Francis Marion National Forest Freshwater Mussel Surveys: Final Report

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Francis Marion National Forest Freshwater Mussel Surveys: Final Report Francis Marion National Forest Freshwater Mussel Surveys: Final Report Contract No. AG-4670-C-10-0077 Prepared For: Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests 4931 Broad River Road Columbia, SC 29212-3530 Prepared by: The Catena Group, Inc. 410-B Millstone Drive Hillsborough, NC 27278 November 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and Objectives ................................................................................. 1 2.0 STUDY AREA ........................................................................................................ 2 3.0 METHODS .............................................................................................................. 2 4.0 RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 3 5.0 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 19 5.1 Mussel Habitat Conditions in the FMNF (Objective 1) ..................................... 19 5.2 Mussel Fauna of the FMNF (Objective 2) ......................................................... 19 5.2.1 Mussel Species Found During the Surveys ................................................ 19 5.3 Highest Priority Mussel Fauna Streams of the FMNF (Objective 3) ................. 25 5.4 Identified Areas that Warrant Further Study in the FMNF (Objective 4) .......... 25 6.0 LITERATURE CITED .......................................................................................... 28 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Study Area: Mollusk Species Found ................................................................... 4 Table 2. Mollusk Species Found: Wadboo Creek-Site # 110919.4tcg ............................... 5 Table 3. Mollusk Species Found: Whiskinboo Creek-Site # 110919.3tcg ......................... 5 Table 4. Mollusk Species Found: Cane Gully Branch-Site # 110919.2tcg ........................ 6 Table 5. Mollusk Species Found: Broad Ax Branch-Site # 110921.4tcg ........................... 6 Table 6. Mollusk Species Found: Nicholson Creek-Site # 110920.10tcg .......................... 7 Table 7. Mollusk Species Found: Nicholson Creek-Site # 110920.11tcg .......................... 7 Table 8. Mollusk Species Found: Gough Creek-Site # 110920.12tcg ................................ 8 Table 9. Mollusk Species Found: Quinby Creek-Site # 110920.7tcg ................................. 8 Table 10. Mollusk Species Found: Bennett Branch-Site # 110223.4tcg ............................ 9 Table 11. Mollusk Species Found: French Quarter Creek-Site # 110223.1tcg .................. 9 Table 12. Mollusk Species Found: Huger Creek-Site # 110920.5tcg ............................... 10 Table 13. Mollusk Species Found: Negro Field Branch-Site # 110920.6tcg ................... 10 Table 14. Mollusk Species Found: Wando River-Site # 110224.1tcg .............................. 11 Table 15. Mollusk Species Found: Wando River-Site # 110224.2tcg .............................. 11 Table 16. Mollusk Species Found: Flag Creek-Site # 110920.13tcg ............................... 12 Table 17. Mollusk Species Found: Mattassee Branch-Site # 110222.1tcg ....................... 12 Table 18. Mollusk Species Found: Wedboo Creek-Site # 110921.7tcg ........................... 13 Table 19. Mollusk Species Found: Wedboo Creek Swamp-Site # 110921.8tcg .............. 13 Table 20. Mollusk Species Found: Savanna Creek-Site # 110919.5tcg/110921.6tcg ...... 14 Table 21. Mollusk Species Found: Echaw Creek-Site # 110222.4tcg/110920.8tcg ......... 14 Table 22. Mollusk Species Found: Echaw Creek-Site #110920.9tcg ............................... 15 Table 23. Mollusk Species Found: Gal Branch-Site # 110224.4tcg ................................. 15 Table 24. Mollusk Species Found: Wambaw Creek-Site # 110222.3tcg ......................... 16 Table 25. Mollusk Species Found: Mill Branch-Site # 110224.3tcg ................................ 17 Table 26. Mollusk Species Found: Tail Race Canal-Site # 110919.1tcg ......................... 18 Table 27. Mollusk Species Found: Tail Race Canal-Site # 110921.5tcg ......................... 18 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 ............................................................................................................................. 30 Figure 3 ............................................................................................................................. 32 Figure 4 ............................................................................................................................. 33 Figure 5 ............................................................................................................................. 34 Figure 6 ............................................................................................................................. 35 Figure 7 ............................................................................................................................. 36 Figure 8 ............................................................................................................................. 37 Figure 9 ............................................................................................................................. 38 Figure 10 ........................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 11 ........................................................................................................................... 40 Figure 12 ........................................................................................................................... 41 Figure 13 ........................................................................................................................... 42 Figure 14 ........................................................................................................................... 43 Figure 15 ........................................................................................................................... 44 Figure 16 ........................................................................................................................... 45 Figure 17 ........................................................................................................................... 46 Figure 18 ........................................................................................................................... 47 Figure 19 ........................................................................................................................... 48 Figure 20 ........................................................................................................................... 49 Figure 21 ........................................................................................................................... 50 Figure 22 ........................................................................................................................... 51 Figure 23 ........................................................................................................................... 52 Figure 24 ........................................................................................................................... 53 Figure 25 ........................................................................................................................... 54 Figure 26 ........................................................................................................................... 55 Figure 27 ........................................................................................................................... 56 Figure 28 ........................................................................................................................... 57 Figure 29 ........................................................................................................................... 58 Figure 30 ........................................................................................................................... 59 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Francis Marion National Forest (FMNF) occurs in the Coastal Plain physiographic province of South Carolina in Charleston and Berkeley Counties. The 252,368 acre forest is bordered by the Santee River to the north, the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The western side of the forest drains to the Cooper River and the southern side to the Wando River. The Catena Group Inc. (Catena) was retained by the US Forest Service to conduct freshwater mussel surveys throughout the FMNF in accordance with the contract number AG-4670-C-10-0047. The freshwater mussel fauna (Unionidae) of North America is the richest in the world, consisting of approximately 297 species and subspecies (Turgeon et al 1998), with much of the higher classification of taxa still unresolved. The greatest species diversity occurs in the southeastern United States (Neves 1993). Johnson (1970) recognized 37 species as comprising the Southern Atlantic Slope Unionoid Faunal Province of North America, and reported 20 of those as occurring in the Cooper-Santee River Basin (CSB), a major drainage of the Southern Atlantic Slope in the southeastern United States. Twenty four species of freshwater mussels are reported to occur in the greater CSB (Bogan and Alderman 2008). The cumulative effects of the modification
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