Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - May/June 2022 - 55

photos-Marilyn Can
A Wavy-rayed Lampmussel displaying a mantle lure.
environmental conditions, aided partner agencies in
searches for juvenile mussels, and surveyed for host fish in
connected tributaries.
What is new
In 2021, we collected data at each mussel translocation
site on environmental conditions relevant to mussel
survival, growth, and reproduction including how much
food was in the water, the amount of gravel substrate for
mussels to burrow into, water quality, flow, and depth, and
presence or absence of a potential competitor, the invasive
Asian Clam.
The ultimate measure of translocation success-and
river health-would be finding evidence of juvenile
mussels near the translocation sites, demonstrating that
the Clarion River mussel populations could naturally
reproduce. Detecting juvenile mussels is difficult-this
year's youth would be close in size to a grain of salt, thus
we expected that any juveniles that we encountered would
be at least one year old.
We set off searching for young mussels, an important yet
tedious effort, likened to finding a needle in a haystack.
Looking towards the future of mussel conservation, we
also surveyed nearby tributaries for host fish to see if fish
may be able to repopulate with mussels one day.
The results are in
The translocations have been successful in terms of
survival and growth, showing that the Clarion River's
health has taken a turn for the better, though recruitment
of juvenile mussels has yet to be seen. The high survival
rates bode especially well for future translocations,
which may be necessary to build mussel populations
up, so populations may start to multiply, exponentially
increasing the impacts of the translocation efforts.
A Wavy-rayed Lampmussel and its foot.
While we did not find any young mussels in the
Clarion River, we observed a Wavy-rayed Lampmussel
displaying her mantle lure. The lure is a pulsating
protrusion of mussel tissue bearing a striking
resemblance to a minnow. This behavior, meant to
lure in a host fish, indicates that the mussel was gravid
(pregnant)-a sign that some mussels in the Clarion
River are reproducing.
It may be too soon for the translocated mussels to
reproduce juveniles, as many species live a long life over
20 years. Some of the mussels had only been in the Clarion
River for 3 years, not giving them much time to procreate.
Another positive finding of my research and good
news for the Clarion River's health is the lack of Asian
Clams. The Asian Clam reproduces at a faster rate than
native mussels and can compete with native mussels for
food and space.
Additional good news was the presence of mussel
host fish in Spring, Bear, and Big Mill creeks. These
waterways lack mussels but may be recolonized by
juveniles from the translocated populations, thus
extending the translocation's restorative impacts
further into the Clarion River watershed. Overall,
there are many positives for the Clarion River's mussel
community, and we hope to observe recruitment of
juveniles in the future.
Acknowledgements
Many people aided this project including PFBC,
WPC, USFS, Elk County Conservation District,
Jefferson County Conservation District, and Dr. Janetski
and the IUP Biology Department and alumni.
May/June 2022
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - May/June 2022

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