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Presented at the NABS Annual meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002
in Unionid Ecology
BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY OF LAMPSILIS CARIOSA AND LEPTODEA OCHRACEA (UNIONIDAE) IN MAINE.
P.C. Wick and A.D. Huryn. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME o4469-5722
Two freshwater mussels are listed as threatened in Maine, the yellow lampmussel (Lampsilis cariosa) and the tidewater mucket (Leptodea ochracea). Maine serves as an important refuge for these mussels, while populations in other states are declining. Little is known about their biology, with no fish hosts identified for either species. Their distribution is primarily coastal, which indicates one of the hosts is likely a diadromous fish. We investigated the fish hosts of L. cariosa using laboratory infestations, and examined their population density and demographics at three sites. Pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and white perch (Morone americana) were used for host fish trials. Juveniles of L. cariosa transformed on P. flavescens and M. americana. Densities were determined with 0.25 m2 excavated quadrats, following a clustered-adaptive sampling design. All mussels were identified and measured. Densities of L. cariosa, measured in lotic and lentic habitats, ranged from 0.4 to 2.8 individuals m-2. Their lengths ranged from 21-104 mm. Densities of L. ochracea ranged from 0.2 to 1.2 individuals m-2, and their lengths ranged from 19-112 mm. Length-at-age curves will be constructed using thin sections of shells to estimate the age structure of the populations sampled.
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