New and confirmed fish hosts for the threatened freshwater mussel Lampsilis bracteata

Authors: M.S. Johnson, P.D. Caccavale, C.R. Randklev, and J.R. Gibson

The widespread decline of the freshwater mussel fauna endemic to Texas indicates fundamental changes to the ecology of the river systems inhabited by these species. In order to appropriately manage these declining species, it is imperative to understand their life history characteristics. Lampsilis bracteata (Gould, 1855) has experienced a precipitous decline in recent decades (Howells, 2010). Historically, the species was dispersed throughout the headwaters of the Edwards Plateau region and was found in the Colorado and Guadalupe–San Antonio drainages (Howells, 2010). However, as only several small populations are currently known to exist within these basins, the species is listed as state threatened by the Texas Parks andWildlife Department (Texas Register 35, 2010) and as a candidate species for federal protection by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) (USFWS, 2011).

The purpose of this study was to confirm previously identified host fishes (Howells, 1997) and identify additional hosts on which L. bracteata glochidia may successfully transform. Although the reproductive biology of this species has been studied to some degree in the past (Howells, 1997), the quality of glochidia transformation on previously identified host fishes and their suitability for large-scale artificial propagation efforts remain unknown.

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