Species. Freshwater mussels are the most rapidly declining group of animals in North America. This guide represents a first-ofits-kind reference to assist both biologists and naturalists in the identification and study of freshwater mussels. Freshwater Mussels of Texas contains 224 pages with 226 black and white photographs, 144 color photographs and 79 line drawings covering all 52 species found in Texas waters. Introductory sections cover basic anatomy, reproduction.
In the early nineteenth century, a naturalist named Rafinesque stood on the banks of the Ohio River and began to describe the freshwater mussels he found there. Since that time, these animals have earned a place among the most imperiled animals in North America. Dozens of species have become extinct, and it is estimated that two-thirds of the remaining freshwater mussels face a similar fate. Yet, despite their importance, the mussels of Ohio remain a poorly documented and largely mysterious fauna. This book compiles existing research on Ohio's mussels, synthesizing works on genetics, biology, and systematics into one volume. Full-page color images depict shell variation, hinge detail, and beak sculpture. Full-page maps show the distribution of each species based upon the collections of numerous museums, with historical distributions dating from the 1800s. In addition to species accounts, the book has an introductory section that includes information on basic biology, human use, and conservation issues.--adapted from jacket.
Responding to the growing need for an aggressive yet conservative approach to evaluating mussel populations, Freshwater Bivalve Ecotoxicology provides a collective review of the techniques and approaches for assessing contaminant impact on freshwater ecosystems. The editors incorporate coverage of research topics and management issues from a cross-section of scientists in the field. They explore current advances in general monitoring of population responses to stressors, fundamental concepts of ecotoxicology specific to burrowing bivalves, and useful insights that offer direction and priority for resolving specific problems challenging protection and conservation efforts. This book lays the groundwork with discussions of topics such as impact assessment, toxicokinetics, biomarkers, and pollution tolerance. The authors then explore fundamental concepts surrounding responses measured in freshwater bivalves as a consequence of chemical exposures or accumulated contaminants in target organs or tissues. They highlight the difficulties encountered with the laboratory culture of these organisms for toxicity testing or other controlled experiments, and examine the use of surrogate test organisms to relate sensitivities of response and reduce pressure on already impacted fauna. The book also reviews innovative field research using in situ bivalve toxicity testing, discusses effects-oriented tissue contaminant assessment, and concludes with threefour specific laboratory or combined field/laboratory ecotoxicology studies. A summary of methods from more than 75 laboratory toxicity studies conducted with freshwater mussels, the book provides an overview of a standardized method for conducting water-only acute and chronic laboratory toxicity tests with glochidia juvenile freshwater mussels. It focuses on studies that report measured contaminant treatments, had robust experimental designs, including replication of control and contaminant treatments, and were published in the peer-reviewed literature. The resulting array of viewpoints provides a framework that can be used to establish priorities in the rehabilitation and management of freshwater ecosystems.
All those who think that bivalves are boring are in the best company. Karl von Frisch is reported to have turned the pages more quickly in texts where bivalves were treated because, according to him, they literally lack any behaviour. The fact that they can filtrate huge amounts of water, burrow into the sedi ment, actively swim, drill holes into rocks and boats or detect shadows with the aid of pretty blue eyes located on the rim of their mantle obviously left v. Frisch unimpressed. Why, then, a book on the large freshwater mussels (Naiads or Unionoida), which on first sight are much less spectacular than the marine ones? The main reason is that they are keepers of secrets which they reveal only on close and careful inspection. This is not only true for the pearls some species produce and which over centuries have contributed to the treasures of bishops and kings, but particularly for their ecology: their life cycles are linked with those of fishes, some can occur in incredible densities and some can live for more than 100 years. Thus, the presence or absence of naiads in a lake or stream has manifold implications.
Synthesizes the ecology and natural history of North American freshwater mussels for scientists, natural resource professionals, students and natural history enthusiasts.
