University of Tennessee, Knoxville Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2015 Survival and Growth Rate of Translocated Freshwater Mussels Lampsilis fasciola and Medionidus conradicus Laura L. Pullum University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Recommended Citation Pullum, Laura L., "Survival and Growth Rate of Translocated Freshwater Mussels Lampsilis fasciola and Medionidus conradicus. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2015. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/3501 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Laura L. Pullum entitled "Survival and Growth Rate of Translocated Freshwater Mussels Lampsilis fasciola and Medionidus conradicus." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Geology. Michael McKinney, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Colin Sumrall, Brian Alford Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) Survival(and(Growth(Rate(of(Translocated( Freshwater(Mussels(Lampsilis(fasciola(and( Medionidus(conradicus( ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! A!Thesis!Presented!for!the! Master!of!Science! Degree! The!University!of!Tennessee,!Knoxville! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Laura!L.!Pullum! August!2015! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Copyright!©!2015!by!Laura!L.!Pullum.!! All!rights!reserved.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ii! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS( ! I!would!like!to!thank!my!advisor,!Dr.!Michael!McKinney,!for!his!introduction!to,!and! guidance!in,!the!field!of!freshwater!mussel!conservation.!Comments!and! encouragement!from!my!committee!members,!Dr.!Colin!Sumrall!and!Dr.!Brian! Alford,!have!been!greatly!appreciated.!In!the!field,!I!thank!Don!Hubbs!and!other! Tennessee!Wildlife!Resources!Agency!(TWRA)!personnel!for!the!knowledge!they! passed!on!and!for!their!patience.!For!their!support!in!conducting!mussel!retrieval! and!measurement,!I!thank!Dr.!McKinney’s!undergraduate!ecology!students!(at!the! University!of!Tennessee).!!Thanks!to!Megan!Bradley!of!the!Aquatic!Wildlife! Conservation!Center!(AWCC)!for!length!data!on!the!control!group!of!Lampsilis( fasciola.!!Thanks!to!Sarah!Sheffield,!Michael!Lucas!and!Dr.!Josh!Emery!for!pleasant! greetings!at!all!times.!Thanks!to!Angie!Staley!in!the!Environmental!and!Planetary! Sciences!office!for!her!help!navigating!the!systems.!!My!sincere!appreciation!goes!to! Josh!Price!for!his!support!using!SAS!and!for!fruitful!discussions!on!mixed!model! ANOVA.!!Last,!though!not!least,!thanks!to!Jan!Pullum!for!hanging!in!there.! ! iii! ABSTRACT( ! Freshwater!mussels!(Family!Unionidae!and!Margaritiferidae)!are!a!widely! threatened!group!of!bivalve!molluscs,!particularly!in!the!Southeastern!United!States.!! Translocation!of!freshwater!mussels!is!an!increasingly!common!conservation! method.!However,!there!are!relatively!few!studies!that!quantitatively!investigate!the! factors!influencing!translocation!success!or!failure.!In!October!2013,!hundreds!of! Medionidus(conradicus!and!Lampsilis(fasciola!were!translocated!to!the!Pigeon!and! Nolichucky!Rivers!in!Tennessee,!with!an!interim!partial!survey!(June!2014)!and!a! full!survey!(October!2014).!!In!this!study,!I!analyze!this!field\collected!data!to! determine!the!mechanism(s)!that!currently!influence!the!outcomes!of!Tennessee! mussel!translocation.!!! ! My!recommendations!for!future!surveys!include!open!and!timely!data!sharing! between!investigators!and!the!scientific!community!at!large.!!Given!these!data!and! associated!collection!methods,!a!better!understanding!of!freshwater!mussel! communities!and!restoration!success!factors!can!be!identified!at!lower!future!costs! and!facilitate!longer\term!research.!!My!research!recommendations!include!more! frequent,!complete!surveys,!and!quantitative!analyses!at!the!mussel!and!community! levels.! The!results!of!this!study!have!implications!for!conservation!translocation!efforts.!! My!results!indicate!that!both!L.(fasciola!and!M.(conradicus!can!be!successfully! translocated!to!the!Pigeon!River,!if!1)!they!are!translocated!to!the!Pigeon!where!it! has!less!boulder,!cobble!and!exposed!bedrock!in!favor!of!more!coarse!and!fine! gravel!and!sand;!2)!it!had!lower!peak!and!average!water!discharge!rates,!3)!if!some! translocations!occurred!in!the!spring\early!summer,!and!4)!if!the!translocated! mussels!are!initially!housed!in!cages!or!silos.!The!non\housed!mussels!were!not! recovered,!primarily!due!to!high!water!volumes!and!velocities!soon!after!the! beginning!of!the!study.!!The!housed!mussels!were!protected.!There!is!no!overall! iv! predictability!of!the!water!discharge!timing!and!size!of!the!Waterville!Hydroelectric! Power!plant’s!dam.!A!management!recommendation!is!for!incremental!releases!and! notification!to!conservation!authorities.!Due!to!significant!mortality!in!the!first!8! months!of!this!study,!some!studies!should!start!in!the!spring\early!summer!rather! than!in!October!to!help!translocated!mussels!survive!their!first!over\winter!by! having!some!growth!and!habitat!acclimation!underway.! ! ! v! TABLE(OF(CONTENTS! ! CHAPTER!1!INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1! 1.1! The Rise and Fall of Freshwater Mussel Fauna ..................................................... 1! 1.2! Habitat Factors that Influence Freshwater Mussel Mortality and Growth ............ 2! 1.3! Tennessee Efforts to Restore Freshwater Mussels ................................................. 5! 1.4! Research Study ..................................................................................................... 15! CHAPTER!2!SITE!AND!SPECIES!BACKGROUND ............................................................ 16! 2.1! Sites ...................................................................................................................... 16! 2.1.1! Clinch River at Kyles Ford ........................................................................... 18! 2.1.2! Nolichucky River .......................................................................................... 18! 2.1.3! Pigeon River at Cosby Creek ........................................................................ 19! 2.1.4! Brood Stock from the VDGIF AWCC .......................................................... 19! 2.2! Species ................................................................................................................. 20! 2.2.1! Lampsilis fasciola ......................................................................................... 20! 2.2.2! Medionidus conradicus ................................................................................. 23! CHAPTER!3!MATERIALS!AND!METHODS ..................................................................... 26! 3.1! Overview .............................................................................................................. 26! 3.2! Translocation ........................................................................................................ 26! 3.3! Housing ................................................................................................................ 29! 3.3.1! Silo ................................................................................................................ 29! 3.3.2! Cage .............................................................................................................. 31! 3.3.3! Mesh Bag Release ......................................................................................... 33! 3.4! Water Quality ....................................................................................................... 33! 3.4.1! Chlorophyll-A ............................................................................................... 33! 3.4.2! Water Discharge Rate ................................................................................... 34! 3.5! Surveys ................................................................................................................. 37! 3.6! Data Collected and Analyzed ............................................................................... 37! 3.7! Recovery Rate and Effort ..................................................................................... 37! 3.8! Analyzing Survival and Growth Rate .................................................................. 38! CHAPTER!4!RESULTS ...................................................................................................... 42! 4.1! Interim Survey Results ......................................................................................... 42! 4.2! Final Study Survey ............................................................................................... 42! 4.3! Recovery Rate and Effort ..................................................................................... 43! 4.4! Survival ................................................................................................................ 45! 4.4.1! Descriptive Statistics ....................................................................................