Freshwater burrowing mussels (unionids) play a vital role in freshwater ecosystems through nutrient cycling and promoting biodiversity. They have unique life histories directly related to aquatic vertebrates during an obligate parasitic larval stage, known as glochidia. Human interference has largely impacted mussel populations causing them to become the most endangered group of animals in North America. Genetic data has revealed taxonomic issues related to valve morphology, such as valve plasticity and cryptic speciation, that has caused identification issues in the field. Using both genetic and morphometric methods, I determined the phylogenetic placement of an isolated population of mussels within the tribe Lampsilini. I also investigated whether this population was a morph of a previously known Lampsilin species or if they were worthy of being treated as an evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) or an undescribed species. In addition, I expanded the known phylogeny of Lampsilin by including three species (Lampsilis fasciola, Lampsilis hydiana, Ligumia subrostrata) not included in previous phylogenies. Genetic analysis involved sequencing cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and 16s ribosomal RNA (rrnL) genes and producing maximum likelihood trees with bootstrap values for each gene individually and combined. Genetic results showed that an population from an isolated pond (named Junk Pond in this study) were closely related to members of the genus Ligumia (pondmussels), with Ligumia subrostrata being their closest relative. Morphologically, these Junk Pond mussels were noticeably different from other Ligumia species, so genetic and morphometric data was used to try and characterize this population of mussels from Junk Pond. The genetic distance between these two groups, measured using K2P distance method, were like the distances of other known sister species within Lampsilini. Morphometric analysis involved landmark and semi-landmark analyses to quantify the differences of the internal and external shapes of the shell, respectively, and determine differences that could be species defining characteristics. Landmark analysis results showed that Ligumia subrostrata and the Junk Pond mussels had similar internal valve structures though semi-landmark results showed differences among all groups including L. subrostrata and the Junk Pond mussels. I determined that this isolated population, due to its geographic isolation, genetic differences, variant shell morphology, and limited population size, should be treated as an ESU. The expanded Lampsilin tree showed a few differences involving Ligumia nasuta that did not support a previously published tree. Many other relationships within this phylogeny agreed with previously published works. The isolated population of the Junk Pond mussels are worthy of future research using more genetic data, such as COI, and morphometric work involving other Lampsilin members in order to conclude whether this group are worthy of being recognized as an undescribed species.

The Pocket-book mussel, Lampsilis ovata, is a native freshwater bivalve species that is endemic to North America. The salinity tolerance of this species is of interest because anthropogenic salinization events and climate change factors threaten their natural freshwater habitats. Furthermore, the invasive freshwater bivalve species Corbicula fluminea has been shown to display significant salinity tolerance, which may lead to negative competitive interactions with native freshwater bivalve species if the salinization of freshwater habitats exceeds thresholds beyond which native species can effectively cope. It was hypothesized that L. ovata would be sensitive to salinity conditions above 1 g/L and respond by closing their valves. To investigate this, juvenile pocket-book mussels were subjected to three experiments which measured tissue-water content, hemolymph osmolality, and oxygen consumption after salinity exposure to 0, 2.5, 5, and 10 g/L. The 96-hour exposure study showed that the 2.5 g/L and 5 g/L treatment groups had significantly lower average percent tissue-water content than the control group. The average percent tissue-water content for mussels exposed to 2.5 g/L and 5 g/L dropped 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively. In the 24-hour time-course study, it was observed that changes in the average percent tissue-water content for all treatment groups primarily occurred after four hours of exposure. In the same study, the osmolality of the control group maintained an average of 31.2 mOsm/kg over the 24-hour period, despite the osmolality of the treatment water being 2 mOsm/kg. The hemolymph osmolality concentration of mussels exposed to the 2.5 g/L and 5 g/L treatments increased to osmotically conform to their treatment waters. After 24 hours, the hemolymph osmolality of the 2.5 g/L and 5 g/L treatment groups was 79 mOsm/kg and 163 mOsm/kg, respectively. Contrastingly, the osmolality of mussels exposed to the 10 g/L treatment maintained an average hemolymph osmolality of approximately 132 mOsm/kg, while the osmolality of the treatment water was 320 mOsm/kg. Lastly, the oxygen-consumption study showed that mussels exposed to the 5 g/L treatment consumed a significantly lower amount of dissolved oxygen than that of the control and the 2.5 g/L treatment by an average of 1.6 mg O2/mg/h. The control group consumed an average of 4.66 mg O2/mg/h, while the 2.5 g/L treatment group consumed the highest amount of dissolved oxygen with an average of 5.05 mg O2/mg/h. The data collected from these studies suggest that juvenile L. ovata might not be able to tolerate salinities greater than 2.5 g/L for an extended amount of time. Mussels exposed to the 5 g/L treatment and the 10 g/L treatment demonstrated varying degrees of behavioral avoidance and much higher morbidity rates. In contrast, the 2.5 g/L treatment group showed minimal behavioral avoidance and an elevated oxygen consumption rate. When compared to similar studies performed on C. fluminea, these results support the hypothesis that L. ovata is more sensitive to saline conditions than the invasive species and could be replaced by the invasive species if habitat conditions exceeded 2.5 g/L salinity.

