Freshwater Mussel Conservation

What has one foot but no eyes, has water filtration superpowers, yet looks like a rock? A freshwater mussel! These unassuming creatures are the unsung heroes of our freshwater systems. With more than 300 species, North America is the world’s hotspot for freshwater mussels. While species richness is highest in Alabama (with more than 130 species), Indiana is still home to at least 60 native species of freshwater mussel.  

Freshwater mussels are the natural engineers and filtration systems of our rivers and lakes. Their filter feeding cleans the water, recycles and stores nutrients. They support food webs, and mussel beds provide habitat for other species. They also have been of cultural significance to Native Americans for millennia, and of huge economic significance to the button industry (yep, mussel shells were historically used to create buttons). But freshwater mussels are so much more than just functionally important. These famously sedentary creatures have evolved some of the most fabulous adaptations in the animal kingdom, allowing their parasitic larvae to catch a ride and a meal from unsuspecting host fish. Some freshwater mussels have developed lures to entice their host fish to come to them. These lures mimic the host fishes’ prey (think little fish, like minnows etc) and when these predators come to feast, instead they get a mouthful (and gill-load) of mussel larvae! Mussels 1, host fish 0.  

Unfortunately, freshwater mussels are also highly threatened across the U.S. More than 70% of North American freshwater mussel species are in decline, 7% are extinct, 21% are listed as endangered, and another 40% are listed as threatened. Like in other parts of the U.S., freshwater mussels were once abundant in Indiana, but now many populations are too small and fragmented to effectively reproduce. 25 species are listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Federally, the picture isn’t any better. Thankfully, there are many facilities across the country raising these remarkable species for conservation, and now there is one right here in central Indiana! 

The Bureau of Water Quality’s (BWQ) White River Freshwater Mussel Propagation Facility is run by The Muncie Bureau of Water Quality, and it was made possible through funding from The Nature Conservancy, Indiana DNR, The Brown Family Charitable Fund, and the Indianapolis Zoo. The facility saw its grand opening earlier this summer, on June 11, 2024. Over time, it aims to restore Indiana’s mussel populations, thereby improving water quality and river health, and providing food for other species such as fish, mammals and birds. In addition to the propagation facility, there is also an education facility where visitors, especially school groups, can learn about freshwater mussels, other freshwater biodiversity and ultimately freshwater health.