American Malacological Society Newsletter Spring 2010 NEWSLETTER OF THE AMERICAN MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF MALACOLOGY, ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES 1900 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PARKWAY, PHILADELPHIA PA 19103-1195, USA
VOLUME 41, NO 1. SPRING 2010 http://www.malacological.org ISSN 1041-5300 ANNOUNCEMENTS
includes all meals in a modern dining cafeteria. It is very nice! We encourage meeting attendees to select this option in order to promote interactions between meeting participants, but there are also many hotels within fairly close proximity of the meeting site, and non-resident attendees can choose whether to purchase an optional lunch plan during registration, or to plan to forage on their own in a variety of other restaurants or fast food options near the conference center. Public transit options include a new trolley stop, which is immediately adjacent to
the conference center or a brief walk across a footbridge from the dorms. The trolley connects AMS /WSM 2010 – SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA directly to the downtown train station and airport JUNE 26-30, 2010 (search in Google maps for SDSU Transit Center, Submitted by Doug Eernisse, AMS President, and San Diego), and provides easy access to the George Kennedy, WSM President outstanding selection of restaurants and bars in As the current Presidents of AMS and WSM, it is famous Old Town, and in the Gaslamp Quarter in our pleasure to announce the upcoming joint 76th downtown San Diego, about 29 minutes by trolley. Annual Meeting of the American Malacological The meeting will be affordable for students and Society and 43rd Annual Meeting of the Western close to world-class ocean beaches and other well Society of Malacologists to be held on the campus known attractions that make San Diego such a of San Diego State University, in San Diego, popular destination to visit. California. The meeting will kick off in style with a Scientific sessions are historically great at joint welcome reception on the evening of Saturday, June AMS/WSM West Coast meetings, and include the 26th, with scientific sessions held from Sunday following: (June 27th) to noon on Wednesday (June 30th). Stay the following day, Thursday, July 1st, for * Dr. Peter Marko (Assistant Professor, Clemson organized or informal excursions in the San Diego University) and Dr. Alan Kohn (Professor Emeritus, area. Please register today at the web page for the University of Washington) have organized an meeting: AMS-sponsored symposium on Biogeography of the Pacific. An impressive line-up of speakers has http://malacological.org/ams_wsm_2010/ been confirmed, and these include Dr. Thomas We are fortunate to have reserved our meeting site Duda, Dr. Suzanne Williams, Dr. Christine Parent, at San Diego State University. The new SDSU Dr. Cynthia Trowbridge, Dr. David Jacobs, and Dr. Aztec Conference Center is attractive and easily Alan Kohn. These leading scientists have agreed to accessible by car or via public transportation. SDSU present their research on Pacific molluscan has both new suites and somewhat less expensive biogeography on June 29. This symposium and older dorms, but both are affordable. We have associated contributed paper and poster sessions are negotiated a great rate for on-campus residents that expected to be a memorable highlight of the Page 1 American Malacological Society Newsletter Spring 2010 meeting. Please note when you submit your abstract that you would prefer to present a contributed paper or poster in a session associated with this OTHER MEETINGS symposium. * Dr. Jennifer Burnaford (Assistant Professor, AMS – 2011 Meeting Cal State Fullerton) has organized a special For those who are already contributed papers session on invasive molluscs, looking past the AMS- with eight confirmed speakers and opportunity for WMS meeting to be held in other relevant contributed papers or posters. Please San Diego this year, I note when you submit your abstract if you would would like to announce that like your contributed paper to be included as part of the 77th Annual Meeting this session, and please contact Dr. Burnaford will be held in Pittsburgh, directly ([email protected]) PA. If anyone anticipates * Dr. Eric Gonzales (Postdoctoral Researcher, sponsoring a session or workshop or has any UC Berkeley) will present a timely Student questions about the meeting such inquiries should Workshop, Genomic Tools for Molluscan Ecology be directed to me at [email protected]. and Evolution. Hope to see all of you there. * Lindsey Groves (Dept. Malacology, Charlie Sturm LACMNH) has organized a session on Molluscan President Elect, AMS Paleontology 2010. Papers with a paleobiogeographic emphasis are particularly encouraged. Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic are all welcome. Please contact Lindsey Groves Studies on Opisthobranch Molluscs ([email protected]) if you are planning to submit an World Congress of Malacology abstract for the Molluscan Paleontology session. Thailand 18-24 July 2010 Registration & Housing During the next year WCM opisthobranch Registration and housing details are on the meeting researchers will have once more the opportunity to website at: gather and present papers on a dedicated http://malacological.org/ams_wsm_2010/registratio symposium. This model has proved to work well in n.php the past avoiding the hassle of running back and Register by June 1 for a discounted rate. forward between lecture theatres and ensuring no overlap of opisthobranch talks! Other events include the ever-popular auction, banquet, reprint sales, and other fun activities. Opisthobranch molluscs have received considerable Please plan to attend and spread the word. Contact attention during the past years by a growing and us if you would like to ship donations for the enthusiastic research community. This symposium auction. Help us to make this joint meeting a aims to bring together all those interested in the success by planning to attend, responding when the various aspects of opisthobranch biology and call for contributed talks and posters is announced, evolution, from development to behavior, getting involved, and especially encouraging systematics and phylogenetics, palaeontology and students and colleagues, including those from Latin biogeography, genomics and ecology, etc. American countries, to participate. If you have any We expect the symposium to be a forum of questions, please feel free to contact the meeting discussion of the latest advances as well as a organizers, Dr. Douglas J. Eernisse at platform to establish strategies and collaborations [email protected] for AMS, or Dr. George L. that could lead to a fast resolution of old and new Kennedy at [email protected] for WSM. questions on opisthobranch research. See you in San Diego! The symposium is sponsored by The Malacological Doug Eernisse, AMS, and George Kennedy, WSM Society of London, and authors are encouraged to consider submitting their contributions to the
Journal of Molluscan Studies (deadline to be announced). Manuscripts that pass the peer-review Page 2 American Malacological Society Newsletter Spring 2010 process will be published together as a collection of Following the workshop, field trips to the nearby papers from the symposium. Meramec River and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Columbia Environmental Research Center are We look forward for your registration. Visit the planned. WCM website at: We hope to see you in Fall 2010! http://www.wcm2010.com/registration.asp For more information please contact: Opisthobranchs Symposium, http://www.wcm2010.com/symposium.asp#6 Steve McMurray: For further information please contact one of the [email protected]; 573.882.9909 organizers: or Heidi Dunn: Manuel Malaquias (Bergen Museum of Natural [email protected]; 636.281.0973 History, Norway); Email: [email protected] Juan Lucas Cervera (University of Cadiz, Spain); Third International Workshop on Email: [email protected] Opisthobranchs, September 2010 Terry Gosliner (California Academy of Sciences, Contributed by Jesús S. Troncoso USA); Email: [email protected] We are delighted to inform that the Third International Workshop on Opisthobranchs (3IWO) will be held at Vigo, Spain on September 1-4, 2010. FMCS 2010 Workshop – Regional Faunal We are following on the steps of the previous Identification and Sampling workshop, held at Bonn and so successfully organised by Heike Waegele, Annette Klussmann- Contributed by Stephen E. McMurray Kolb and Michael Schrodl; we hope that the new The 2010 workshop of the Freshwater Mollusk workshop is, at least, so successful as the previous Conservation Society will be held in either late one. The web link to the 3IWO is: October or early November of 2010 in Kirkwood, http://webs.uvigo.es/3iwo10/ and you may directly Missouri. The workshop will be held at Missouri contact us at: [email protected] Department of Conservation’s Powder Valley The organization board wishes this workshop to be Conservation Nature Center, located in a 112-acre a meeting point for students, researchers, and oak-hickory forest just southwest of St. Louis, Opisthobranchia lovers. We would like to turn it Missouri. In addition to two floors of exhibits, a into a forum