A comprehensive accounting of the richest mussel fauna in the US

This well-illustrated book highlights freshwater mussels' fabulous diversity, amazing array of often bizarre ecological adaptations and their dire conservation plight. Summarizing and synthesizing historical and contemporary information as well as original research and analysis, the book describes the diverse array of mussel life history strategies and builds a cohesive narrative culminating in the development of explicit frameworks to explain pervasive patterns in mussel ecology. The fascinating and colorful role of mussels in human society is also described in detail, including the little-known pearl button industry of the early 1900s and the wild and often violent shell harvest of the 1990s. The final chapter details humans' efforts to save these fascinating animals and gives a prognosis for the future of the North American fauna. The book provides the first comprehensive review of mussel ecology and conservation for scientists, natural resource professionals, students and natural history enthusiasts.

Synthesizes the ecology and natural history of North American freshwater mussels for scientists, natural resource professionals, students and natural history enthusiasts.

"The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee . . . is indispensable to anyone, anywhere, working on this group. Parmalee and Bogan have written a work that sets the standard for future regional guides."--G. Thomas Watters, Ohio Biological Survey "The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee documents a tremendously diverse and unique mussel fauna that is rapidly being destroyed by modern development. Parmalee and Bogan set a new standard for state mussel surveys in their authoritative, thorough, and and highly readable account. The book will be of interest to biologists and conservationists worldwide and will appeal to anyone who cares about the preservation of natural resources in the southeastern United States."--Robert E. Warren, Illinois State Museum With more than 150 species and subspecies recorded in the state, Tennessee has one of the most diverse freshwater mussel faunas in North America. Valuable as indicators of water quality, these mollusks have themselves become threatened as development encroaches on habitat--twenty-three are currently listed as endangered species and at least twelve have become extinct. This is the first book for Tennessee to deal with this biologically and commercially significant group of mollusks. Its authors have been studying and writing about the mussels of Tennessee for more than twenty years and have undertaken a systematic organization of a large and complex body of information to bring order to a difficult field. The book traces the long history of human exploitation of mussels, from aboriginal food gathering to the growth of the cultured pearl industry. It provides an interpretive context for its exhaustive species accounts with background material on biology, distribution, economic utilization, taxonomy, and conservation issues. The authors also review the life cycle of the mussel and describe its many remarkable traits, such as its shell formation and the strategies it employs during the larval stage in parasitizing fish. The species accounts comprise 128 members of Family Unionidae--from pigtoes and pocketbooks to lilliputs and spikes--plus four additional species. The authors cover classification and synonymy, range and distribution, life history and ecology, and survival status. Particular attention is paid to shell description and structure to assist the reader in identification. Each species account includes a distribution map and color photos of two specimens. The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee is a major reference that encompasses historical and modern mussel collections and draws on conservation studies that span two centuries. It will stand as an authoritative guide to understanding Tennessee mollusks and as a benchmark in the study of these species worldwide. The Authors: Paul W. Parmalee is professor emeritus of zooarchaeology and director emeritus of the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Arthur E. Bogan is curator of aquatic invertebrates at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh.

Freshwater Mussels of Florida is the only comprehensive, illustrated encyclopedia of all recorded species of mussels in the state of Florida.

Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin is not only a great scientific work, it is readable and understandable by anyone interested in the fishes of Alabama. It a great tool to identify a fish caught infrequently in Alabama waters.

A practical, step-by-step guide to rearing freshwater mussels, one of the most imperiled groups of animals in the world.