Re: NANFA-- Mussels

Bruce Stallsmith (fundulus_at_hotmail.com)
Mon, 02 Sep 2002 14:53:25 -0400

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If this clam really is Corbicula, you could probably kill them all day long
and there'd be more in the very near future. They thrive in disturbed
habitat (like most American rivers...) and are extremely fecund, 'specially
because local predators aren't really "programmed" to hunt and eat them at
various life stages. You may have native mussels in the river, too. They're
harder to see because they typically burrow into the sediment at least
several inches, with only their siphons reaching the water. The Corbicula
tend to hang right on the surface on the sediments. For natives, look along
the shoreline or in pockets along the bottom of the stream for dead shells
that'll give you a clue of how to begin to look. If there are any muskrats
along the river, check the area around their dens. Muskrats are _extremely_
efficient mussel hunters, and they leave the shells strewn around their dens
(including Corbicula).

--Bruce Stallsmith
Huntsville, AL, US of A
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