"The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee . . . is indispensable to anyone, anywhere, working on this group. Parmalee and Bogan have written a work that sets the standard for future regional guides."--G. Thomas Watters, Ohio Biological Survey "The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee documents a tremendously diverse and unique mussel fauna that is rapidly being destroyed by modern development. Parmalee and Bogan set a new standard for state mussel surveys in their authoritative, thorough, and and highly readable account. The book will be of interest to biologists and conservationists worldwide and will appeal to anyone who cares about the preservation of natural resources in the southeastern United States."--Robert E. Warren, Illinois State Museum With more than 150 species and subspecies recorded in the state, Tennessee has one of the most diverse freshwater mussel faunas in North America. Valuable as indicators of water quality, these mollusks have themselves become threatened as development encroaches on habitat--twenty-three are currently listed as endangered species and at least twelve have become extinct. This is the first book for Tennessee to deal with this biologically and commercially significant group of mollusks. Its authors have been studying and writing about the mussels of Tennessee for more than twenty years and have undertaken a systematic organization of a large and complex body of information to bring order to a difficult field. The book traces the long history of human exploitation of mussels, from aboriginal food gathering to the growth of the cultured pearl industry. It provides an interpretive context for its exhaustive species accounts with background material on biology, distribution, economic utilization, taxonomy, and conservation issues. The authors also review the life cycle of the mussel and describe its many remarkable traits, such as its shell formation and the strategies it employs during the larval stage in parasitizing fish. The species accounts comprise 128 members of Family Unionidae--from pigtoes and pocketbooks to lilliputs and spikes--plus four additional species. The authors cover classification and synonymy, range and distribution, life history and ecology, and survival status. Particular attention is paid to shell description and structure to assist the reader in identification. Each species account includes a distribution map and color photos of two specimens. The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee is a major reference that encompasses historical and modern mussel collections and draws on conservation studies that span two centuries. It will stand as an authoritative guide to understanding Tennessee mollusks and as a benchmark in the study of these species worldwide. The Authors: Paul W. Parmalee is professor emeritus of zooarchaeology and director emeritus of the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Arthur E. Bogan is curator of aquatic invertebrates at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh.
"This conference brought together scientists and managers from federal, state, and local agencies, along with private-sector interests, to examine key concepts involving sustainable ecological systems, and ways in which to apply these concepts to ecosystem management. Session topics were: ecological consequences of land and water use changes, biology of rare and declining species and habitats, conservation biology and restoration ecology, developing and applying ecological theory to management of ecological systems and forest health, and sustainable ecosystems to respond to human needs. A plenary session established the philosophical and historical contexts for ecosystem management."--Title page verso.
The First Edition of Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates has been immensely popular with students and researchers interested in freshwater biology and ecology, limnology, environmental science, invertebrate zoology, and related fields. The First Edition has been widely used as a textbook and this Second Edition should continue to serve students in advanced classes. The Second Edition features expanded and updated chapters, especially with respect to the cited references and the classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. New chapters or substantially revised chapters include those on freshwater ecosystems, snails, aquatic spiders, aquatic insects, and crustaceans. - Most up-to-date and informative text of its kind - Written by experts in the ecology of various invertebrate groups, coverage emphasizes ecological information within a current taxonomic framework - Each chapter contains both morphological and taxonomic information, including keys to North American taxa (usually to the generic level) as well as bibliographic information and a list of further readings - The text is geared toward researchers and advanced undergraduate and graduate students
Upon its initial publication more than fifteen years ago, this book broke new ground with its comprehensive coverage of the biology and ecology, distribution and dispersal mechanisms, physiology, monitoring, negative and positive impacts, and control of aquatic invasive species of mussels, clams, and snails. Building on this foundation, the second
Here is a comprehensive review of the ecology of freshwater bivalves and gastropods worldwide. Robert Dillon discusses the ecology of these species in its broadest sense, including diet, habitat, and reproductive biology to emphasize the tremendous diversity of these freshwater invertebrates. He develops a new life history model that unifies them and reviews their population and community ecology, treating competition, predation, parasitism, and biogeography. Extensively referenced and synthesizing work from the nineteenth century through to the present day, this book includes original analyses that unify previous work into a coherent whole.
