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Brook Floater Conservation
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Brook Floater Propagation at Cronin Aquatic Resource Center
Propagation
One potential recovery tool for the Brook Floater is in vivo propagation in a laboratory setting. Effective propagation will provide a cohort for reintroduction locations that contain suitable habitat. At the USFWS Aquatic Resource Center in Sunderland, MA, Dave Perkins and a team of technicians and students learn how to successfully propagate imperiled freshwater mussels. In the Spring 2017, a first attempt will be made to propagate the Brook Floater at the facility. Steps in the process included collecting females that are gravid (i.e., contain glochidia), collecting potential host fish and creating a method that allows the glochidia to parasitize the fish gills with the glochidia. If the fish species is an appropriate host for the mussel, then the glochidia will encyst onto the gills and development will begin. When the mussels have developed to the point of metamorphosis, they will drop off of the gills as juveniles. These will be collected in a mesh bag and identified under a microscope. Some host fish have already been determined (see Basic Biology and Life History) and we continue to determine host fish in Massachusetts populations.
Photos courtesy of the BFWG
Brook Floater Propagation in Virginia
The Virgina Department of Water Resources at the Harrison Lake Natural Fish Hatchery examined potential fish hosts and propagation of Brook Floater. Over 500 individuals have been released from their hatchery in three different water systems.
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Photo courtesy of Ayla Skorupa
Photos courtesy of the BFWG
Future Plans
Moving forward, we will assess the feasibility of increasing mussel propagation capacity in the Northeast, continue propagation, stocking, and monitoring of reintroduced Brook Floater populations; perform and monitor controlled pilot reintroductions; and formalize methods to aid in reintroduction site selection and post-stocking mussel and habitat monitoring to evaluate restoration success. Future actions include:
1. Developing a standardized pre-stocking habitat assessment method
2. Perform mussel and habitat surveys to identify specific sites to stock propagated mussels
3. Use the best available methods to propagate mussels in the lab
4. Retrofit NJDFW's Hackettstown Fish Hatchery for Mussel Propagation
5. Develop a standardized post-stocking mussel monitoring method
6. Introduce propagated mussels at pilot restoration locations
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