Date of Award
2023
Degree Name
Biological Sciences
College
College of Science
Type of Degree
M.S.
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
Dr. Tom Jones, Committee Chairperson
Second Advisor
Dr. Mindy Armstead
Third Advisor
Dr. Anne Axel
Abstract
Unionid mussels are the most imperiled taxa in the United States and are vastly understudied. The entire Robert C. Byrd (RCB) pool of the Ohio River is the study area. I selected sites from the 2019 and 2013 ORSANCO RCB pool assessments that utilize random site selection across the pool. I used SCUBA to survey and collect data on unionid diversity, reproduction, and habitat. I collected 1,083 individuals over 19 species in RCB pool. I compared results from RCB pool survey to two similar surveys conducted in Greenup Pool. Both richness and abundance in the Upper Section of Greenup Pool dwarfed all other sections in Greenup and RCB. Patterns of species redundancy are determined utilizing Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling. RCB and Greenup Pool patterns are statistically similar. Data collected could serve as a baseline to site-specific surveys and have management implications for unionid assemblages in pools of large, navigable rivers.
Subject(s)
Multidimensional scaling.
Unionidae -- Ecology.
West Virginia.
Ohio.
Water quality management -- Ohio River.
Environmental sampling -- Ohio River.
Endangered species -- Ohio River.
Species diversity -- Ohio River.
Mussels.
Conservation biology.
Biogeography.
Evolution (Biology).
Recommended Citation
Bellamy, Ethan Hunter, "Assessing the unionid assemblage of the Robert C. Byrd Pool, Ohio River" (2023). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 1833.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/1833
Included in
Biology Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
