{"id":36756,"date":"2022-06-14T10:00:12","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T14:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=36756"},"modified":"2022-12-11T18:53:50","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T22:53:50","slug":"protecting-endangered-species-why-freshwater-mussels-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/protecting-endangered-species-why-freshwater-mussels-matter.htm","title":{"rendered":"Protecting Endangered Species: Why Freshwater Mussels Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"

*This is part one of a two-part story on endangered mussels. To read part two, click here<\/a>*<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Though few people pay any mind to the occasional \u201cclam\u201d shell spotted along a river bank or lake, these small but mighty creatures are deeply important to water systems across the United States, and many of them are federally and state endangered. Greg Zimmerman of EnviroScience, Inc.<\/a>\u00a0shares, \u201cWe have about 300 species of mussels in the U.S., compared to other regions of the world like Europe that have under 20 species.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zimmerman spent his life around water and always knew he wanted to return to help protect aquatic ecosystems. \u201cI\u2019ve always had a love of water, since I was 2. I grew up on an island in Buckeye Lake in Ohio.\u201d He further recalls, \u201cI essentially grew up on boats\u2014motorboats, sailboats\u2014all summer I was around water and fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biology was an easy choice when he arrived at Hiram College for his undergraduate career. However, he found that the program was too focused on pre-med student needs and crafted his own major focusing on biology and water ecology, \u201cI love fishing and biology so being around water was always my passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why Freshwater Mussels Matter<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m working on a project and I hear locals say, \u2018why do I care about mussels in my backyard? Why is money being spent on these mussels? Why does it matter?\u2019 I tell people, that mussels being there means that the place you live in is a good place,\u201d Zimmerman responds. \u201cMussels are bio indicators of long-term water quality\u2014really long term. These things can live over 100 years. If your area hasn\u2019t been disturbed in a long time and the water is clean, then you\u2019ll find mussels there, and that means you want to live there, and that really equates to better property values.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than their ability to indicate water quality, \u201cThey\u2019re important because they\u2019ve been around for a while\u2014dinosaurs were crunching these guys under their feet,\u201d says Zimmerman.<\/p>\n

Zimmerman reports, \u201cThey\u2019ve been around for millions of years, and they\u2019ve diversified over millions of years.\u201d The diverse assemblage of freshwater mussels in the U.S. gives conservationists and ecologists something to appreciate, but their niches also often conflict with human-driven environmental changes.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, mussels often become casualties from construction projects and largescale habitat changes (i.e., bridges, dams, dredging<\/a>, landuse changes, stormwater runoff, and climate change). Runoff<\/a>, environmental disturbances, water quality, water temperatures and many other stressors have led to population losses for native mussels.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, human development and landscape changes within North America have and will continue to overlap with the highest diversity of freshwater mussels. According to Zimmerman, \u201cYou look where endangered mussel species are in regard to the human population and projected growth, and there is a lot of overlap\u2014wherever cities and agricultural uses grow, mussels often disappear due to habitat changes, water quality degradation, and competition for resources like the amount of water flowing downstream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dive

Dive crew preparing for a mussel survey on a navigable river. (Credit: EnviroScience, Inc.)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

How Mussels Impact Ecosystems<\/span><\/h3>\n

Native freshwater mussels are often considered \u201cEcosystem Engineers\u201d and function as\u00a0filtration devices<\/a>\u00a0in ecosystems. They are so efficient and effective that if placed in a tank of murky water, a cluster of mussels can clear the cloudiness within a few\u00a0minutes<\/a>. \u201cThey filter out food and particulates and after they process it, a lot of the material is still alive and just swims away. The other materials are put into more types of nutrients that are available for productivity\u2014like invertebrates.\u201d explains Zimmerman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a really densely populated mussel stream at low flow, the flow of the river might be filtered through a mussel 3 or 4 times the discharge rate of the stream,\u201d shares Zimmerman. While native freshwater mussels filter efficiently and help their ecosystem, invasive zebra and quagga mussels over-filtrate water and create many other problems.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, over-filtration harms ecosystems by enabling increased\u00a0algal blooms<\/a> and shifting the entire food web. While native mussels often release living organisms after digesting them, zebra mussels release their digested material in a mucus sac which kills anything trapped inside and covers the native substrates in sludge. The released materials also sink and accumulate heavy metals in the sediment.<\/p>\n

