Mussel Community Composition in Relation to Macrohabitat, Water Quality, and Impoundments in the Neversink River, New York

by Barry P. Baldigo, George E. Schuler, and Karen Riva-Murray

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Open-File Report 02-104

ABSTRACT

Decreases in mussel-species richness and their distributions in rivers worldwide may indicate that these long-lived organisms could be adversely affected by recent changes in the suitability of habitat and quality of surface waters. Impoundments are considered major factors contributing to these declines in rivers of North American. Unionid mussels, other benthic macroinvertebrates, and local physiographic, habitat, and water-quality conditions were characterized across a partially regulated river in southeastern New York State during 1997 to evaluate factors that affect the distribution of two rare mussel species, Alasmidonta heterodon and Alasmidonta varicosa, and the richness of mussel communities. Results from multivariate analyses indicate: (1) macrohabitat features such as percent open canopy, mean channel width, mean bank width, several water-quality factors (e.g., conductivity and pH), and site physiography (e.g., elevation and drainage area) were related to mussel-community richness and the distribution of A. heterodon populations; and (2) the abandoned, low-head Cuddebackville Dam may have restricted A. heterodon populations to the lower reaches of the system. Impoundments may have had both positive and adverse affects on mussel populations in the Neversink River, thus, the full effects of impoundments on biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems need to be well understood for effective management of water and biological resources in rivers of the world. 

Citation: Baldigo, B.P., Schuler, G.E., and Riva-Murray, K., 2002, Mussel Community Composition in Relation to Macrohabitat, Water Quality, and Impoundments in the Neversink River, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-104, 26 p.

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