ACBA Mussels

Page history last edited by Mary.Ellsworth 9 months, 3 weeks ago

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.