A quantitative survey of freshwater mussels of the Buffalo National River, Arkansas from 2019 to 2021

Publication Date

2022-08-11

Start Date

2019-08-14

End Date

2021-08-19

Pieri, A.M., Harris, J.L., Bouldin, J.L., Schaeffer, T.W., Steevens, J.A., Hodges, S,W., and Rodman, A.R., 2022, A quantitative survey of freshwater mussels of the Buffalo National River, Arkansas from 2019 to 2021: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P90QXS3B.

Freshwater mussels are some of the most imperiled taxa in the world with more than 70% considered endangered, threatened or of special concern in North America. These animals are known for their important role in ecosystem health by improving water quality as they filter feed, which also makes them potential indicators of pollution. Mussel in the Buffalo National River (BUFF) were first explored in 1910 by Meek and Clark and declines in the populations have been found in every subsequent survey. The BUFF is host to numerous aquatic species and wildlife including 11 threatened or endangered species. There are over 23 different freshwater mussels most recently documented in previous surveys. These included the endangered Snuffbox, Epioblasma triquetra, and threatened Rabbitsfoot, Quadrula cylindrica. Comparison of these survey results to historical records found that several species are potentially extirpated in the BUFF. This data set provides updates status of freshwater mussels in the BUFF and will provide the basis for comparison to past and future surveys. These surveys provide the status and means to estimate the trajectory for native mussel populations.

• Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC)
• USGS Data Release Products