Research

Investigating mussel communities in wadeable streams of Illinois

Mussel community data was collected in wadeable streams throughout Illinois at existing basin monitoring sites used by the IL Department of Natural Resources and IL Environmental Protection Agency. These data added a mussel component to the existing datasets of water and sediment chemistry, instream habitat, and macroinvertebrate and fish indices, and provided baseline data for future monitoring of freshwater mussel populations on a local, regional, and watershed basis.

 

Statewide basin survey reports for freshwater mussels in Illinois can be found here.

 

 

 

Funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service State Wildlife Grant (SWG), Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and the Illinois Natural History Survey supported this study.

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Defining expectations for mussel communities in Illinois wadeable streams

This project updated knowledge of mussel Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). We reevaluated mussel species for listing as SGCN and provided an update of the statuses, distributions, and stresses to mussel SGCN appropriate for a revision of the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan (IWAP) and provided action items to include in the Streams Campaign.

We completed distribution maps for each mussel species, and modeled potential species presence and historical (pre-settlement) distributions. Distribution maps and modeled expectations can assist with revisions or updates to conservation or recovery plansĀ  for threatened and endangered species.

Funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service State Wildlife Grant (SWG), Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and the Illinois Natural History Survey supported this study.

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Development of restoration criteria for freshwater mussel Species in Greatest Need of Conservation

This project provided a detailed investigation into restoration options for specific mussel species in greatest conservation need. Optimal restoration options for a specific scenario–for example, stock host fish, restore habitat, improve water quality, or augment mussels, were investigated for Ellipse and Spike using a Bayesian Decision Network, a type of structured decision model. We determined limiting factors for both species present in northern Illinois (our focal area) and then subsequently built models to determine optimal restoration options in two stream systems. This project will be an initial step to provide guidance to state entities on the direction of restoration efforts for mussels in wadeable streams.

Funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service State Wildlife Grant (SWG), Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and the Illinois Natural History Survey supported this study.

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Enigmatic Asian clams

We observed a new introduction of an unknown Asian Clam to the United States. Some of our research with this new introduction can be found here.

We had the privilege of hosting and advising an intern from the National Great Rivers Research & Education Center (NGRREC) 2017 Intern Program. Through this project, we mapped the spread, investigated geometric morphometrics, and genetics of the novel Corbicula species. A summary of results can be found here.

Descriptions of the 3 co-occurring Asian clam species in Illinois can be found here.

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Kishwaukee River Mussel Population Study

In 2015, we began a long-term population dynamics and movement study of the freshwater mussels in the Kishwaukee River in northern Illinois. Each year a team of biologists and land managers do an intensive search of a stretch of the Kishwaukee River along the I-90 Tollway, east of Rockford, IL. The study is in its fifth year and currently on-going.

 

Funding from the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority supports this study.

 

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Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring of rare mussels.

Proof of concept/baby steps for finding Salamander Mussel (one of our most rare and elusive mussels) in Illinois. In process!