 Taxonomy
The worldwide superfamily Unionoidea contains the group of bivalved
mollusks commonly referred to as freshwater mussels. Various arrange-
ments have been proposed for the families of the Unionoidea. Three families-
Hyriidae, Margaritiferidae and Unionidae- were described, and Heard
and Guckert (1970) added a fourth, the Amblemidae. Davis and Fuller (1981)
reclassified the unionoids, placing the Margaritiferinae and Ambleminae as
subfamilies with the Anodontinae in the family Unionidae.
Synonymies are also widespread at the species level. Margaritifera
margaritifera has over one hundred available synonyms. Proliferation of
names was common prior to modern phylogenetic practice and before
nomenclatural standards were adopted requiring references to published
descriptions and locality data. Several current works propose to address
these issues through the use of molecular data and cladistic models
(Lydeard et al., 1996; Hoeh et al., 1998). This handbook follows the
classification recognizing the families Margaritiferidae and Unionidae.
Also included in the handbook are two families not part of the Unionoidea,
the Corbiculidae and the Dreissenidae. Several species of these families
occur as invasives within the metro area.
Topics
Taxonomy Diversity Life History
 Diversity and Distribution
North America: The Margaritiferidae and Unionidae are the only
unionoid families that occur in the United States. They include largely
sedentary, filter-feeding bivalves that range in size from four to thirty
centimeters (Williams, et al., 1993), and live in lakes, ponds, and streams
throughout the world. Their association with major river drainage systems
with relatively long geologic histories has allowed for the evolution of a large
number of genera with highly specialized, endemic species (Burky, 1983;
Burch, 1975; McMahon, 1991).
North America has the greatest diversity of freshwater mussels in the world
with more than 300 currently recognized species and subspecies in the
United States and Canada (Williams et al., 1993; Turgeon, et al., 1998).
Although there is no recent, comprehensive North American field guide,
partial lists of species distribution have been published by Clarke (1973;
1981) for Canada and by Burch (1975) for the United States. There are also
distribution keys for many regions, states and drainages.
New York Area: The New York State mussel fauna is much richer in
species than its eastern seaboard neighbors. This is due in part to the
state's size and geographic position- westward from the Atlantic across the
Appalachian and Allegheny ranges to the Interior Basin, and northward to
the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence, and the Canadian border. Other important
factors, in addition to the presence of large, stable river drainages in all
regions of the state, include the effects of glaciation cycles, and human
influences such as the development of the St. Lawrence seaway and
the Erie Canal.
The state fauna thus incorporates species assemblages from streams on the
Atlantic slope, flowing eastward into the Atlantic Ocean between Nova Scotia
and Georgia, and also ones from the Great Lakes, and the Ohio and Mississ-
ippi River watersheds in the Interior Basin. New York therefore records 51
species, compared to neighboring Connecticut and New Jersey with 12 each.
Thirteen unionoid species occur in the metro area and all, with the possible
exception of Strophitis undulatus and Utterbackia imbecilis, are derived from
the Atlantic Slope. For a detailed discussion of the complex origins and
distribution of New York's unionoid fauna, see Strayer and Jirka (1997).
Topics
Taxonomy Diversity Life History
 Life History
Unionid sexes are typically separate (mussels are dioecious). Some species
may become hermaphrodites capable of self-fertilization when population
density is low (van der Schalie, 1970; Kat, 1984; Bauer, 1987; Downing et al,
1993). In females the ovaries lie within the visceral mass just dorsal to the foot,
and they are connected to the suprabranchial chamber by tube-like ducts
(Lefevre and Curtis, 1910; Pennack, 1989; Oesch, 1995). Unfertilized eggs
stored in the ovaries pass through the oviduct to the chamber. During spawning,
males release sperm directly into the water and, with luck, they are drawn through
the incurrent siphon of a sexually mature female of the same species and pass
into the chamber where fertilization occurs.
Fertilized eggs are captured by the inhalant siphon of the female (Coker et al.,
1921; Matteson, 1948; Lynn, 1994) and carried against the water currents by
means of beating cilia into the gills. Here they are stored in the water tubes of
marsupial gill pouches (=modified brood pouches, or marsupia) where the
larvae, called glochidia (Coker, et al., 1921; Pennak, 1989), are held together
during development by an adhesive membrane. The degree of gill modification
has been used as a character in mussel classification; either all four gills (two on
either side of the foot and visceral mass), just the outer gills, or only specialized
portions of the outer gill may be utilized.
The period of larval development in the marsupia varies from days to months.
From several thousand to more than three million larvae are expelled
through the exhalant siphon into the water, depending on the species.
Bradytictic (long-term brooding) species fertilize in summer or early fall,
and glochidia are released the following spring. Tachytictic (short-term
brooding) species fertilize in spring and glochidia are released later the
same summer. A mature glochidium ranges in size from 0.05 to 0.50 mm
in diameter, and bears a thin shell with two valves that can be drawn
together by a single adductor muscle (Coker et al., 1921).
