Measures to Minimize Harm to Lampsilis higginsi Caused by Passage of CommercialNavigation Vessels in the Upper Mississippi River

摘要

Results of previously conducted laboratory and field studies on navigationtraffic effects have been reviewed. Projected increases in commercial vessel passage resulting from the completion of Melvin Price Locks and Dam will likely not have a measurable effect on freshwater mussels. However, certain high-use river reaches, for example, near fleeting areas or ports, could he negatively affected by commercial traffic. Various methods to reduce effects of traffic, such as altering traffic patterns, artificial propagation of mussels, relocating mussels, and creating or protecting mussel habitat, are reviewed and discussed. As an aid to reducing traffic effects, important mussel beds in the upper Mississippi River, some of which support the endangered Lampsilis higginsi, have been identified.