For example, the introduction of zebra\/quagga mussels in the Great Lakes killed off most of the native mussels (hence why many Midwest species became endangered). Zebra\/quagga mussels changed the food web from productivity primarily being in plankton and algae in the water column to the bottom of the lake with aquatic plants and invasive\/undesirable algae \u2013 and the hard substrates became covered with zebra mussels.<\/p>\n

Then, the introduced round goby feed almost exclusively on zebra\/quagga mussels that filter water laced with contaminated sediments at the bottom. Those are, in turn, eaten by smallmouth bass and other sport fish, adding problematic contamination in fish that are important for human consumption.<\/p>\n

Essentially, \u201cZebra mussels are making a big sludge bed at the bottom of the lake that is loaded with heavy metals. Conversely, freshwater mussels are mixing the sediments up in the stream bed and actually making everything more suitable for macroinvertebrates, creating better water quality for themselves, and increasing fish populations,\u201d Zimmerman clarifies.<\/p>\n

What Does the Endangered Species Act do for Freshwater Mussels?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Some mussels are protected federally under the Endangered Species Act, while others are protected state-by-state. The ESA requires very specific expectations and guidelines for construction and other activities with a federal nexus in areas where endangered species may be impacted. Then the action has to be evaluated by the federal government, typically the U.S. Department of the Interior\/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), as to if the project is likely to have an adverse effect or jeopardize the continued existence of the species.<\/p>\n

Zimmerman explains that navigating the Endangered Species Act can often be confusing and complicated\u2014making EnviroScience\u2019s work all that more important. \u201cWe try to help make everything as efficient as possible because it can be frustrating when somebody has a project that is delayed for a year or more if a client isn\u2019t prepared for the process and what pieces of information may be needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ESA protects endangered species while allowing for projects to proceed as long as they have the right combination of avoidance and conservation measures. Unfortunately, the practical implementation of these standards is a bit more complicated. Furthermore, the process can become more complex depending on the state the activity is occurring in. \u201cThe endangered species act is a powerful piece of legislation and we work with our clients to help them navigate through the process because, even though it is a federal regulation, it depends on the state USFWS field offices that are administering it,\u201d Zimmerman elaborates.<\/p>\n

More than Mussels<\/span><\/h3>\n

Zimmerman\u2019s work extends far beyond the Endangered Species Act and can be very time-sensitive. Every project is a challenge, and Zimmerman\u2019s work involves people as much as it does endangered species. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some things be related to emergency-response or a deadline\u2014meeting that and having the client and the resource agencies be happy makes it challenging and rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Zimmerman, regardless of time constraints, complex resource management, or high-pressure situations, delivering on everything makes environmental conservation worthwhile. \u201cI love the challenge of a big project.\u201d Protecting native freshwater mussels and working around water is the perfect challenge for biologists like Zimmerman.<\/p>\n

\"Greg

Greg Zimmerman (Credit: Enviroscience Inc.)<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though few people pay any mind to the occasional \u201cclam\u201d shell spotted along a river bank or lake, these small but mighty creatures are deeply important to water systems across the United States, and many of them are federally and state endangered. Greg Zimmerman of EnviroScience, Inc.\u00a0shares, \u201cWe have about 300 species of mussels in the U.S., compared to other regions of the world like Europe that have under 20 species.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":36759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,461,32,7,8,49,510],"tags":[517,2401,167,2400,2399,60,2397,1809,2398],"class_list":["post-36756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aquatic_species-htm","category-conservation","category-lakes-reservoirs","category-news","category-newsfeed","category-rivers-streams","category-water-quality","tag-conservation","tag-endangered-mussel-survey","tag-endangered-species","tag-endangered-species-act","tag-enviroscience","tag-featured","tag-freshwater-mussels","tag-inc","tag-native-mussels"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nProtecting Endangered Species: Why Freshwater Mussels Matter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Though few people pay mind to freshwater mussels, 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