Flexing their mussels: Masters students opens new avenues of research


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Courtesy Photo | Woolnough Lab-Central Michigan University Masters student Shaughn Barnett and Amanda Chambers collect native freshwater mussels in the Pine River. Barnett will analyze data collected this summer to determine the affect of dam removal on mussel communities.

After some of the highest snowfall recorded in recent memory, master's students in the biology program dove into local lakes and rivers in search of treasure this summer.

The bounty they sought was not found in a wooden chest; instead the students searched for one of 40 species of native freshwater mussels. The marine animals are some of the hardest to sample, however they are a great indicator of water quality.

"Mussels are like the canary in the coal mine, so imagine that if there are lots of different species you probably have better water quality," said biology professor Daelyn Woolnough.

She has been doing research in Michigan for about the last eight years along with CMU graduate students.

Freshwater mussels are one of the aquatic organisms most sensitive to contamination. In 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency changed the recommended water quality criteria-to protect aquatic life from the toxic effects of ammonia-[based on new data on freshwater mussels and snails.]

Despite the calls for protection, there are few national research projects being done with freshwater mussels, mostly due to the difficulty in gathering samples. Once the adult stage of their life is reached, the organisms stay sedentary at the bottom of lakes or rivers and researchers often have to snorkel or scuba dive for them.

The effort is worth it: The species Woolnough's lab has found in the Pine and Chippewa rivers are usually found in only a handful of rivers in North America.

This includes rare species like the snuffbox, which historically were once widespread, but now have declining populations and risk extinction.

Woolnough said student work published in peer reviewed journals can affect decisions made by the Department of Natural Resources; especially articles about federally endangered species like the snuffbox. 

Graduate assistants Shaughn Barnett, from Colorado Springs, Colo., and Midland native Amanda Chambers are dedicating their master's thesis to mussel research under Woolnough's tutelage.

Barnett said he is analyzing data collected this summer to assess the how removing old low-head dams impacts mussel communities. Meanwhile Chambers said she has begun to study at the changes in communities as they exist downstream in rivers.

Both of these studies show the effect of contamination on organisms.

Since 1998 the EPA and the Michigan Department of Enivironmental Quality have been working on the cleanup of the Pine River in St. Louis, Mich. Contaminated by the now defunct Michigan Chemical and Velsicol Chemical plants, the Pine River required over $100 million in funding for cleanup efforts that continue today.

The Chippewa river has its share of contamination, both manifesting in agricultural runoff and high e. coli levels.

Although the Woolnough lab doesn't do toxicity analysis, Chambers said, "The condition of mussel health can be reflective of contamination. Both the Pine and Chippewa River have tributaries that have high inputs of nutrients."

Woolnough said toxins are getting in Michigan waters at a much higher rate in recent years. Because researchers can find mussel shells even after death, they can look at physiological evidence to determine contamination levels.

"If we see a ratio of dead to alive ones, you can see growth lines on their shells similar to tree rings," Woolnough said. "If an event happens and they believe it is cleaned up, we can see if the mussels are actually doing better than in the past."

Meanwhile, Barnett said his research may question whether the removal of low-head dams, some of which are 150 years old, is in the best interest of the environment.

These dams are more economically feasible to remove, with many of them eroding and in need of repair. But 150 years of sediment build-up can be jarring when they are washed downstream.

While there has been more research done on the effects of this on fish, mussels have been largely ignored, despite the positive relationship the two species share.

Barnett hopes to have his thesis written next fall, while Chambers is still in the "infancy" stages of her research.

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About Malachi Barrett

Editor-in-Chief Malachi Barrett is Battle Creek senior majoring in journalism with a minor in ...

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