Mussel Release at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
Saturday, Aug 18, 10-noon!
The ACBA mussels are 1 year old - it's time to set them free.
All are welcomed to participate

AWS Freshwater Mussel Culture at Anacostia Community Boathouse
Project Leader: Kyle Spears
1. Mussel baskets deployment April 13, 2023 - 4 baskets, 1,000 mussels
2. First Measuring Session, noon, July 16, 2023
3. Second Measuring Session, Oct 2023, December 2, 2023
4. Third & Final Measuring Session, June 23, 2024

Data: Each basket started with 250 mussels. Measurements done for 10% of each basket (sample size =25 mussels)
Date
4/23
|
Basket 1 |
Basket 2 |
Basket 3 |
Basket 4 |
mm |
gram |
mm |
gram |
mm |
gram |
mm |
gram |
32.4 |
2.7 |
32.6 |
2.8 |
31.3 |
2.4 |
31.6 |
2.7 |
|
Overall basket |
Ave length |
Ave wt |
32.0 |
mm |
2.7 |
gm |
|
NOTES:_______
No dead mussels
|
7/16
|
Basket 1 |
Basket 2 |
Basket 3 |
Basket 4 |
mm |
gram |
mm |
gram |
mm |
gram |
mm |
gram |
41.7 |
6.7 |
38.0 |
5.0 |
43.5 |
7.9 |
41.2 |
7.0 |
|
Overall |
Ave length |
Ave wt |
41.1 |
mm |
6.7 |
gm |
3-mos mussel growth |
9.1 |
mm |
4.0 |
gm |
22.2% |
|
59.8% |
|
No dead mussels.
Dragonfly nymph and tiny amphipoda (shrimp) in the baskets
_________________
|
12/2 |
Basket 1 |
Basket 2 |
Basket 3 |
Basket 4 |
mm |
gram |
mm |
gram |
mm |
gram |
mm |
gram |
51.4 |
9.9 |
53.1 |
10.2 |
46.5 |
7.7 |
51.4 |
9.8 |
Sample size changed - 20 mussels ea basket |
Overall |
Ave length |
Ave wt |
50.6 |
mm |
9.4 |
gm |
3-mos basket growth Jul-Dec |
9.5 |
mm |
2.7 |
gm |
23.1% |
|
41.0% |
|
8-mos mussel growth Apr- Dec |
18.6 |
mm |
6.71 |
gm |
58.2% |
|
250.8% |
|
Significant woody debris around the baskets and significant mud/silt in the baskets. Very few dead mussels
|
|
06/23 |
|
|
Baskets were fairly clean - sand but not a lot of debris or mud. A couple of dragonfly casts |
Ongoing Basket Monitoring - interim checks and observations April 2023 - April 2024
How to do a measuring session
The Anacostia's Freshwater Mussels - important for filtering water

From an AWS mussel presentation: The two tanks started out w the same amount of dirty haze. The mussels in the left hand tank have filtered out all the haze in less than an hour's time. An adult mussel can filter 10-20 gal of water a day. This activity is a key strategy in cleaning up the Anacostia River.
RESOURCES
Alewife Floater Mussel - iNaturalist description

Mussel Restoration at the Anacostia Watershed Society

Jorge Bogantes Montero, AWS
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