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    Freshwater Mussels of the Upper Mississippi River
mussel booklet
Archeological excavation
archeological excavation		 button display
button display		 clammers
clammers
Muscatine Button Company
Muscatine Button Company		 The Story of My Life by "Billie Button"
Billie Button		 Fairport Biological Station
Fairport Biological Station
workers at a button factory
workers at a button factory
mountains of shells
mountains of shells
used shell
used shell		 button blanks
Drilled threeridge mussel
(Amblema plicata)
and button blanks		 juvenile Higgins' eye mussels at a Wisconsin River reintroduction site
juvenile Higgins' eye mussels
at a Wisconsin River
reintroduction site
juvenile Higgins' eye mussels recovered in May 2002 from a cage (1)
juvenile Higgins' eye mussels recovered in May 2002 from a cage (1)		 juvenile Higgins' eye mussels recovered in May 2002 from a cage (2)
juvenile Higgins' eye mussels recovered in May 2002 from a cage (2)		 juvenile Higgins' eye mussels recovered from cages (1)
juvenile Higgins' eye mussels recovered from cages (1)
juvenile Higgins' eye mussels recovered from cages
juvenile Higgins' eye mussels recovered from cages (2)		 mussel processing operation
mussel processing operation (1)		 mussel processing operation (2)
mussel processing operation (2)
mussel processing operation (3)
mussel processing operation (3)		 mussel processing operation (4)
mussel processing operation (4)		 mussel processing operation (5)
mussel processing operation (5)
Broken-rays mussel - Lampsilis reeveiana
Broken-rays mussel
Lampsilis reeveiana		 quagga mussel - Dreissena bugensis
quagga mussel
Dreissena bugensis		 ovisac
ovisac
pollution
pollution		 Cleaning up toxic chemicals from a lake.
toxic cleanup		 sedimentation
sedimentation
tributary sediment
tributary sediment		 mussel bed
mussel bed		 zebra mussels on barge
zebra mussels on barge
zebra mussels on boat bottom
zebra mussels on boat bottom		 zebra mussels from bottom of Lake Pepin
zebra mussels from bottom of Lake Pepin		 zebra mussels on fat mucket
zebra mussels on fat mucket
Lampsilis higginsii glochidia
Lampsilis higginsii glochidia		 glochidia on fish gills
glochidia on fish gills		 glochidia on encyst
glochidia on encyst
Slough Sandshell - Lampsilis teres teres
Slough Sandshell
Lampsilis teres teres
Lampsilis higginsii juvenile next to a pinhead
Lampsilis higginsii juvenile next to a pinhead		 Higgins' eye pearlymussel - Lampsilis higginsii
Higgins' eye pearlymussel
Lampsilis higginsii
Fat pocketbook - Potamilus capaxFat pocketbook - Potamilus capax
Fat pocketbook
Potamilus capax		 Scaleshell - Leptodea leptodon
Scaleshell
Leptodea leptodon		 Winged mapleleaf - Quadrula fragosa
Winged mapleleaf
Quadrula fragosa

Saving the Higgins' Eye Pearlymussel (Lampsilis higginsii) from Extinction:
2002 Status Report on the Accomplishments of the Mussel Coordination Team

Figures

Figure 1. The federally endangered Higgins’ eye pearlymussel (Lampsilis higginsii)
Figure 1		 Figure 2. Top photos show the distribution of zebra mussels between 1988 and 2000. (photos courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey). The middle photos show zebra mussels attached to a barge in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, and a houseboat in La Crosse, Wisconsin. (photos courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources). The bottom photos show zebra mussels scooped from the bottom of Lake Pepin by a diver; they formed a “carpet” on the bottom. They also covered individual mussels; this fat mucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) was removed from the bottom sediment by divers. All exposed areas were covered by zebra mussels. (photos courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources).
Figure 2		 Figure 3. Mussel propagation facilities at Genoa National Fish Hatchery located in Pool 9 of the Upper Mississippi River near Genoa, Wisconsin. (photos courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 3
Partnering Agreement
Figure 4

