22 



MUSSEL FAUNA OF MAUMEE EIVEE. 



have obtained foothold, even though the conditions under which they 

 once throve and multiplied have ceased. While it is true that mus- 

 sels die rather quickly when placed in foul water or imfavorable 

 conditions, both our investigations here and our experiments in trans- 

 planting elsewhere indicate that they can live for long periods where 

 they probably would not naturally develop, and that they can easily 

 be stored in pools of limited size. 



Station F. Reservoir of the feeder canal, — ^Tbis is an artificial 

 pondlike area at the lower end of the canal and within the outskirts 

 of the city of Fort Wayne. This reservoir, which originally con- 

 nected with the canal, covers about an acre, and the water, which at 

 the time of our visit was only a foot deep at most, probably never gets 

 much, deeper, as it can easily drain into the river below. The bottom 

 of the reservoir is of a bare, yellowish clay, and there is a great 

 deal of miscellaneous trash over it, indicating that it has been used 

 to some extent as a sort of dumping ground. There were quite 

 a number of mussels in this pond. Quadrulo; mhiginosa was com- 

 mon in the warm shallow water near shore, and on the date of our 

 first visit (June 30) was remarkably active, almost every example 

 being at the end of a long, curved track. They were quite high up 

 out of the mud, and several had fallen over and were lying on their 

 sides. Quadrida undulata and Anodonta grandis were also common, 

 and there were a few Lampsilis luteolus. Some dead L. glans and 

 one dead L. ventricosus^ which quite closely resembled L. capax^ were 

 found along shore. More very young mussels were seen here than 

 anywhere else. They were at the end of long, narrow tracks resem- 

 bling snail tracks, in the shallow water along the north shore of the 

 pond, and were nearly buried in the mud, only the posterior tip of 

 the shell slightly projecting. Their presence indicates that the reser- 

 voir was used quite actively as a breeding ground for the mussels. 

 There were a few fishes in the reservoir, chiefly carp and suckers, and 

 boys were occasionally seen fishing there. Other mollusks, especially 

 large Campelomas^ w^ere abundant. 



The mussels of this place, especially the Anodontas, were more 

 heavily infested with parasites than those obtained anywhere else, 

 with the exception of some Lampsilis alatus taken at Grand Rapids, 

 Ohio, which contained Atax in great numbers. The common mus- 

 sel parasites, Atax^ Gotylaspis^ and Aspidogaster^ were present in 

 nearly every individual examined. 



The reservoir was again visited on July 23, and it was found that 

 the Quadrula riibiginosa^ which on the previous visit were high up 

 out of the mud and actively moving about, had by this time buried 

 themselves deeply. It was also noticed that at the same date, in 

 the pools of the canal itself, they were likewise deeply buried. It 

 is probable that their great activity during our first visit w^as due to 