where scientists present their newest large aquarium, and 3 hiking trails, the center has 3 results and findings, and also to facilitate students classrooms and a 250-seat auditorium. There are the access to knowledge, training and future numerous nearby lodging, dining, and entertainment working perspectives. options. We look forward to your presence on September The 2010 workshop will focus on regional faunal 2010 in Vigo, and enjoy the 3rd IWO. identification and sampling. A panel of regional faunal experts will give presentations on mussels See all you in Vigo! unique to their area, common species shared with The organizing committee. other regions that “just look different here”, and the ever popular “problem children”. They will also Jesús S. Troncoso (UVIGO), Chairman give tips and pointers on unique collecting methods used in the region. In addition to presentations, there will be ample time to view representative species from the regions, and time to spend OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS discussing characters with the experts. To date we have secured commitments from experts representing the Ozarks, Atlantic Slope, upper Astronaut Trail Shell Club Scholarships Ohio, and Gulf Coastal faunal regions. The Astronaut Trail Shell Club is pleased to announce that we once again are able to provide Page 3 American Malacological Society Newsletter Spring 2010 scholarships for graduate students (masters or North Carolina (36º24’45N; 81º23’09W) on 2 doctorate) in Malacology at Florida’s public or August 2007, I noticed some “shelled” eggs under private universities and colleges. The study may be the moist bark of a large downed tree. The eggs (1 related to marine, fresh water, or terrestrial mm in diameter) were mollusks. The exact amount of scholarships white with sparkly available will be announced at a later date. inclusions. Many of the Please encourage your students or your colleagues eggs hatched within the who may be eligible to apply. next 24 hours revealing http://pw1.netcom.com/~ejpower/atsc.html minute snails, each with a shell of only a few Deadline: Complete applications must be received whorls. The snails had by Nov. 10th. pale bodies but the shells were light brown Scholarship Committee splotched with darker orange patches. The first 908 West Street, Laurel, Delaware 19956-1932 whorls (protoconch) displayed a sculpture of cross- hatched lines that gave way to strong ribbing going across the whorl. Mollusk Collection of the Santa Barbara Most groups of land snails produce shelled eggs but Museum of Natural History the family Discidae is well known for this trait Contributed by Paul Valentich-Scott (Tompa 1980). Strong The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History ribbing and colorful, maintains a mollusk collection of over 2 million opaque shells are specimens. The collection is global in extent with characteristic of species strengths in the Pacific Ocean, and western North in the genus Anguispira America. While all recent mollusk classes are well (Pilsbry 1948). Individuals of this genus were represented in the collection cephalopods, chiton, common in our survey especially in the moist coves bivalves and land snails are especially noteworthy. leading up from the floodplain. The cross-hatched lines on the first whorls are distinctive of Approximately 15% of the collection is available Anguispira jessica (Dourson and Dourson 2006). online at www.sbcollections.org, which has an Kutcha (Pilsbry 1948) described A. jessica in 1938 easily searchable format. Currently over 60,000 as a subspecies of the widespread Anguispira records are available online, with new records alternata, but Hubricht (1985) considered it a full available through daily updates. In addition to species. The species ranges from SW Virginia along specimen data, photographs of type and voucher the NC/TN border into Alabama, usually at higher specimens, as well as original literature, are elevations. Its common name is the Mountain included with many specimen records. Tigersnail. This site apparently is a new county The Santa Barbara Museum has excellent facilities record and the elevation is fairly low at 2700’ for visiting researchers including a scanning (830m). electron microscope and a high-resolution digital These observations show that this snail is imaging station. For further information contact reproductively active in the area with eggs hatching Paul Valentich-Scott, Curator of Malacology at in early August. Three sets (clutches?) of eggs that I [email protected]. scooped up contained 8, 6 and 6 eggs, respectively (X=6.6). We found one live adult Anguispira alternata