Robert S Butler

• MS '86, Aq. Bio. E. KY Univ.
• Fish Head Mussel at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Asheville, North Carolina

Our study objective was to compare the relative effectiveness and efficiency of quadrat and capture-mark-recapture (CMR) sampling designs for monitoring mussels. We collected data on a recently reintroduced population of federally endangered Epioblasma capsaeformis and two nonlisted, naturally occurring species—Actinonaias pectorosa and Medionidus...

In the 20th century, Pendleton Island (PI) in the Clinch River of southwestern Virginia was a singularly important location for conservation of freshwater mussels in North America, supporting at least 45 species. Comprising 55,500 m2 of available habitat, PI is the largest contiguous patch of habitat for mussels in the unregulated reaches of the Cl...

In the 20th century, Pendleton Island (PI) in the Clinch River of southwestern Virginia was a singularly important location for conservation of freshwater mussels in North America, supporting at least 45 species. Comprising 55,500 m 2 of available habitat, PI is the largest contiguous patch of habitat for mussels in the unregulated reaches of the C...

The Duck River basin located in south-central Tennessee has long been established as an area of high freshwater mussel diversity. The Duck River is 442 km long with a large reservoir, Normandy Dam oper-ated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) placed at river km 420 controlling discharge throughout the remaining river (􀀀 95􀀁 total length). This...

We present a revised list of freshwater mussels (order Unionida, families Margaritiferidae and Unionidae) of the United States and Canada, incorporating changes in nomenclature and systematic taxonomy since publication of the most recent checklist in 1998. We recognize a total of 298 species in 55 genera in the families Margaritiferidae (one genus,...

The Clinch and Powell rivers, Tennessee (TN) and Virginia (VA), upstream of Norris Reservoir, TN, are known for high freshwater mussel species diversity and endemism. Collectively, these rivers harbored at least 56 species historically and 49 are extant, many of which now survive only in the Clinch or Powell rivers or a few other streams. Among an...

In 1998, a strategy document outlining the most pressing issues facing the conservation of freshwater mussels was published (NNMCC 1998). Beginning in 2011, the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society began updating that strategy, including broadening the scope to include freshwater snails. Although both strategy documents contained 10 issues that...

Status review for an imperiled wide-ranging unionid mussel of the United States and Canada

Status review for a wide-ranging unionid mussel in the United States and Canada

Status review for a wide-ranging unionid mussel endemic to the United States

A status review for a wide-ranging unionid of the United States

Status review for a wide-ranging margaritiferid mussel endemic to the United States

From 2005–2011, the federally endangered freshwater mussel Epioblasma capsaeformis (oyster mussel) was reintroduced at three sites in the upper Clinch River, Virginia, using four release techniques. These release techniques were: 1) translocation of adults (Site 1, n = 1,418), 2) release of laboratory-propagated sub-adults (Site 1, n = 2,851), 3) r...

Freshwater Mussels of Florida by James D. Williams, Robert S. Butler, Gary L. Warren, and Nathan A. Johnson. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 2014. 498 pages. NOTE - This book is available from the University of Alabama Press Freshwater Mussels of Florida is a guide to all species of freshwater mussels in the state. The book cove...

The Clinch River is located in northeastern Tennessee (TN) and southwestern Virginia (VA) of the United States, and contains a diverse mussel assemblage of 46 extant species, including 20 species listed as federally endangered. To facilitate quantitative monitoring of the fauna, quadrat data were collected from 2004 to 2009 at 18 sites in the river...

The effects of temperature on growth and survival of laboratory-propagated juvenile freshwater mussels of two federally endangered species, the Cumberlandian combshell Epioblasma brevidens and oyster mussel E. capsaeformis, and one nonlisted species, the wavy-rayed lampmussel Lampsilis fasciola, were investigated to determine optimum rearing temper...

The Powell River, located in southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee, is a tributary of the Clinch River in the headwaters of the Tennessee River system. Historically, the Powell River had a diverse freshwater mussel fauna of 46 species. Various surveys conducted over the past century have recorded a decline in mussel densities and diversi...

Freshwater habitats of the southeastern U.S. support a high diversity of mussels in the families Margaritiferidae and Unionidae, order Unionoida. River systems of Florida and drainages contiguous with Alabama and Georgia are known to be inhabited by 65 mussel species, representing about 20% of the North American fauna north of Mexico. This diversit...

We determined the distribution and status of Etheostoma tecumsehi, the Shawnee darter, an endemic of Pond River (Green River drainage), Kentucky, in 2002. We compiled historical and current distribution information, and sampled 30 sites. Prior to this study, E. tecumsehi was known from 20 sites in the upper Pond River system. We found young-of-the-...

1. Females of the North American freshwater bivalve Lampsilis perovalis release their larvae, which are obligate parasites on fish, in a discrete mass (superconglutinate) resembling a small fish in shape and coloration. After release, the mass remains tethered to the female by a long, transparent, mucous strand and, in stream currents, displays a d...

Freshwater mussels in the genus Pleurobema (Bivalvia: Unionidae) from the eastern Gulf drainages of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama are variable conchologically, and several taxonomic names have been applied to shell phenotypes. Clarification of the species status of these mussels is important because they are recognized as imperiled throughout their...

Freshwater bivalves are among the most endangered groups of organisms in North America. Efforts to protect the declining mussel fauna are confounded by ambiguities associated with recognition of distinct evolutionary entities or species. This, in part, is due to the paucity of reliable morphological characters for differentiating taxa. We have empl...

During the 1987 drawdown of Lake Tohopekaliga, 19 km of degraded littoral zone were restored when approximately 165,000 m of sediments were removed. Electrofishing data from 1988 and 1989 indicated median catch per effort for largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, redear sunfish Lepomis microlophus, and forage fish was significantly greater in rest...

Following an extreme drawdown of Lake Tohopekaliga in 1987 during which excessive organic substrate was removed, the lake was sampled for littoral invertebrates by dip net and corer during 1988 and 1989. The numbers of invertebrates (densities and taxa) associated with macrophytes in restored areas were less than they were in undisturbed (control)...