Water quality, sediment characteristics, aquatic habitat, geomorphology, and mussel population status of the Clinch River, Virginia and Tennessee, 2009-2011

The Clinch River, in eastern United States, supports a diverse freshwater fauna including endangered mussels. Although mussel populations are stable in the Clinch's northeastern Tennessee segment, long-term declines have been documented upstream in Virginia. We analyzed water and sediment quality data collected by government agencies from the 1960s through 2013 in an effort to inform current management. The river was divided into sections considering data availability and major tributaries. We tested for spatial differences among river sections and for temporal trends, and compared measured values to potentially protective levels if available. Ammonia concentrations approaching and exceeding protective levels were recorded, most often during the 1970s and 1980s in upstream sections. Sediment metals occurred at levels potentially causing biological effects, mainly during the 1980s and 1990s. In the 2000s, water-column metals have been well below protective levels for general aquatic life. Dissolved solids (DS) increased in most river sections over the study period but mussel-specific protective levels are not known. Analysis of water pH, total N, and total P did not generate conservation concern. Enhanced monitoring for sediment metals, water-column metals, and ionic composition of DS; closer alignment of agency water monitoring practices in the two states; and research to determine biological effects of DS at current and anticipated levels can aid future conservation management.(KEY TERMS: rivers/streams; water quality; metals; nutrients; dissolved solids; freshwater mussels.) Price, Jennifer E.

“…The solutions tested by Kunz et al . (), however, had higher SO 4 2− and Mg 2+ concentrations than those found in the Clinch River (Krstolic et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Water and Sediment Quality in the Clinch River,Virginia andTennessee,USA, over Nearly Five Decades

Price

Zipper

Jones

et al. 2014

“…(), Krstolic et al . () documented ammonia concentrations below detection limits of 0.02 mg/l for all but 1 of 32 base‐flow samples from 2009 to 2011 and <0.06 mg/l for 20 storm samples regardless of sampling location. These ammonia values were well below the USEPA CCC intended to protect freshwater mussels (USEPA, ).…”

Section: Collective Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Organic contaminants, particularly PAHs, were investigated as possible mussel stressors in the Clinch River reach extending from Artrip, Virginia (5 km upstream from Cleveland) to Swan Island, Tennessee, an approximately 165‐km distance (Johnson et al ., ). The lightweight organic fraction of the bed sediment, which predominantly consisted of coal particles, were found to comprise 2.2‐6.5% of the Clinch River sediments, and PAHs found in the sediments were consistent with origination from coal (Krstolic et al ., ). However, the current pattern of PAH distributions among Clinch River bed sediments did not correlate with mussel‐assemblage quality (Johnson et al ., ), and concentrations at Pendleton Island were lower than reported by Hampson et al .…”

Section: Collective Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Although the Kunz et al . () study tested a suite of major ions similar to that found in the Clinch River for mussel toxicity, the tested concentrations differed from mean base‐flow values in the Clinch River (Krstolic et al ., ), especially for SO 4 2− and Mg 2+ . Continuous monitoring of the Clinch River documents SC values occurring at the levels reported as causing toxicity by Kunz et al .…”

Section: Collective Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Freshwater Mussel Population Status and Habitat Quality in the Clinch River, Virginia and Tennessee, USA: A Featured Collection

Zipper

Beaty

Johnson

et al. 2014

Self Cite

The Clinch River of southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee is arguably the most important river for freshwater mussel conservation in the United States. This featured collection presents investigations of mussel population status and habitat quality in the Clinch River. Analyses of historic water-and sediment-quality data suggest that water column ammonia and water column and sediment metals, including Cu and Zn, may have contributed historically to declining densities and extirpations of mussels in the river's Virginia sections. These studies also reveal increasing temporal trends for dissolved solids concentrations throughout much of the river's extent. Current mussel abundance patterns do not correspond spatially with physical habitat quality, but they do correspond with specific conductance, dissolved major ions, and water column metals, suggesting these and/or associated constituents as factors contributing to mussel declines. Mussels are sensitive to metals. Native mussels and hatchery-raised mussels held in cages in situ accumulated metals in their body tissues in river sections where mussels are declining. Organic compound and bed-sediment contaminant analyses did not reveal spatial correspondences with mussel status metrics, although potentially toxic levels were found. Collectively, these studies identify major ions and metals as water-and sediment-quality concerns for mussel conservation in the Clinch River.(KEY TERMS: aquatic ecology; freshwater mussels; major ions; metals; water quality; water resources management.)

“…Detailed methods of data collection, raw data, and a full list of calculations used to derive the final list of analyzed habitat metrics can be found in Krstolic et al . ().…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reach‐Scale Comparison of Habitat and Mollusk Assemblages for Select Sites in the Clinch River with Regional Context

Ostby

Krstolic

Johnson

2014

Self Cite

Several hypotheses, including habitat degradation and variation in fluvial geomorphology, have been posed to explain extreme spatial and temporal variation in Clinch River mollusk assemblages. We examined associations between mollusk assemblage metrics (richness, abundance, recruitment) and physical habitat (geomorphology, streambed composition, fish habitat, and riparian condition) at 10 sites selected to represent the range of current assemblage condition in the Clinch River. We compared similar geomorphological units among reaches, employing semi-quantitative and quantitative protocols to characterize mollusk assemblages and a mix of visual assessments and empirical measurements to characterize physical habitat. We found little to no evidence that current assemblage condition was associated with 54 analyzed habitat metrics. When compared to other sites in the Upper Tennessee River Basin (UTRB) that once supported or currently support mollusk assemblages, Clinch River sites were more similar to each other, representing a narrower range of conditions than observed across the larger geographic extent of the UTRB. A post-hoc analysis suggested stream size and average boundary shear stress at bankfull stage may have historically limited species richness in the UTRB (p < 0.001). Associations between mollusk assemblages and physical habitat in the UTRB and Clinch River currently appear obscured by other factors limiting richness, abundance, and recruitment.