Freshwater Mussels of Alabama and the Mobile Basin in Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee

by Williams, James D.; Bogan, Arthur E.; Garner, Jeffrey T.; Wilson, E. o.

• ISBN13: 9780817316136
• ISBN10: 0817316132
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-08-10
• Publisher: Univ of Alabama Pr

Summary

Alabama rivers and waterways are home to the largest and most diverse population of freshwater mussel species in the nation, roughly 60% of U.S. mussel fauna. The Mobile River Basin, which drains portions of Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi waterways, also contains diverse mussel populations. However, many of these species have been significantly depleted in the last century due to habitat alteration (river damming, channelization, siltation), pollution, and invasive species, and many more are in imminent danger of extinction. The authors offer encyclopedic entries on each of the 178 mussel species currently identified in Alabama and the Mobile River Basin-the scientific and common names; a morphological description as well as color photographs of the shell appearance; analysis of the soft anatomy; information about ecology, biology, and conservation status; and a color distribution map. With an extensive glossary of terms and full index, plus additional material on the archaeological record, a history of commercial uses of mussels, and the work of significant biologists studying these species, this volume is a long overdue and invaluable resource, not only for scholars of aquatic biology and zoology but also conservationists interested in the preservation of ecological diversity and protection of inland environments.

Author Biography

Jeffrey T. Garner is the mussel management supervisor for the Fisheries Section of the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Arthur E. Bogan is Curator of Aquatic Invertebrates at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh. James D. Williams is a Research Associate in the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, Florida.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Mussel Studies in Alabama	p. 3
Inland Waters of Alabama and the Mobile Basin	p. 12
Mussel Distribution in Alabama and the Mobile Basin	p. 38
Mussels in the Archaeological Record	p. 47
Commercial Utilization of Mussels	p. 51
Mussel Conservation in Alabama	p. 55
Ecology and Biology of Mussels	p. 60
Shell Morphology and Soft Anatomy	p. 80
Higher Classification of the Order Unioniformes	p. 86
Explanation of Accounts	p. 88
Family Margaritiferidae	p. 91
Family Unionidae	p. 101
Species of Hypothetical Occurrence	p. 804
Other Bivalves in Inland Waters	p. 810
Spurious Record	p. 817
North American Unioniform Type Catalogs	p. 818
Glossary	p. 821
Literature Cited	p. 833
Index	p. 882
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