Effects of habitat suitability on the survival of relocated freshwater mussels

Regulated Rivers: Research & Management
By: , and 

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Abstract

Freshwater mussels are often relocated from existing beds for both conservation and management reasons. In this study, we empirically tested whether the habitat type at the destination site was important in predicting the success of mussel relocation. In 1993, four species of freshwater mussels were relocated in the Apalachicola River in Florida, into three distinct habitat types: stable sand, limestone/sand and cobble. The conditional probability of survival of relocated mussels varied by species and habitat. Two species were considered habitat specialists, one species was considered a habitat generalist and recovery rates for the fourth species were too low to assess habitat preferences. We show empirically that microhabitat is important in the survival of relocated mussels and that the habitat-specific criteria for relocation is species specific. These results suggest that survival of relocated mussels can be enhanced if species-specific site selection criteria are developed using quantitative information.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Effects of habitat suitability on the survival of relocated freshwater mussels
Series title Regulated Rivers: Research & Management
DOI 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1646(199711/12)13:6<537::AID-RRR483>3.0.CO;2-Y
Volume 13
Issue 6
Year Published 1997
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Contributing office(s) Southeast Ecological Science Center
Description 5 p.
First page 537
Last page 541
Country United States
State Florida
Other Geospatial Apalachicola River
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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