Global plastic production has exceeded 300 million tons per year (Plastics Europe, 2015). In the marine and freshwater environments, larger plastics abrade and photo-degrade resulting in persistent environmental microplastics that are not effectively removed by existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The ecological effects of microplastics on the marine environment are poorly understood, ...

The objective of the present study was to determine acute toxicity of copper, ammonia, or chlorine to larval (glochidia) and juvenile mussels using the recently published American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard guide for conducting laboratory toxicity tests with freshwater mussels. Toxicity tests were conducted with glochidia (24to 48-h exposures) and juveniles (96-h exposure...

Freshwater mussels, aquatic keystone species, are in global decline. Long life spans, sedentary lifestyles, and unique reproductive strategies involving obligate parasitic stages make unionid freshwater mussels particularly sensitive to environmental perturbations resulting from global climate change. A greater understanding of the mechanisms by which closely related species differ in their res...

Global plastic production has exceeded 300 million tons per year (Plastics Europe, 2015). In the marine and freshwater environments, larger plastics abrade and photo-degrade resulting in persistent environmental microplastics that are not effectively removed by existing wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The ecological effects of microplastics on the marine environment are poorly understood, ...

Distinct gender-associated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages (i.e., lineages which are transmitted either through males or through females) have been demonstrated in two families of bivalves, the Mytilidae (marine mussels) and the Unionidae (freshwater mussels), which have been separated for more than 400 Myr. The mode of transmission of these M (for male-transmitted) and F (for female-transmi...

1. Temporal variation in the spatial aggregation of the freshwater bivalve Elliptio complanata was studied at a sandy site in an oligotrophic lake over three years. 2. Epibenthic populations varied in aggregation over the season bringing animals closer together during spawning. The complex link between movements of mussels and aggregation dynamics suggested a functional reproductive role for ho...

Freshwater mussels are important constituents of freshwater ecosystems, yet much of their basic biology remains to be examined. The behavior of 3 species of unionid mussels (Unio tumidus, Unio pictorum, and Anodonta anatina) was examined in the lowland River Spree (Germany). Mussels were marked individually, and their positions on the sediment surface and depth below the sediment surface were r...

0[ Freshwater mussels "Order Unionoida# are the most imperiled faunal group in North America^ 59) of described species are considered endangered or threatened\ and 01) are presumed extinct[ Widespread habitat degradation "including pollution\ siltation\ river channelization and impoundment# has been the primary cause of extinction during this century\ but a new stress was added in the last deca...

As more ecological work is being conducted on freshwater mussels, we are coming to appreciate the importance of this secretive fauna to ecosystem function and structure. Yet we still lack an understanding of the factors that control the distributions of this group, their reproductive strategies, the fish hosts they use, and the factors causing their decline. This book provides a thorough litera...

Invertebrates and plants are among the most ubiquitous and abundant macroscopic organisms in aquatic ecosystems; they dominate most habitats in both diversity and biomass and play central roles in aquatic food webs. Plants regulate and create habitats for a wide array of organisms (Cooke et al. 2005). Snail grazing and bivalve filtering profoundly alter habitats and communities (Harvey and Hill...