The mussels of Muddy Creek on Erie National Wildlife Refuge

A qualitative mussel survey was performed on Muddy Creek, a tributary to French Creek in Crawford County, PA, within the boundaries of the Erie National Wildlife Refuge. Riffle-run-pool sequences were sampled at 20 locations in the study area using visual and tactile timed-search techniques. Live specimens represented by 22 species were encountered at a rate of 54 individuals per person-hour and included the federally-endangered Pleurobema clava (clubshell) and Epioblasma torulosa rangiana (northern riffleshell) as well as four Pennsylvania state-imperiled species. Evidence of recruitment in the clubshell population was found in excavated quadrats and by hand-collecting. Brillouin diversity indices ranged from 0.35-2.88 over the study area, with a mean (SD) of 1.67 (0.59). The three most abundant species were Actinonaias ligamentina, Amblema plicata, and Lasmigona costata, while the three most rare were Anodontoides fierussacianus, E. torulosa rangiana, and Villosa fabalis. The high diversity of mussels along with the presence of federally listed and state-imperiled species warrants a pro-active approach to future protection of the aquatic resources of Muddy Creek.