Mussel Coordination Team
Partnering Agreement
Figure 5. Life history of freshwater mussels. The bottom photo shows the fish “lure” displayed by a gravid female mussel to attract a host fish (Lampsilis reeveiana; photo courtesy of Chris Barnhart, Southwestern Missouri State College, Missouri). The lure of the female Higgins’ eye pearlymussel is similar.
Figure 5		 Figure 6. Collection of glochidia from a gravid female Higgins’ eye pearlymussel at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery, Wisconsin. Glochidia are collected by injecting water into the gills with a syringe. Glochidia (middle left) are flushed into a collecting dish, tested for viability with salt, and a measured quantity placed in a bucket containing host fish. Contents of the bucket are mixed for a period of time. The gills of an individual host fish is examined under a microscope to estimate the number of attached glochidia. When a suitable number of glochidia are attached, host fish are placed into a concrete holding tank. (photos courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 6
Figure 7. Host fish produced at Genoa National Fish Hatchery for glochidia inoculation include largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui), and walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum). Bottom right photo shows host fish (largemouth bass) in a bucket ready for addition of Higgin’s eye glochidia. (photos courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 7		 Figure 8. Transformation of glochidia from Higgins’ eye pearlymussels at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery, Wisconsin. In mixing buckets, glochidia (top right) attach to the gills of host fish (middle left) and encyst (middle right). Host fish are placed in aquariums and glochidia transform, fall of the gills and settle to the bottom as juveniles. The juvenile shown in the lower right photo is approximately 0.75 millimeters long; it is shown next to the head of a pin for size comparison. (photos courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 8		 Figure 9. Historic photos of mussel propagation in wooden “corrals” in Lake Pepin, Pool 4, near Lake City, Minnesota. Photos were taken by R. Corwin around 1916 and are courtesy of the Milwaukee Public Museum.
Figure 9
Figure 10. Two propagation cages placed in Lake Pepin (Pool 4) in June 2000. Zebra mussels are shown attached to the inside of the wooden cage in the top photos; one subadult black sandshell (Ligumia recta) was found in June, 2001. The middle and bottom photos show installation of a metal frame and subsequent monitoring. The cage filled with sediments and was difficult to monitor; three subadult Higgins’ eye pearlymussels (Lampsilis higginsii) were collected in June 2001. (photos courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources).
Figure 10		 Figure 11. Cages used to propagate Higgins’eye pearlymussels on the Upper Mississippi River. Cages are constructed of aluminum sides, base and ½-inch screen. The top left photo shows two types of cages; the cage on the left is used in low current areas and the right one in higher velocity areas. These are open cages with no bottoms; closed cages have a 3/8-inch plywood bottom to collect transformed mussels (top right photo). The middle and bottom photos show the process of transporting cages (closed) to the relocation site, adding host fish (smallmouth bass) and placing cages on the river bottom. (photos courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 11		 Figure 12. Monitoring cages in the Upper Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers. Cages are brought to the surface and placed in the boat or on shore. Water is used to wash contents; benthic sampling trays are used to screen sediment and small mussels. Larger mussels and sediment can be washed using the cage as a screen. (photos courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 12
Figure 13. Suction dredge used by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to sample mussels. Diver places suction nozzle inside cage or on river bottom; contents are pumped to screening trays where mussels are sorted. (photos courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 13		 Figure 14. Higgins’ eye pearlymussels produced in cages in the Upper Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers. The diver is holding 3-month old Higgins’ eye mussels by their byssal threads. The top tray contains approximately 562 mussels (547 are 3 months old and 9 - 22 mm long). The middle left photo shows 15 individuals from this tray that are 15 months old and 25 - 35 mm long. The 28-month old individual in the middle right photo is approximately 48 mm long. The bottom photos show a mixture of age groups and species; the right photo shows 3 Higgins’ eye and a rock pocketbook, monkeyface and black sandshell. (photos courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 14		 Figure 15. Stocking juvenile Higgins’ eye pearlymussels into the Lower Wisconsin River, Wisconsin. Juveniles were produced at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery, Wisconsin. The diver is submerging a wooden tray containing approximately 3,700 juveniles. The juvenile in the photo is less than one millimeter long and is shown next to the head of a pin for size comparison. The bottom photo shows a small cage placed in the Lower St. Croix River in 2001. (photos courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 15
Figure 16. Stocking glochidia inoculated fish into the Iowa River, Iowa. Host fish are obtained from a fish hatchery or collected in the wild from the Iowa River. Laboratory equipment is set up in the field and glochidia collected from female Higgins’ eye pearlymussels. Glochidia are inserted into the gills of larger host fish with a pipette; smaller host fish are inoculated in a bucket containing glochidia. Host fish are released into the Iowa River and in approximately 2 - 4 weeks glochidia transform, fall off the gills of the host fish, and settle to the river bottom as juveniles. (photos courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 16		 Figure 17. Cleaning and stockpiling adult Higgins’ eye pearlymussels in the Upper Mississippi River. Adults were collected by diving and wading, brought to shore, and cleaned of zebra mussels with a brush. The lower left photo shows byssal threads from attached zebra mussels that are nearly impossible to remove. Mussels were measured, sexed, marked, photographed and hand placed by divers into the river bottom at a known location where they will be monitored and recleaned, if necessary. (photos courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
Figure 17		 Figure 18. Adult Higgins’ eye pearlymussels cleaned and relocated on the Upper Mississippi River. 370 adults were relocated to a site in Pool 2, and 101 relocated to a site in Pool 3. The bottom left photo shows a gravid female collected in September, 2002 at the Pool 3 Site. The bottom right photo shows unusual growth along the ventral margin of the shell from a mussel at the Pool 2 Site. (photos courtesy of Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).
Figure 18
Figure 19. Abundance of native and zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) at the East Channel Reference Site within the Prairie du Chien Essential Habitat Area, Pool 10, Upper Mississippi River, Wisconsin. The bottom graph shows catch per unit effort of Higgins eye pearlymussels (Lampsilis higginsii). From Farr and Miller (2003) unpublished data.
Figure 19		 Figure 20. Density of native mussels at Essential Habitat Areas and secondary habitats on the Upper Mississippi River (Farr and Miller 2003 unpublished data).
Figure 20

Density of native mussels at Essential Habitat Areas and secondary habitats on the Upper Mississippi River		 Figure 21. News articles on mussel propagation/relocation efforts, and zebra mussels on the Upper Mississippi River. (photos courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Figure 21
Figure 22. Abundance (number/liter) of zebra mussel veligers on the Upper Mississippi River, Locks and Dams 2 through 19 (Stoeckel 2002).
Figure 22		 Figure 23. Catch per unit effort of Higgins’ eye pearlymussels (Lampsilis higginsii) and other native mussels, and density of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) in 2002 at several locations on the Upper Mississippi River. From Farr and Miller (2003) unpublished data.

Figure 23		  
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