We experimentally manipulated mussel community structure and observed mussel burrowing behavior in mesocosms held in a greenhouse. Vertical positions, vertical movements, and horizontal movements of Actinonaias ligamentina, Amblema plicata, Fusconaia flava, and Obliquaria reflexa were recorded during five 11-d trials. Community structure was manipulated by constructing communities with 11 diffe...

Abstract Freshwater mussels are important functional components of aquatic ecosystems. Westralunio carteri is a threatened freshwater mussel species, endemic to south-western Australia, which has suffered recent, dramatic decline in range. The density, size structure and distribution adult this species within river reaches were investigated using quadrat searches modelled against range microhab...

1. We asked whether unionid mussels influence the distribution and abundance of co-occurring benthic algae and invertebrates. In a yearlong field enclosure experiment in a south-central U.S. river, we examined the effects of living mussels versus sham mussels (shells filled with sand) on periphyton and invertebrates in both the surrounding sediment and on mussel shells. We also examined differe...

This research represents the first attempt in Italy to develop a cage system for adult freshwater mussel stocking, for extensive farming, that was realized from 2003 to 2005 in NW Italy. Two autochthonous species of Italian freshwater mussel were used: Anodonta anatina and Unio mancus. 5133 mussels were collected and successively stocked in floating cages in 5 different sites in a lake. This st...