Upper Columbia Basin Network trip report - Kettle River mussel survey: Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (LARO)
Starkey EN. 2015. Upper Columbia Basin Network trip report - Kettle River mussel survey: Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (LARO). Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/UCBN/NRDS—2015/780. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
In August 2013, the Upper Columbia Basin Network (UCBN) conducted a brief survey of the Kettle River at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (LARO) to determine the location and extent of western pearlshell (Margaritifera falcata) populations (i.e. mussel beds). Four mussel beds were described and documented, only one of which had been previously described (Roscoe and Redelings 1964). Timed searches were conducted within each mussel bed to determine species richness and relative abundance. Only two species were found during the course of the survey, the western pearlshell mussel (Margaritifera falcata) and the Oregon floater (Anodonta oregonensis). Only one live Oregon floater was encountered. Live western pearlshell mussel catch per unit effort (CPUE) ranged from 466.25 to 1,771.00. Shell measurements were obtained from 85 individual western pearlshell taken from a single mussel bed. These shell measurements serve as a proxy for age and indicated a mix of size/age classes within the most upstream site. It is intended that this report will serve as the foundation for future inquiry into mussel beds in the Kettle River area of LARO.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Starkey, Eric
- Date of Issue
- 2015-04
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- LARO , NRSS , UCBN
- Keywords
- Aquatic Benthic Macroinvertebrates, freswater mussels, Inventory, Margaritifera falcata, mussel survey, western pearlshell