Population Demographics and Life History of the Round Hickorynut (Obovaria subrotunda) in the Duck River, Tennessee

Ehlo, Chase A.; Layzer, James B.

doi:10.1674/0003-0031-171.1.1

Cited by 4 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…To account for differences in shape, a scatter plot was created in the R package ggplot2 (Wickham, 2016) to show the distribution of larval surface area with respect to height. To augment fecundity data available in published literature, we estimated fecundity for Cyrtonaias tampicoensis ( n = 2), L. ochracea ( n = 2), P. alatus ( n = 1), P. inflatus ( n = 3), and P. streckersoni ( n = 3) using a volumetric approach (Jones et al, 2010; Ehlo and Layzer, 2014). Briefly, we estimated fecundity for C. tampicoensis , L. ochracea , P. alatus , and P. inflatus by suspending a homogenized solution of the entire larval contents of one marsupial gill in a total volume of 1 L and counting the number of glochidia in 10, 1‐mL sub‐samples.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative phylogenomics reveal complex evolution of life history strategies in a clade of bivalves with parasitic larvae (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Ambleminae)

2020

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Freshwater mussels are a species-rich group with biodiversity patterns strongly shaped by a life history strategy that includes an obligate parasitic larval stage. In this study, we set out to reconstruct the life history evolution and systematics in a clade of freshwater mussels adapted to parasitizing a molluscivorous host fish. Anchored hybrid enrichment and ancestral character reconstruction revealed a complex pattern of life history evolution with host switching and multiple instances of convergence, including reduction in size of larvae, increased fecundity, and growth during encapsulation. Our phylogenomic analyses also recovered non-monophyly of taxa exhibiting multiple traits used as the basis for previous taxonomic hypotheses. Taxa with axehead shaped glochidia were resolved as paraphyletic, but our results strongly suggest the complex morphology is an adaptation to reduce larval size, with reduction in size further accentuated in taxa previously assigned to Leptodea. To more accurately reflect the evolutionary history of this group, we make multiple systematic changes, including the description of a new genus, Atlanticoncha gen. nov., and the synonymy of the genus Leptodea under Potamilus. Our findings contribute to the growing body of literature showing that cladistic hypotheses based solely on morphological characters, including larval morphology, can be flawed in freshwater mussels.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative phylogenomics reveal complex evolution of life history strategies in a clade of bivalves with parasitic larvae (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Ambleminae)

2020

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“…Our host trials, and those from the Duck River and Lake St. Clair (McNichols 2007;Ehlo and Layzer 2014), support O. subrotunda as a host specialist largely on darters (Percidae). The only nondarter host that facilitated glochidial metamorphosis was Cottus carolinae (Cottidae), but that species produced juvenile mussels only in the Ehlo and Layzer (2014) study and not in our Buck Creek trial.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…We evaluated the robustness of juvenile mussel production from each suitable host species by calculating a measure of metamorphosis success as total number of juveniles produced/number of inoculated fish that remained alive at the end of the experiment/number of glochidia inoculated on each fish. We also calculated the number of juveniles produced/fish to allow comparison of our results with those of McNichols (2007) and Ehlo and Layzer (2014).…”

Section: Host Identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We obtained shells of 21 male and 17 female O. subrotunda collected from Buck Creek in 1983 and 1984 from the Branley A. Branson Museum of Zoology, Eastern Kentucky University (EKU collection numbers 118, 127, and 130). We measured shell length (greatest anterior-posterior dimension, nearest 0.1 mm) of each individual and determined its sex based on shell sexual dimorphism (Ehlo and Layzer 2014). We estimated the age of each individual by counting external growth rings (annuli), assuming one annulus/year (Haag and Commens-Carson 2008).…”

Section: Age and Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Life-history information for O. subrotunda is scant and exists primarily for populations in the Duck River, Tennessee (Tennessee River drainage; Ehlo and Layzer 2014), and Lake St. Clair, Ontario (McNichols 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Host Fishes and Life History of the Round Hickorynut (Obovaria Subrotunda)

