Endangered Species Grant Final Report Grant No. E-1-36 (A Survey of endangered and Special Concern Mussel Species in the St. Francis and Black Rivers in Southeast Missouri) Grant Period: 7/1/01 – 6/30/04 Survey of endangered and special concern mussel species in the Sac, Pomme de Terre, St. Francis, and Black River systems of Missouri, 2001-2003 Prepared by: Christian Hutson, M.S. Research Specialist and Chris Barnhart, Ph.D. Professor of Biology Date Prepared: October 14, 2004 Project Leader: _____________________________ Stephen E. McMurray Missouri Department of Conservation II Acknowledgements We would like to express our thanks to the generous and talented people who assisted us in this study. Bryan Simmons and Jason Gunter were essential members of the field crew. Their endurance, mechanical skills, and attention to detail were outstanding. Melissa Shiver and Nathan Eckert also made valuable contributions to the fieldwork. We thank Bob Holmes and Bill Goodman (SMSU) for modifying and repairing our boat and trailer. Sue Bruenderman, Al Buchanan and Scott Faiman of MDC and Andy Roberts of USFWS provided guidance and insight from their vast knowledge of mussels and Missouri rivers. Rick Horton, Ron Dent, Tim Banek, and Ron Bullard from MDC and Charlie Meeks from the Cedar County Republican provided important background information pertaining to the Sac River Basin and Stockton Dam. Conservation Agent Joni Bledsoe gave us valuable landowner contacts without which Sac River access would have been even more problematic than it was. Mark Boone and Paul Cieslewicz of MDC provided important information pertaining to the St. Francis and Black River basins. Andy Roberts, Paul McKenzie, and Charlie Scott of the Columbia Field Office of USFWS made this study possible by facilitating financial support. We thank DeeCee Darrow and Stephen McMurray (MDC) for their valuable editorial comments on the reports. Funding for the project was provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and by the Fisheries Division and Resource Science Division of the Missouri Department of Conservation. III Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................II Introduction and purpose of study...............................................................................1 Methods Site selection and access ............................................................................................2 Sampling methods......................................................................................................3 Sac and Pomme de Terre River systems Summary.........................................................................................................................4 Background information...............................................................................................5 Results and discussion ...................................................................................................7 Diversity and abundance in the Sac system...............................................................8 Subfossil shells in the Sac River................................................................................9 Diversity and abundance in the Pomme de Terre River ............................................9 Comparison with previous surveys............................................................................10 Longitudinal distribution in the Sac River ................................................................10 Recruitment in the Sac system...................................................................................11 Longitudinal distribution in the Pomme de Terre River............................................12 Recruitment in the Pomme de Terre system..............................................................12 Species of concern in the Sac and Pomme de Terre systems ....................................13 Threats in the Sac and Pomme de Terre systems.......................................................18 Management recommendations - Sac and Pomme de Terre systems........................20 Tables Table 1. Mussel species reported from the Sac and Pomme de Terre systems .........23 Table 2. Summary of sampling data for the Sac River..............................................25 Table 3. Sub-fossil species collected from the Sac River..........................................28 Table 4. Summary of sampling data for the Pomme de Terre River. ........................29 Figures Figure 1. Map of survey sites in the Sac and Pomme de Terre river systems ..........24 Figure 2. Species relative abundance in the Sac River. ............................................26 Figure 3. Number of species recovered vs. sample size, Sac River..........................27 Figure 4. Species relative abundance in the Pomme de Terre River. .......................30 Figure 5. Number of species recovered vs. sample size, Pomme de Terre River.....31 Figure 6. Longitudinal distribution of CPUE in the Sac River.................................32 IV Figure 7. Longitudinal distribution of species counts in the Sac River.....................33 Figure 8. Longitudinal distribution of CPUE in the Pomme de Terre River.............34 Figure 9. Longitudinal distribution of species counts in the Pomme de Terre River...........................................................35 Figure 10. Shell length frequencies - Sac River ........................................................36 Figure.11. Shell length frequencies - Pomme de Terre River....................................38 Distribution maps - species of concern Figure 13. Black sandshell.........................................................................................40 Figure 14. Elktoe........................................................................................................41 Figure 15. Flat floater. ...............................................................................................42 Figure 12. Pink mucket..............................................................................................43 Figure 16. Rock-pocketbook......................................................................................44 Figure 17. Salamander mussel ...................................................................................45 Figure 18. Spectaclecase............................................................................................46 Distribution maps - other species Figure 19. Butterfly....................................................................................................47 Figure 20. Creeper. ....................................................................................................48 Figure 21. Deertoe. ....................................................................................................49 Figure 22. Ellipse.......................................................................................................50 Figure 23. Fatmucket .................................................................................................51 Figure 24. Fluted shell. ..............................................................................................52 Figure 25. Fragile papershell .....................................................................................53 Figure 26. Giant floater..............................................................................................54 Figure 27. Lilliput. .....................................................................................................55 Figure 28. Mapleleaf..................................................................................................56 Figure 29. Monkeyface. .............................................................................................57 Figure 30. Mucket......................................................................................................58 Figure 31. Ozark shell................................................................................................59 Figure 32. Paper pondshell ........................................................................................60 Figure 33. Pimpleback. ..............................................................................................61 Figure 34. Pink heelsplitter........................................................................................62 Figure 35. Pink papershell .........................................................................................63 Figure 36. Pistolgrip...................................................................................................64 Figure 37. Plain pocketbook. .....................................................................................65 Figure 38. Pond mussel..............................................................................................66 Figure 39. Purple wartyback......................................................................................67 Figure 40. Round pigtoe. ...........................................................................................68 Figure 41. Spike.........................................................................................................69 Figure 42. Threehorn wartyback................................................................................70 Figure 43. Threeridge.................................................................................................71