No description available.

Genetic variation was examined in two endangered mussel species, Epioblasma brevidens and E. capsaeformis, and a common species Lampsilis fasciola, in the Clinch River, TN, by screening mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and nuclear DNA microsatellites. These species use fish hosts with varying dispersal capabilities, ranging from low, moderate, and high, respectively. Patterns of mtDNA polymorphism exhibited different trends for long-term population sizes for each species during the Holocene (~10,000 ya to present); namely, E. brevidens has declined over time, E. capsaeformis has remained stable, and L. fasciola has expanded. Long-term effective population size (Ne) was smallest in E. brevidens, intermediate in E. capsaeformis, and highest in L. fasciola. Moderately diverged mtDNA lineages, perhaps indicative of secondary contact, were observed in E. brevidens and E. capsaeformis. High levels of gene flow (Nm) were estimated among demes of L. fasciola using traditional F-statistics and likelihood estimates of Nm, whereas such metrics were lower in E. brevidens and E. capsaeformis. Data are consistent with population dynamics and life history traits of each species and their fish hosts. Age, shell growth, and population demography of Epioblasma brevidens, E. capsaeformis, and Lampsilis fasciola were studied from 2004-2007 in a 32-km reach of the Clinch River, TN. Observed maximum age and length of E. brevidens was 28 y and 71.5 mm for males and 11 y and 56.6 mm for females; of E. capsaeformis, 12 y and 54.6 mm for males and 9 y and 48.6 mm for females; and of L. fasciola, 45 y and 91.3 mm for males and 13 y and 62.6 mm for females. For all three species, observed maximum age and length was greater among males than females. Estimated population size in this river reach was approximately 43,000 individuals for E. brevidens, 579,000 individuals for E. capsaeformis, and 30,000 individuals for L. fasciola. Mean recruitment y-1 of 1 y-old E. brevidens ranged from 7.1% to 20%, of E. capsaeformis from 4.0% to 32.4%, and of L. fasciola from 5.8% to 25.6%. Population growth rate y-1 was 24.9% for E. brevidens, 34.6% for E. capsaeformis, and -22.4% for L. fasciola. Mortality rates of females were higher than for males of E. capsaeformis and L. fasciola, but not E. brevidens. Juvenile mussels were collected but temporally and spatially variable in occurrence, and a significant component of the age-class structure of all three species. Recruitment was very high during 2006-2007 for E. capsaeformis and other species, likely due to low river discharges in the spring-summer of 2005-2007. Surplus individuals of E. brevidens and E. capsaeformis are currently available to conduct translocations for restoration purposes. Population modeling of Epioblasma brevidens and E. capsaeformis in the Clinch River was conducted to determine suitable harvest levels for translocation of sub-adults and adults, and to determine quantitative criteria for evaluating performance and recovery of extant and reintroduced populations. For both species, the recommended annual harvest was <1% of local population size to minimize risk of decline. Reintroduction modeling indicated that size of the initial population created during a 5 y build-up phase greatly affected final population size at 25 y, being similar to size at the end of the build-up phase, especially when expected growth rate was low, (e.g., 1-2%). Excluding age-0 individuals, age-1 juveniles or recruits on average comprised approximately 11% and 15% of a stable population of each species, respectively. The age-class distribution of a stable or growing population was characterized by multiple cohorts, to include juvenile recruits, sub-adults, and adults. Molecular genetic and demographic data indicated that the ratio of Ne/Nc was ~5% for both species. Based on this ratio and predicted declines of genetic variation at different population sizes, target sizes for reintroduced or recovered populations of each species should be ≥5,000 individuals (Ne=250) and ≥10,000 individuals (Ne=500), respectively, and should be comprised of multiple smaller demes spread throughout a river. Populations of both species are currently large enough to sustain harvest for translocation and reintroduction purposes, offering an effective species recovery strategy. / Ph. D.