closer to the river. The eggs of A. alternata are larger (2-3mm in diameter) and MEMBERS CONTRIBUTIONS usually occur in larger masses (Elwell and Ulmer 1971); so it seems the eggs found at New River Notes on Anguispira jessica State Park were A. jessica. Contributed by Amy S. Van Devender My thanks to R. W. Van Devender and Kathryn E. 797 Little Laurel Rd. Ext., Boone, NC 28607 Perez for their generous field help during the survey and to my husband for photographing the snails as While surveying for land snails at New River State they hatched. Special thanks go to the North Park (Wagoner Road section) in Ashe County, Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Page 4 American Malacological Society Newsletter Spring 2010 Resources and especially New River State Park for Caribe is located north of the Araya Peninsula and permission to conduct land snail surveys. is one of the most important fishing regions of the Venezuelan coast (63°51’W, 10°41’N) and of the Literature Cited Dourson, D. and J. Dourson. 2006. Land Snails of the Southern Caribbean in general. Studies carried out Great Smoky Mountains (Eastern Region). ATBI in 2009-2010 indicated that the by-catch of V. Discover Life in America Project. music within only one fisherman group Elwell, A.S. and M.J. Ulmer. 1971. Notes on the biology (Cooperativa Las Tres Bellezas) was 138 snails per of Anguispira alternata (Stylommatophora: fishing day, 543 caught per week (they fish 4 days Endodontidae). Malacologica 11(1): 199-215. a week), and 2172 per month (figs. 1 and 2). Hubricht, L. 1985. The Distributions of the Native Land Mollusks of the Eastern United States. Fieldiana. One of the questions that I still have to answer is Zoology, New series, No 24. how many fisherman groups operate at all fishing Pilsbry, H.A. 1948. Land Mollusca of North America locations (Isla Caribe, Chacopata and Caimancito) (North of Mexico) 2(2): 577-578. Acad. Natur. Sci. to obtain more precise information about the real Philad., Monograph No. 3. numbers of Voluta musica caught per fishing day Tompa, A.S. 1980. Studies of the Reproductive Biology around the Araya Peninsula region, and if this of Gastropods: Part III. Calcium Provision and the represents a threat Evolution of Terrestrial Eggs among Gastropods. for the population. Journal of Conchcology. 30(3): 145-154. In this sense, I am also estimating the size at sexual Voluta musica Linnaeus, 1758 maturity of the (Caenogastropoda: Volutidae) an endangered species which will 1 cm gastropod species in the Venezuelan coast allow me to know Fig. 3 Voluta musica male specimen. Isla if the individuals 1 1 Contributed by Peralta, A. C. , P. Miloslavich , and Caribe, Venezuela caught are 2 G. Bigatti reproductive or not. Catching sexually immature 1 Universidad Simón Bolívar, Venezuela animals could represent an additional risk or threat 2 CENPAT, Argentina to the stock. Voluta musica is an endemic Volutid gastropod On the other hand it is known that gastropods, species restricted to the Venezuelan and Colombian including some Volutidae species like Voluta Caribbean as well as to some Caribbean Islands musica, may have sexual alterations as a result of (Clench and Turner 1964). It is a gonochorisctic contact with TBT (an antifouling chemical species with internal fertilization and development substance) (Bigatti 2005, Braga de Castro 2008, occurs in egg capsules, which contain Miloslavich et al. 2007). Worldwide reports have extraembryonic food sources in the intracapsular documented on the Imposex phenomenon in the liquid that allows the embryos to hatch as crawling last three decades. Imposex refers to the development of male characters such as the vas deferens and penis (fig. 3) on female individuals which has been reported to be caused by the absorption of tributyltin, an antifouling chemical substance contained in the painting used on ships which is released to the environment (Smith, 1981; Gibbs, 1996). The surveys I have carried out on the V. musica population at Isla Caribe, indicated that Figs. 1&2. Voluta musica in the by-catch of Arca zebra fishing. 38% of the females showed sexual alteration (fig. juveniles (Penchaszadeh and Miloslavich 2001). 