AWS Freshwater Mussel Culture at Anacostia Community Boathouse
Project Leader: Kyle Spears
Mussel baskets deployment April 13, 2023 - 4 baskets, 1,000 mussels
First Measuring Session, noon, July 16, 2023
Second Measuring Session, Oct 2023, December 2, 2023
Third Measuring Session, April 2024
Data: Measurements for 25% 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
|
|
04/ |
|
|
|
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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