A SURVEY OF FRESHWATER MUSSELS (UNIONIDAE) OF THE OLD SABINE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA, SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS

摘要

This study examined diversity and abundance of freshwater mussels (Family Unionidae) in the Sabine River and an old channel of the river that occur within the boundaries of the Old Sabine Bottom Wildlife Management Area (OSBWMA) of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). Nine sites on the river and nine sites on the Old Channel each 40m in length were surveyed by hand searches for buried mussels. A total of 477 individuals of 17 species were found and three additional species were recorded during other studies within the OSBWMA. Species diversity indices were not different but some species were restricted to either the river or Old Channel. Nearly 60% of the species that could potentially occur in these waters were found but their numbers at all sites were low compared to other studies and a large percentage of specimens from the river samples were dead. Even though over 90% of the OSBWMA is forested erosion of the riverbank was evident and some beds of dead mussels were covered in sediment.