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Landscape associations with native and invasive freshwater mussels

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Abstract

Landscape impacts on aquatic organisms can play important roles in community structure and distributions, and landscape alteration can present unique challenges for organisms like freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) that can be compounded by the presence of invasive species. This study examined the impacts of landscape variables on native freshwater mussel and invasive Corbicula spp. distributions and densities in the Kalamazoo River watershed, MI, USA. Landscape impacts were analyzed at three spatial scales using GIS and regression tree analyses to determine factors influencing unionid and corbiculid densities. Results indicated that land use, geology, and longitudinal position in the watershed influence densities of unionids and corbiculids. In addition, corbiculid density was found to be important in determining unionid density and distribution at the reach scale. Results showed that landscape variables can influence invasive and native mussel species and emphasize the need to incorporate spatial information into our understanding of the relationships among organisms and their environments. The knowledge gained here contributes to evidence of the impacts that landscape can have on the abundance and distribution of both native and invasive organisms and provides insight into the associations of invasive Corbicula spp. with landscape variables and native unionids at multiple spatial scales.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Data were analyzed using R software (R Core Team 2019). Custom codes are available upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The Kalamazoo River Community Recreational Foundation and the Central Michigan University Institute for Great Lakes Research and Honors Program provided funding and support for this research. We thank the 2018 and 2019 Central Michigan University (CMU) Woolnough Lab researchers, Joseph Rathbun, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Pat O’Neill and Kris Snyder) for assistance with data collection and data entry, Shay Keretz (CMU) for assistance with data analyses, and Dr. Yong Tian (CMU) for assistance with data processing and reach generation. We would also like to thank Marden Linares, Luis Mauricio Bini, and an anonymous reviewer for their feedback on earlier versions and helpful comments that improved the manuscript. Unionids were collected with Michigan Scientific Collection and Endangered and Threatened Species Permits from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources issued to DAW. This will be contribution No. 163 of the Central Michigan University Institute for Great Lakes Research.

Funding

The Kalamazoo River Community Recreational Foundation, the Central Michigan University Institute for Great Lakes Research and the Central Michigan University Honors Program provided funding and support for this research.

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  1. Nathan S. Ring

    Present address: Golder Associates Inc., 15851 U.S. 27, Suite 50, Lansing, MI, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Institute for Great Lakes Research, Central Michigan University, 1455 Calumet Ct., Mount Pleasant, MI, USA

    Kiara C. Cushway, Nathan S. Ring & Daelyn A. Woolnough

  2. Central Michigan University, Honors Program 104 Powers Hall, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA

    Kiara C. Cushway

  3. Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Central Michigan University, Dow Science Complex 296A, Mount Pleasant, MI, USA

    David K. Patton

  4. Central Michigan University, 1455 Calumet Court, Bioscience 2106, Mount Pleasant, MI, 48859, USA

    Daelyn A. Woolnough

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Contributions

KCC conceptualized and wrote the original draft, performed the formal analyses (GIS and stats) and was involved in stages of data collection. NSR helped during all data collection, mentored KCC, and helped with review and editing. DKP taught and mentored KCC in GIS analyses and helped with review and editing. DAW acquired funding, mentored and supervised KCC and NSR throughout the project, helped with conceptualization and reviewed and edited manuscript.

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Correspondence to Daelyn A. Woolnough.

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Cushway, K.C., Ring, N.S., Patton, D.K. et al. Landscape associations with native and invasive freshwater mussels. Hydrobiologia 849, 2449–2462 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-022-04850-8

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