OFFICEOFRESOURCECONSERVATIONStateofIllinoisGrantPROJECTNUMBER:PROJECTTITLE:DevelopingaPropagationTechniqueforNativeIllinoisRiverCWCPMusselsPURPOSE:TheNatureConservancy(TNC),withtheIllinoisDepartmentofNaturalResources(IDNR),willexperimentwithcaptiverearingofthebutterflymussel,aspeciesofspecialconcerninthestateaslistedintheWildlifeActionPlan,withinarestored(butnotreconnected)backwateroftheIllinoisRiveratTNC’sSpunkyBottomsPreserve(IllinoisWildlifeActionPlan,XAppendices-AppendixI,p.295).TNCwilladaptpropagationtechniquesdevelopedforHigginsEyemusselrecoveryontheMississippiRivertodeterminethebestpossiblemethodsforpropagatingthesemussels,andwhetherthetechniquescanbeusedtoreestablishviablemusselpopulationsintheIllinoisRiver.NEED:Agreaterproportionoffreshwatermusselsareconsidered“SpeciesinGreatestNeedofConservation”(29of61;48%)thananyothertaxonomicgroup;anadditional19speciesareextinctorextirpated(IllinoisWildlifeActionPlan,III.B,pp31-33).Approximately49speciesoffreshwatermusselshavebeendocumentedfromtheIllinoisRiver(IR),butfewerthanhalfarestillpresent.Thebutterflymussel,Ellipsarialineolata,formerlyrelativelyabundantandwidelydistributedintheIR,hasbeenextirpatedfromtheriversincetheearly1900’s.ThespeciesisofspecialconcerninthestateandislistedintheIllinoisWildlifeActionPlan(IllinoisWildlifeActionPlan,XAppendices-AppendixI,p.295).Thereportedfishhosts(freshwaterdrum,greensunfishandsauger)forthebutterfly,necessaryforcompletionoftheunionidlifecycle,arepresentintheIRandareabundantinmanysectionsoftheriver.Thismussel’seliminationfromtheIRhasbeenattributedtosiltationandpoorwaterquality.RecentstudiesindicatethatsomespeciesoffreshwatermusselshavebeguntorecoverasconditionsintheIRimprove;however,thosemusselsstillhavesourcepopulationslocatedintheIRoritstributarieswhichcanprovidetheindividualsneededforrecolonization.HistoricgeneraldistributionrangesforE.lineolataincludetheMississippiRiverdrainagefromwesternPennsylvaniawesttoMinnesota,southtoeasternIowa,Kansas,andOklahoma(ParmaleeandBogan,1998).Themussel,oncepresentintheIllinoisRiverinsignificantnumbershasinrecenthistorybeenallbuteliminated.SurveysoftheIRdatingbackto1870showedE.lineolatafrom1870through1912andsubsequentsurveysin1969showeditasabsentfromthesystem.Themostrecentsurveyrecordedonlyoneindividualatmilemarker48.4intheAltonpool(Whitney,etal,1997).StatusofthemusselindicatesitisaspeciesofspecialconcerninTennesseeandalsoinIllinois(ParmaleeandBogan,1998).ItiscurrentlylistedasathreatenedspeciesinIowaandendangeredinbothOhioandWisconsin(CummingsandMayer,1992).InterviewswithresourceprofessionalsandliteraturereviewindicatenoviablepopulationsofEllipsarialineolataremainingwithintheIllinoisRiveroritstributaries.Toreintroducethisspecies,orotherextirpatedspecies,totheIRrequiresameansofreestablishingasourcepopulation.Thesourcepopulationshouldbearegionalecotypeadaptedtothewaterandclimateoftheareaandalsobeofsufficientsizetoprovideadequatenumbersofindividualstoestablishareproductivelyviablepopulationintheriver.Withadequatewaterqualityandthenecessaryfishhostforcompletionofthemussel’slifecycle,musselswhichhavebeenextirpatedcouldbereestablished,restoringsomeofthemusseldiversityformerlycharacteristicoftheIR.Thisprojectdirectlymeetsthefollowingobjectiveforthebutterflymussel:“Experimentalpropagation,modeledafterLampsilishigginsi(HigginsEye)effortsintheMississ...