In the days after their release glochidia must avoid predation and, despite
being unable to swim, locate and attach to their host (usually a fish) as an
external parasite. Unless the proper host is found they will be sloughed off by a
fish's natural defenses, and many unionids rely on obligate host relationships
for dispersal. If not attached to a fish host without a very short time the glochidia
die. One species, Simpsonaias ambigua, has been documented to utilize
the mud puppy, Necturus maculosa, as a glochidial host (Howard, 1915;
Pennak, 1989). Recent studies (Watters, 1997; Watters and O'Dee, 1998;
Wicklow and Brisheim, 1998) have revealed that for species such as
Utterbackia imbecilis other amphibians may serve as potential hosts in the
laboratory. And some metro area species- Utterbackia imbecilis, Lasmigona
subviridis, and Strophitus undulatus are reported to undergo glochidial
transformation without a fish host.
There are various dispersal strategies. Glochidia are sometimes released
unattached in bursts, enclosed in a membraneous packaged sheath
(Barnhart and Roberts, 1997), or suspended on long strands of mucus
latticeworks or gelatinous packages called conglutinates (Matteson, 1955).
Some species release conglutinates in the form of "lures", including a long
"superconglutinate" consisting of all its glochidia compacted into a mass that
mimics the appearance and movement in water currents of a small fish or
insect larva (Hartfield and Butler, 1997). In female Lampsilis, the edge of the
mantle is developed into a "lure" that resembles a fish (Williams et al., 1993),
while in Ptychobranchus occidentalis , the sheathed packet is colored
and shaped like a fish lure (Barnhart and Roberts, 1997).
In other species the "superconglutinate" lure is used to attract fish while
remaining attached to the adult female by means of a transparent musci-
laginous line. This eventually becomes detached by water currents or the
actions of attracted fish (Hartfield and Butler, 1997). When a fish strikes the
"lure" the glochidia within are released in a cloud, clamping onto the host
fish to begin their next phase of development (Lefevre and Curtis, 1910;
Coker et al., 1921).
The glochidia are of two types, hooked and hookless. Hooked glochidia
typically attach to fish by clamping their shell, sometimes adorned with
sharp hooks and attachment threads, to the body or fins, while hookless
forms attach to the gills (Arey, 1932; Matteson, 1948). At the time of
attachment glochidia typically possess a shell, adductor muscle, and a
rudimentary foot, mouth and intestine (Coker et al., 1921; Oesch, 1995).
The glochidium encysts beneath the host tissue as an ectoparasite for
varying lengths of time, from six to one hundred sixty days, depending on
species and environmental conditions, during which the single
adductor muscle is replaced by two and the digestive system forms as the
glochidia metamorphose into juvenile mussels. Typically little or no increase
in size occurs during encystment (Coker et al., 1921; Matteson, 1948;
Pennak, 1989; Oesch, 1995), and the glochidia remain more an irritation to
the fish than a danger. Some fish deaths have been reported from
encystment by a large number (100 or more) of glochidia (Matteson, 1948;
Smith, 1976; Pennak, 1989).
When metamorphosis is complete, the juvenile mussel drops from its host
to the bottom. This is a vulnerable time for, if not quickly consumed by a
predator, the mussel must settle on a substrate suitable for its adult life
requirements- if it does not, it will die. If successful, the juvenile mussel will
burrow into the bottom sediment, becoming interstitial, or attach to a hard
substrate with a byssal thread. This thread is quickly lost in the adult stage.
At the completion of juvenile metamorphosis the mussel has developed a
heart, liver, digestive tract, and muscular foot.
The greatest shell growth occurs in the first few years of life. Rate of shell
growth is much lower in adults than juveniles. Once growth begins to slow,
the rate of development of the reproductive organs increases; the average
age of sexual maturity is greater than six years (McMahon, 1991). In
the temperate zone, including the New York metro area, growth slows or
stops in winter months. Species burrow into the sediment and enter a
period of dormancy (Balfour and Smock, 1995; Amyot and Downing, 1997).
During this period a dark band (or, annulus) forms along the shell margin.
Annuli are laid down each year during growth interruption, and therefore
can be used to determine the age of a shell (Neves and Moyer, 1988).
Competion among and between mussel species has scarcely been
investigated, although it has been alluded to for species that occur in dense
assemblages such as Elliptio complanata. Possible competition for hosts
may also be significant, especially among species in the subfamily
Lampsilinae- for example, Lampsilis cariosa, L. radiata radiata, and
Leptodea ochracea, which have evolved highly specialized methods of host
fish attraction.
Once a mussel reaches maturity its chances for survival increase dramatically.
The life spans of various species range from 8 to 20 years (Nedeau et al, 2000),
although many North American species live 30 to 80 years (A. Bogan, pers.
comm.) and Margaritifera margaritifera may live 100 years or more
(Bauer, 1987).
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New York Metropolitan Region and New Jersey Freshwater Mussel Identification Handbook