A Survey of the Freshwater Mussels (Mollusca: Unionidae) 



of Middle Island Creek, West Virignia 



Ralph W. Taylor and Beverly D. Spurlock 



Department of Biological Sciences, 

 Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia 25701 



ABSTRACT. — Twenty-two native species of freshwater mussels plus 

 the introduced Asiatic clam, Corbicula fluminea, were collected from 

 six stations along the seventy-five mile course of Middle Island Creek, 

 a tributary of the Ohio River in West Virginia. Eight species are 

 reported from this creek for the first time. The occurrence of Villosa 

 fabalis, Pleurobema clava, and Alasmidonta marginata is significant 

 because of the rarity of these species within the state. The more com- 

 monly found species include Lampsilis radiata luteola, Lampsilis ven- 

 tricosa, Elliptio dilatata, Amblema plicata plica ta, and Tritogonia 

 verrucosa. 



INTRODUCTION 



As a result of pollution, impoundment, clear-cutting, and other fac- 

 tors, many of North America's larger streams have experienced severe 

 reductions in plant and animal diversity (Starrett 1971). Freshwater 

 mussels are among the species that have been most seriously affected by 

 habitat changes in "such streams. In numbers of animals and species 

 composition, current mussel populations and communities in most 

 major waterways no longer resemble those that were present at the turn 

 of the twentieth century (Taylor 1980a). Smaller streams have not been 

 altered quite so severely (Taylor 1980b,c). Thus, since it may already be 

 too late to save the mussel faunas of large rivers, a logical conservation 

 approach might be to concentrate on protecting smaller streams in 

 which populations persist and that may serve as refugia for mussels. 

 Later, if water quality in larger waterways can be sufficiently improved, 

 the smaller tributaries could provide mussels with which to restock the 

 major systems. 



A first step in implementing a plan of this nature must be to thor- 

 oughly document the native mussel species that inhabit tributaries of 

 major rivers. Only by such studies can the baseline data be obtained 

 that will allow future investigators to monitor trends in mussel popula- 

 tions and communities. Toward this end, we conducted surveys of the 

 mussel fauna of Middle Island Creek, a small tributary of the Ohio 

 River in West Virginia. Mussel populations in the Ohio have declined 

 drastically in numbers of individuals and diversity over the last seventy- 

 five years (Taylor 1980a). 



Brimleyana No. 7:155-158. July 1981. 155 