4), either with the development of a vas deferens Currently, the species is in the Venezuelan “red and/or a penis. Imposex incidence in the V. musica book list” (Rodríguez and Rojas-Suarez 1995) and population could represent a third threat to these according to informal interviews made to Isla local populations. Caribe´s fishermen, Voluta musica is subject to intense fishing pressure due to its incidental by- catch in Arca zebra fisheries along almost all of the Araya Peninsula (northwest Venezuelan coast). Isla Page 5 American Malacological Society Newsletter Spring 2010 Sparks e-mailed to us photographs of a large and pretty snail he had encountered in Frederick County and asked for identification. Those photographs, which were of a C. nemoralis, made us realize that Jim had probably discovered the descendants of Grimm’s Cepaea from 1969 and rekindled our interest in this long overdue project. Fig. 4: Voluta musica female with penis = 7 mm; no vas deferens. Between May 2009 and January 2010, we Literature Cited conducted several surveys and mapped out the Bigatti, G. and P.E. Penchaszadeh. 2005. Imposex in current range of Cepaea nemoralis in Frederick Odontocymbiola magellanica (Caenogastropoda: County. We also did some detective work putting Volutidae) in Patagonia." Comunicaciones de la together the information about his release point that Sociedad Malacologica del Uruguay 9(88): 371-375. Grimm had revealed to TP in a telephone message Clench, W.J. and R.D. Turner 1964. The subfamilies in 2002 and the historical information we obtained Volutinae, Zidoninae, Odontocymbiolinae and about various roads and bridges in Frederick Calliotectinae in the Western Atlantic. Johnsonia 4(43): 129-180. County. Accordingly, we were able to infer the Gibbs, P.E., 1996. Oviduct malformation as a sterilising point of introduction of C. nemoralis in 1969. effect of tributyltin (TBT) induced imposex in In 40 years Cepaea nemoralis has dispersed far and Ocenebra erinacea (Gastropoda: Muricidae). Journal wide at rates we estimate to be more than 20 of Molluscan Studies. 62, 403-413. meters/year. We will soon submit for publication a Ítalo Braga de Castro, Carlos Augusto Oliveira de Meirelles, et al. 2008. Imposex in endemic Volutid manuscript with further details about our findings. from northeast Brazil (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Braz. We also plan to continue monitoring the dispersal Arch. Biol. Technol. V51 No. 5: pp.1065-1069. of Grimm’s C. nemoralis in the future. Although Miloslavich, P., Bigatti, G., P. Penchaszadeh, et al. 2007. intentionally introducing non-native snails is "Imposex en Gasteropodos de Venezuela." Ciencias unwise, Grimm’s action gives us insights into Marinas 33(003): 319-324. dispersal and colonization abilities of this species. Penchaszadeh, P. E. and P. Miloslavich. 2001. Embryonic stages and feeding substances of the Literature cited South American volutid Voluta musica Grimm, F. W. 1971. Annotated checklist of the land (Caenogastropoda) during intracapsular development. snails of Maryland and the District of Columbia. American Malacological Bulletin 16: 21-31. Sterkiana 41: 51-57. Smith, B.S., 1981. Male characteristics on female mud snails Nassarius obsoletus=Ilyanassa obsolete. J. Appl. Toxicol. 1: 15-21. Third Annual Ohio River Valley Unified
Malacologist (OVUM-3) Meeting Pittsburgh, PA On the trail of Wayne Grimm’s Cepaea Contributed by Charles Sturm and Timothy A. nemoralis Pearce Contributed by Aydin Örstan and Timothy A. Section of Mollusks, Carnegie Museum of Natural Pearce History Pittsburgh, PA. Section of Mollusks, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania On November 14th, 2009 OVUM-3 was held at the 15213-4080, USA Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA. The meeting was hosted by Timothy Pearce, In a paper about the land snails surveys he had done Curator of Mollusks at the Carnegie Museum. The in Maryland between 1954 and 1969, the meeting convened at 10:00 AM and the formal malacologist F. Wayne Grimm (1941-2005) noted presentations ended at 3:00 PM. After the formal that the European snail Cepaea nemoralis had been presentations, the mollusk collection and the library introduced to a location in Frederick County, of the Section of Mollusks was available for visitors Maryland in July 1969 (Grimm 1971). In the early to use. 2000s, we considered searching for Grimm’s Cepaea, but shelved the idea when other projects There were 15 people in attendance and 11 took priority. Then in May 2009 our colleague Jim presentations were given. The presentations dealt
