Assessment of Habitat and the Restoration of Native Freshwater Mussel Beds in the Cuyahoga River at CUVA

https://www.conservancyforcvnp.org/strengthening-the-river-reintroducing-mussels-to-the-lower-cuyahoga-river/

In essence, the Krebs lab will form a major working arm of the research to better understand the environment where mussels will be introduced, oversee personnel handling the monitoring and responses as needed, assess the efficacy of introductions, collaborate on data analysis, and take the lead on the production of reports, talks, and publications. Our lab will extend initial modeling of habitat in the lower Cuyahoga River, oversee collection and release first of adult mussels (obtained from Eagle Creek, Summer 2023) and in fall, conduct experiments on the efficacy of mixed age assemblages as a support to introductions of young reared mussels to identify better conditions for survival and establishment of mussel beds, which will be seeded in at least 2-4 locations to start, and potentially more in the future The project funds will concurrently support the education of a graduate student to lead day-to-day field monitoring, design, and habitat assessment, and who will work with undergraduates from CSU and interns at the CVNP. Designing an educational and volunteer program of active citizens to highlight work is a planned component to teach about mussels and the important ecological services they provide. Mark recapture and pit-tagging of introduced mussels will allow us to follow their movements and better characterize what mussels consider “preferred” habitat. Tracking mussels can be both an interesting challenge and a laborious one, enabling volunteers to fully contribute, especially as the project is expected to extend long beyond the current grant