Recovery status and chemosensory cues affecting reproduction of freshwater mussles in the North Fork Holston River downstream of Saltville, Virginia

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorHenley, William F.en
dc.contributor.committeechairNeves, Richard J.en
dc.contributor.committeememberLemly, A. Dennisen
dc.contributor.committeememberSmith, Stephen A.en
dc.contributor.departmentFisheries and Wildlife Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:46:00Zen
dc.date.adate2008-09-18en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:46:00Zen
dc.date.issued1996-07-15en
dc.date.rdate2008-09-18en
dc.date.sdate2008-09-18en
dc.description.abstractThe freshwater mussel fauna of the North Fork Holston River (NFHR) downstream of Saltville, VA declined from at least 24 species, as observed in 1918, to one species in 1974 due to mercury pollution. To determine the degree of recovery of mussels in the NFHR downstream of Saltville, and to provide recommendations for future mussel translocation sites, 19 sites were surveyed using a snorkeling catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) method. At sites where investigator CPUE values (no./h) equaled or exceeded 5 mussels/h, a CPUE survey was conducted along transect lines. If investigator CPUE values equaled 10 mussels/h, a quadrat survey was conducted along the transects. Nine species of mussels were observed in the NFHR, and reproduction, as indicated by the presence of juveniles, was noted at 5 sites. Recovery of mussels was judged to be occurring downstream of NFHRM 56.4 based on species aggregations and recruitment. The number of mussels collected at sites, random CPUE (no./h), transect CPUE (no./h), and density (no./O.25m2) were generally inversely correlated to total Hg content, but not methyl mercury content, as measured in Corbicula fluminea from proximate sites. Random and transect CPUE (no./h) were found to be poor predictors of site densities (no./O.25m2) and popUlation estimates. Translocation recommendations for the NFHR downstream of Saltville, VA were made based on species aggregations, recruitment, and the distribution of total mercury.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.extentxviii, 146 leavesen
dc.format.mediumBTDen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.otheretd-09182008-063340en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-09182008-063340/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/44812en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartLD5655.V855_1996.H465.pdfen
dc.relation.isformatofOCLC# 35718217en
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectNorth Fork Holston Riveren
dc.subjectunion ideaen
dc.subjectmercuryen
dc.subjectsurveyen
dc.subjectchemosensoryen
dc.subjectmusselsen
dc.subjectComposite Behavioral Indexen
dc.subjectmucusen
dc.subject.lccLD5655.V855 1996.H465en
dc.titleRecovery status and chemosensory cues affecting reproduction of freshwater mussles in the North Fork Holston River downstream of Saltville, Virginiaen
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplineFisheries and Wildlife Sciencesen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
LD5655.V855_1996.H465.pdf
Size:
5.64 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Masters Theses