Status of the Mussel Resource in Little South Fork Cumberland River

Abstract

As recently as the 198Os, the Little South Fork Cumberland River of southeastern Kentucky supported a diverse freshwater mussel fauna (Starnes and Bogan 1982; Appendix A). The Little South Fork represented one of the last rivers to support a high number of mussel species in the Cumberland River drainage of Kentucky and Tennessee. The river was first surveyed comprehensively in 198 1 by Starnes and Bogan (1982) who found 25 species (19 alive) and reported mussel densities as high as 7 individuals m^-2 in the lower reaches of the river. The Little South Fork also supported two federally endangered mussel species (little-wing pearlymussel, Pegias fabula, and Cumberland bean, Villosa trabalis); four species considered threatened or endangered by the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission (KSNPC) (KSNPC 1996); and five other species considered of special concern by the American Fisheries Society (Williams et al. 1993)

Citation

Warren, Melvin L., Jr.; Haag, Wendell R.; Burr, Brooks M. 1999. Status of the Mussel Resource in Little South Fork Cumberland River. USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station Center for Aquatic Technology Transfer Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research Forest Hydrology Laboratory Oxford, Mississippi 38655