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Changes In The Freshwater Mussel Community Of Lake St. Clair: From Unionidae To Dreissena Polymorpha In Eight Years, Thomas F. Nalepa, David J. Hartson, Gerald W. Gostenik, David L. Fanslow, Gregory A. Lang

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

To determine density changes in both the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, and native mussels, Unionidae, in Lake St. Clair, surveys were conducted in 1990, 1992, and 1994 and compared to a similar survey in 1986 when no D. polymorpha was found. Collection methods were the same each year; divers used the quadrat method to collect 10 replicate samples at 29 sites located throughout the lake. The total number of unionids collected declined from 281 in 1986, to 248 in 1990, 99 in 1992, and 6 in 1994, while the number of species collected in each of the four respective …