An Evaluation of the Neosho River, Kansas, Mussel Refuge

ABSTRACT

An evaluation of a Neosho River, Kansas, mussel refuge was conducted during summer 1994. Eight study sites were sampled, four within and four outside refuge boundaries. A total of 744 mussels comprising 20 species was collected. Three harvestable species (Amblema plicata, Quadrula metanevra, and Quadrula quadrula) showed no significant differences in the percentage of legal-sized specimens between refuge and non-refuge sites. Moreover, unionid densities and species richness were generally lower at refuge sites. However, mean shell lengths of Q. metanevra, Obliquaria reflexa, and Tritogonia verrucosa were significantly greater at refuge than at non-refuge sites; the latter two species were legally harvestable through 1991. Explanations for the few significant differences between refuge and non-refuge sites could include variant rates of recruitment among sites, light harvest pressure at non-refuge sites, and illegal harvest at refuge sites.