Documentation of Freshwater Mussels (Unionidae) in the Diet of Round Gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) within the French Creek Watershed, Pennsylvania

Bradshaw-Wilson, Casey; Stauffer, Jay; Wisor, Josh; Clark, Kyle; Mueller, Sara

doi:10.1674/0003-0031-181.2.259

Documentation of Freshwater Mussels (Unionidae) in the Diet of Round Gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) within the French Creek Watershed, Pennsylvania

Author(s)

Bradshaw-Wilson, Casey

Stauffer, Jay

Wisor, Josh

Clark, Kyle

Mueller, Sara

Date Issued

May 6, 2019

Abstract

The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) was discovered in 2013 in the French Creek (Allegheny River Drainage) watershed and is the first documented invasion outside of the Lake Erie basin in Pennsylvania. The round goby throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes is known to eat dressenid mussels (Dreissenidae), but consumption of either dressenids or native mussels (Unionidae) in tributaries to Lake Erie is minimal based on low populations of any bivalves. The French Creek watershed, on the other hand, harbors 29 species of native freshwater mussels as well as introduced fingernail clams (Sphaeriidae; Corbicula fluminea). The objectives of this study were to document the diet of round gobies in the French Creek watershed to determine whether consumption of native freshwater mussels was occurring. Round gobies were collected in the summer months (May–Sept.) of 2016 via kick seine in four locations, dissected, and their stomach contents identified to lowest possible taxa. We separated the gobies into categories based on length classes, in order to determine if diet changed with increased size and age. Unionid mussels were consumed by all length classes, particularly in length class one (30–44 mm), but diet shifted to a dominance of sphaeriids in length class four (≥75 mm). Round gobies also consumed benthic aquatic insects, a large percentage of which were chironomids (greater than 24% in all size classes). This is the first documentation of unionid consumption by the round goby in Pennsylvania that poses possible threats to native mussels in the French Creek watershed.

Journal

The American Midland Naturalist

Department

Environmental Science / Studies

Citation

Bradshaw-Wilson, C., Stauffer, J., Wisor, J., Clark, K., & Mueller, S. (2019). Documentation of freshwater mussels (unionidae) in the diet of round gobies (neogobius melanostomus) within the french creek watershed, pennsylvania. The American Midland Naturalist, 181(2), 259-270. doi:10.1674/0003-0031-181.2.259

Publisher

University of Notre Dame

Version of Article

Published article

DOI

10.1674/0003-0031-181.2.259

ISSN

0003-0031

Rights

File(s)

Name

2019-05-06_Bradshaw-Wilson_Documentation_Access_Instructions.pdf

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Access Instructions

Size

87.41 KB

Format

Adobe PDF

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