Page 6 American Malacological Society Newsletter Spring 2010 with various aspects of freshwater and terrestrial Freshwater mussel, fish, and macroinvertebrate molluscan biology and ecology. The presentations surveys in the tributaries of French Creek. were given by individuals from schools and Meyer, Elizabeth. universities, museums, and government and non- Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pittsburgh, governmental agencies. The abstracts for the PA. presentation are below. The French Creek watershed in northwestern Turnover in the freshwater mussel community at Pennsylvania contains some of the last remaining Ohio Brush Creek: evidence from taphonomy high quality aquatic communities anywhere in the and mark recapture studies. Ohio River Basin. Mussel, fish, and Borrero, Francisco and Stephen Matter. macroinvertebrates were surveyed at sites on the ten Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, Cincinnati, major tributaries of French Creek. Twenty-three OH. unionid species were found in our survey of the 29 known from the watershed. The most abundant At a locality that has had comparatively high mussel species was Lampsilis siliquoides, found at mussel abundance and diversity, we found 12 sites and accounting for 20% of the mussels taphonomic evidence of a mussel assemblage that is found. Mean CPUE (catch per unit effort) and dramatically different from the current community species richness were significantly lower than for at this site. A large number of specimens of adult mainstream surveys. Forty-five fish species were three-ridge mussels (Amblema plicata) were found detected in our survey and fish host species were dead in situ and in living position (15 present for most mussel species. individuals/m²) at a small clay ledge at this site. Specimens were complete (both valves and Wayne Grimm’s Legacy: a 40-year experiment ligament) and may have died within a narrow span on the dispersal of Cepaea nemoralis in of time, perhaps as much as a decade. We interpret Frederick County, MD. these observations as evidence that mussels may Örstan, Aydin. show considerate turnover within sites. Section of Mollusks, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA. Utilizing mollusks in the teaching of experimental biology in the high school setting. I have determined the current range of the colony of Brady, Kip. C. nemoralis along the Monaccy River in Frederick New Philadelphia High School, New Philadelphia, County that was first introduced by the late W. OH. Grimm in 1969. Dispersal appears to have been non-uniform around the original point of Freshwater snails make excellent experimental introduction, but the dispersal rates have been as systems for classroom use. Here I present examples high as 37m/yr. of classroom experiments that utilize snails as model systems for studying ecosystem processes. Affect of temperature and moisture on land snail The implementation of authentic experiments that movement distances. utilize locally collected species provide important Pearce, Timothy and Ben Robinson. learning opportunities that contribute to the Section of Mollusks, Carnegie Museum of Natural development of scientific and ecologic literacy. History, Pittsburgh, PA. A life of fear: the effects of predation. We examined whether weather might influence the Cholak, Emily and Andy Turner. distances that land snails move. We examined Clarion University, Clarion, PA. movement distances of three species, Neohelix albolabris, Mesodon thyroidus, and Anguispira In aquatic systems, predators influence prey through alternata, at the University of Michigan Biological both lethal and non-lethal interactions. The effects Station in Cheboygan County, Michigan, in 1989- of non-lethal predation risk can cause behavioral, 1990. Spools of thread glued to living snails morphological, and life historical trait shifts in prey. allowed us to trace daily distances that snails These interactions have been thoroughly studied moved. Correlating these distances crawled by all over short periods of time, but little is known about snail species combined with weather factors showed how non-lethal predation risk effects prey no correlation with mean daily air temperature, soil population growth. Using Helisoma trivolvis as a temperature, or rainfall. However, movement model prey organism, we are looking at how distances were greater at higher air humidities and predation risk influence prey population dynamics. greater distances the day after more rain. Future Page 7 American Malacological Society Newsletter Spring 2010 work will examine the three species individually Update on the Ohio River Basin Fish Habitat with weather factors. Partnership. Thompson, Sue. Do Philomyceus carolinianus (Gastropoda: 3 Rivers Ecological Research Center, Pennsylvania Philomycidae) prefer to aggregate? Fish & Boat Commission, 16 Terminal Way, Pearce, Timothy and Cagin Unal. