRP surveillance of the SRP. A dichotomous taxonomic key is provided since 1955. The remaining three species may occur to common forms and to unreported species whose within the boundary of the SRP andlor in the adjacent geographic distributions include nearby localities. Every portions of the Savannah River. They are indicated by species collected during field reconnaissance in the an asterisk in the list below and are included in the key. summer of 1977 is described, and a discussion of some Otherwise, these three species are not given additional aspects of its ecology, life history, larval hosts, and treatment herein. other pertinent information is provided. SUPERFAMILY UNIONACEA Thiele 1934 FAMILY UNIONIDAE Fleming 1828 SUBFAMILY UNIONINAE Swainson 1840 STUDY AREA GENUS Fusconaia Ortmann 1912 The Savannah River Plant (SRP) occupies "Fusconaia masoni (Conrad approximately 200,000 acres in southern South Carolina, 1834)' occupying portions of Aiken, Barnwell and Allendale GENUS Uniomerus Conrad 1853 counties, near the cities of Augusta, Georgia, and Aiken, Uniomerus tetralasmus (Say South Carolina. The SRP is located just below the Fall 1831) Line in the Atlantic Slope Coastal Plain. Five minor GENUS Elliptio Rafinesque 1819 drainage systems flow from or through the SRP to the Elliptio congaraea (Lea 1831) Savannah River, which courses for 22 miles along the E. complanata (Lightfoot 1786) southwestern border of the plant. A variety of terrestrial E. fraterna (Lea, 1852) and aquatic habitats occur within the SRP boundaries. E. lanceolata (Lea 1828) The former include lowland hardwood forests and E. icterina (Conrad, 1834) cypress-gum swamps, turkey oak and longleaf pine SUBFAMILY ANODONTINAE Swainson sandhills, upland oak-hickory forests, and large old-field 1840 areas. The aquatic habitats include the Savannah River GENUS Lasmigona Rafinesque 1831 and adjacent swamplands, several reservoirs including *Lasmigona (Platynaias) the 2,800-acre nuclear reactor cooling reservoir, Par subviridis (Conrad 1835) Pond, various natural and thermally affected (by several GENUS Alasmidonta Say 1818 nuclear production reactors) streams, and a number of Alasmidonta (Alasmidonta) Carolina bays, beaver-dam ponds, and abandoned farm triangulata (Lea 1858) ponds. Designated as the first National Environmental *A. (Decurambis) varicosa Research Park, the SRP is a unique protected outdoor (Lamarck 1819) ~~~~--~- --_.----_.. GENUS Anodonta (Lamarck 1799) are often very abundant in substrates of shallow pools Anodonta (Utterbackia) and protected coves or among reeds where various fish couperiana Lea 1840 species may seek shelter. A. (U.) imbecillis Say 1829 There are some conditions where few if any clams or A. (Pyganodon) cataracta Say mussels should be expected. Ephemeral ponds or 1817 streams rarely harbor bivalves. Even the largest Carolina GENUS Strophitus Rafinesque 1820 bays, which are never completely dry, may be devoid of Strophitus undulatus (Say 1817) clams. Permanent waters with poor circulation or flow SUBFAMILY LAMPSILINAE von Ihering rarely produce large clam populations. An abundance of 1901 individuals of certain species (e.g., Anodonta imbecillisi GENUS Carunculina Baker 1898 may occur in Par Pond and other reservoirs at SRP but Carunculina pulla (Conrad 1838) we have never found more than four or five bivalve GENUS Vil/osa Frierson 1927 species in these lakes. As sessile filter-feeders, most Vil/osa vibex (Conrad 1834) freshwater bivalves fare best when nutrient-laden waters V. delumbis (Conrad 1834) flow continuously over them. GENUS Lampsilis Rafinesque 1820 SRP streams are not especially rich in suspended Lampsilis radiata splendida (Lea particulate nutrients (Langley and Marter, 1973), hence 1838) the populations of bivalves in these waters are limited. L. cariosa (Say 1817) Clean sand bars in the fast-flowing streams may harbor a SUPERFAMILY CORBICULACEA Gray 1847 few specimens, but most bivalves of SRP streams occur FAMILY CORBICULIDAE Gray 1847 along banks or in stream eddies where nutrients tend to GENUS Corbicula von Muhlfeld 1811 accumulate. The Sphaeriidae or fingernail clams are an Corbicula (Corbicula) fiuminea exception. They can be found in the same localities as (Miiller 1774) the stream Unionidae,
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