Shepard

McGregor

Haag

2021

Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation

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The Round Hickorynut, Obovaria subrotunda, is declining throughout its range, but little life history information exists for the species. We examined host use and glochidial size in Buck Creek (Cumberland River drainage) and the Licking River (Ohio River drainage), Kentucky, and we examined age and growth in Buck Creek. Glochidia of O. subrotunda from Buck Creek metamorphosed on five darter species (Percidae)-Etheostoma baileyi, Etheostoma blennioides, Etheostoma gore, Etheostoma variatum, and Percina stictogaster-but not on 43 other fish species from nine families; host use was broadly similar to previous studies in the Duck River, Tennessee, and Lake St. Clair, Ontario. Glochidia from the Licking River metamorphosed only on Eastern Sand Darters (Ammocrypta pellucida) and not on 11 other darter species, including two that produced juveniles in the Buck Creek trial. Glochidial metamorphosis was higher on A. pellucida than on any other species, suggesting that sand darters are primary hosts for O. subrotunda, but sand darters do not occur in several streams occupied by O. subrotunda. Such major differences in host use may indicate phylogenetic divergence between these populations. Glochidial size differed significantly between the Buck Creek and Licking River populations, suggesting that it may have taxonomic value also. Obovaria subrotunda was relatively short-lived (13 yr) and fast-growing (K ¼ 0.22), and age-at-maturity was estimated at 2-3 yr. Males and females had similar growth rates, but males were substantially larger (L ' : males ¼ 53.7 mm; females ¼ 39.2 mm). Life-history data support categorizing O. subrotunda as a periodic life-history strategist, and this view provides benchmarks for assessing population health and responses to watershed conditions.

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Two for the price of one: eDNA metabarcoding reveals temporal and spatial variability of mussel and fish co‐distributions in Michigan riverine systems

et al. 2023

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Freshwater mussels (family Unionidae) are among the world's most endangered taxa, with almost 75% of North American taxa classified as a species of concern, threatened, or endangered. Despite the critical importance of comprehensive distributional data for the conservation of unionids and fishes, these data are often lacking because of the labor and resources associated with traditional survey methods. During their larval stage, unionid mussels use various fish species as obligate hosts, making native fish species vital to unionid persistence and an understanding of host distribution similarly important. Here, we utilized an eDNA metabarcoding approach to evaluate patterns of co‐distribution of unionid mussels and fishes along ~362 km of the densely sampled Grand River network as well as the outlets of 19 tributaries along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, USA. We detected a total of 21 mussel and 40 fish taxa, with distinctive composition of both mussel and fish assemblages across tributaries and differences in fish taxa between sampling periods. Notably, we detected more mussel taxa within the Grand River watershed than at the outlets of all 20 rivers combined. Within the Grand River network, two fish taxa (Pylodictus olivaris and Cyprinella) were found more frequently in areas of high mussel diversity, and three fish taxa more frequently in areas of low mussel diversity (Umbra, Leuciscidae, and Etheostoma). There was little difference between eDNA detections of mussels from samples collected in June versus August, but we detected significantly more fish taxa in August compared to June. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the value of eDNA metabarcoding for evaluating co‐distribution of ecologically connected taxa. The use of eDNA as a tool for determining distributions of mussels and their obligate hosts may facilitate conservation efforts for these imperiled taxa.

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Population Demographics and Life History of the Round Hickorynut (Obovaria subrotunda) in the Duck River, Tennessee

Cited by 4 publications

References 37 publications

Comparative phylogenomics reveal complex evolution of life history strategies in a clade of bivalves with parasitic larvae (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Ambleminae)

Comparative phylogenomics reveal complex evolution of life history strategies in a clade of bivalves with parasitic larvae (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Ambleminae)

Host Fishes and Life History of the Round Hickorynut (Obovaria Subrotunda)

Two for the price of one: eDNA metabarcoding reveals temporal and spatial variability of mussel and fish co‐distributions in Michigan riverine systems

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