Freshwater Mussels of Texas report, 27Oct2022
On October 27, 2022, two people did a random shoreline freshwater mussel search where Backbone Creek empties into Lake Marble Falls (i.e., the back side of Lakeside Park in Marble Falls). Lake Marble Falls is one of the Highland Lakes located in the Colorado River basin in Burnet County, Texas.
Water levels were down approximately seven feet in Lake Marble Falls due to an intentional drawdown by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) for continued maintenance, cleanup, and repairs after historic flooding in the fall of 2018. The weather was sunny with mild temperatures.
The monitoring period at Lakeside Park (lat/long approximately 30.567, -98.279) was 11:00 AM – 12:45 PM and we walked approximately 400 feet. The substrate was mostly silt.
Non-native Asian Clams and Zebra Mussels (both too numerous to count) were observed. Note that Zebra Mussels were not observed when we performed a similar survey at this location on January 12, 2019 (https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/k_mccormack/21654-freshwater-mussels-of-texas-report-12jan2019).
Two native freshwater mussel species were observed:
• Giant Floater – none alive, five shells, and seven valves; and,
• Paper Pondshell – none alive, one shell, and no valves.
Note that Threeridge (two valves) and Tampico Pearlymussel (two valves) were observed at this location in the previous survey (which covered approximately 1,200 feet and spanned 2.5 hours), but the Paper Pondshell was a new observation for us this time.
Survey participants were Kathy and Amy. Many thanks to Marsha May for remote help with identification (texting with photos !) during the survey.
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Asian Clam (Corbicula fluminea)Observer
k_mccormackDescription
Random shoreline freshwater mussel search at the confluence of Backbone Creek into Lake Marble Falls (i.e., the back side of Lakeside Park in Marble Falls). The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) had performed an intentional drawdown of approximately seven feet for continued maintenance, cleanup, and repairs after historic flooding in the fall of 2018. The survey covered approximately 400 feet, and the substrate was mostly silt.
Photos / Sounds
What
Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)Observer
k_mccormackDescription
Random shoreline freshwater mussel search at the confluence of Backbone Creek into Lake Marble Falls (i.e., the back side of Lakeside Park in Marble Falls). The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) had performed an intentional drawdown of approximately seven feet for continued maintenance, cleanup, and repairs after historic flooding in the fall of 2018. The survey covered approximately 400 feet, and the substrate was mostly silt.
Photos / Sounds
What
Giant Floater (Pyganodon grandis)Observer
k_mccormackDescription
Random shoreline freshwater mussel search at the confluence of Backbone Creek into Lake Marble Falls (i.e., the back side of Lakeside Park in Marble Falls). The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) had performed an intentional drawdown of approximately seven feet for continued maintenance, cleanup, and repairs after historic flooding in the fall of 2018. The survey covered approximately 400 feet, and the substrate was mostly silt.
Photos / Sounds
What
Paper Pondshell (Utterbackia imbecillis)Observer
k_mccormackDescription
Random shoreline freshwater mussel search at the confluence of Backbone Creek into Lake Marble Falls (i.e., the back side of Lakeside Park in Marble Falls). The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) had performed an intentional drawdown of approximately seven feet for continued maintenance, cleanup, and repairs after historic flooding in the fall of 2018. The survey covered approximately 400 feet, and the substrate was mostly silt.
Comments
We had much better weather for this survey than the last one. It was disappointing to find the Zebra Mussels, but great to find a "lifer" mussel - the Paper Pondshell and a "lifer" plant - the Snake Apple. My mussel observations are reported as follows: 140456871, 140456867, 140165485, and 140456865.
Other observations for the trip to the Lake Marble Falls area are noted in my journal post :https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/alflinn329/72066-texas-freshwater-mussel-survey
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