Coal waste deposition and the distribution of freshwater mussels in the Powell River, Virginia

Abstract

A survey of the freshwater mussel fauna was conducted in the Powell River, Virginia, to identify critical habitat for endangered species, quantify substratum composition and coal waste deposition, and to assess population trends during the last half century. Mussels were collected as far upstream as Powell River Mile (PRM) 167.4 near Dryden, Virginia. Endangered species were collected up to PRM 144.6 at Jonesville, Virginia. The sites with greatest diversity were located furthest downstream, and there appeared to be a general decline in the number of species and diversity of mussels from downstream to upstream. Mussel densities also declined proceeding upstream, and specimens were rare above PRM 158.3 near Pennington Gap, Virginia. The highest density occurred at PRM 123.0 near the Tennessee-Virginia border, with 24 mussels/m². Collections per unit effort of sampling concurred with quadrat surveys, indicating a decline in abundance and diversity upstream. Length frequency distributions of the muckets Actinonaias pectorosa and A. ligamentina indicated an absence of smaller mussels at most sites.

Sediment samples, collected in riffles at 10 sites to determine particle size distributions and the amount of coal, showed no apparent trends in waste coal from downstream to upstream; however, there were significant negative correlations between PRM location and various fractions of the substratum, indicating a longitudinal sorting of smaller size fractions. Percentages of very fine to medium sand, silt, and coal show marked increases downstream of the North Fork Powell River confluence (PRM 156.6) at Pennington Gap, Virginia. Mussel density had a slightly positive correlation with percent silt (r²=0.346, p=0.0736) but was not correlated with percent coal.

Juvenile mussels of Villosa iris were placed on several types of substratum to determine differences in survival. In laboratory experiments, survival of juveniles on coal silt sometimes did not differ from that of juveniles without substratum (survival close to 100%). Survival of juveniles without substratum (93.9%), however, was significantly higher than survival (30.0-63.2%) on three sediment types from the Powell River (p< .001). In field experiments, there was a marginally significant difference in survival of juveniles between two sites (p =.070), with higher survival (47.7%) in sediments from Poteet Ford (PRM 144.6). Survival of juveniles was similar in all laboratory and field experiments.

A decline in density of the mussel fauna in the Powell River over the past 15 years was apparent when compared to previous data. Contamination and siltation from coal washing facilities and abandoned mine lands are suspected of contributing to this decline.