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Section of Mollusks, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA. The Ohio River Basin Fish Habitat Partnership (ORBFHP) was formed to protect, restore, and Some mollusks aggregate in nature, perhaps enhance priority habitat for fish and mussels in the because they prefer to be with each other or because watersheds of the Ohio River Basin. ORBFHP that is where the resource (e.g., shelter) is located. encompasses the entire 981 miles of the Ohio River To test between these two hypotheses for the native main stem and 143,550 square miles of the North American land slug Philomycus carolinianus, watershed, excluding the Tennessee-Cumberland we placed 3 slugs in arenas with 3 shelters. sub-basin to limit overlap with the Southeast Preliminary results of 7 replicates indicate that slugs Aquatic Resource Partnership. The Ohio River choose shelters randomly without regard for drainage contains at least 350 species of fish whether another slug is there, neither preferring to ranging from endemic darters and dace in the aggregate nor shunning each other. headwaters to a suite of great river fish (e.g., Turning over a new leaf: The effect of tree litter paddlefish, blue sucker, lake sturgeon, and on freshwater gastropods. shovelnose sturgeon) and more than 120 mussel Stoler, Aaron. species, including a number that are federally listed. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. These figures approach half of the freshwater fishes Leaves from 10 different species of trees in the and over a third of all mussel species found in the water differentially affected the survival, mass, and United States. productivity of the gastropods Physa acuta and Since its inception, ORBFHP has included Helisoma trivolvis. malacologists in this developing partnership under The Herman Wright Collection: a legacy in the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP). At search of validation. the October 2009 NFHAP board meeting, ORBFHP was recognized as a full partnership under NFHAP, Sturm, Charles, Adam Burkett, and Timothy Pearce. Section of Mollusks, Carnegie Museum of Natural with an immediate impact of making approximately History, Pittsburgh, PA. $90,000 in federal funds available this year for habitat restoration projects consistent with In 1932 Christina Wright (Indiana University) ORBFHP’s priority strategic goals. In the long- donated her husband’s collection of mollusks to the term, having a fully-recognized national fish habitat Carnegie Museum. The collection which numbers partnership for the Ohio Basin will increase our over 1100 lots was not accompanied by Herman ability to leverage federal funds for fish and mussel Wright’s field notes. A letter from C. Wright to habitat restoration projects in the basin. For more Curator Stanley Brooks stated that the locality notes information about NFHAP and ORBFHP, visit would be forwarded when Ira Wilson (Tiffen
Page 8 American Malacological Society Newsletter Spring 2010 depends on pH. In field experiments, we manipulated the pH of outdoor mesocosms with nutrient additions, resulting in mid-afternoon pH values ranging from 8.5 to 10.4. The snails Physa acuta and Helisoma trivolvis were stocked into microcosms containing water drawn from each mesocosm and exposed to the chemical cues of their predator, the pumpkinseed sunfish. Both species moved to avoid fish at a pH < 9.0 but showed no avoidance at higher pH. In another study, conducted indoors, we manipulated pH directly with buffers, establishing six pH levels ranging from 7.5 to 10.0. At low pH, Physa acuta responded to fish cues by moving into safe habitats, but avoidance became impaired at pH > 9.0. Thus, in eutrophic conditions, the ability of snails to detect predators is impaired. This discovery represents an important but unknown consequence of nutrient pollution. 2009: a busy year for mussels. Welte, Nevin. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), Pittsburgh, PA. During 2009, the PFBC was actively involved in a number of mussel-related issues. The listing process for 5 mussel species (Epioblasma triquetra, Quadrula cylindrica cylindrica, Plethobasus cyphyus, Simpsonaias ambigua, and Villosa fabalis) is discussed with focus on S. ambigua. The decision-making process and S. ambigua protocol compromise are detailed. Qualified mussel surveyor criteria for adding Pennsylvania surveyors were discussed. Preliminary observations and data on Dunkard Creek fish/mussel kill and removal of Carter’s Dam were discussed.
MESSAGE FROM THE NEWSLETTER EDITOR Contributions to the biannual AMS newsletter are always welcomed. Send articles, short notes or news items to Christine Parent, the newsletter editor, at the following address: Section of Integrative Biology University of Texas at Austin 1 University Station C0930 Austin, TX 78712 E-mail: [email protected]
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