@article{cope_bergeron_archambault_jones_beaty_lazaro_shea_callihan_rogers_2021, title={Understanding the influence of multiple pollutant stressors on the decline of freshwater mussels in a biodiversity hotspot}, volume={773}, DOI={10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144757}, abstractNote={The Clinch River watershed of the upper Tennessee River Basin of Virginia and Tennessee, USA supports one of North America's greatest concentrations of freshwater biodiversity, including 46 extant species of native freshwater mussels (Order Unionida), 20 of which are protected as federally endangered. Despite the global biological significance of the Clinch River, mussel populations are declining in some reaches, both in species richness and abundance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the exposure of adult resident mussels to a suite of inorganic and organic contaminant stressors in distinct sections of the Clinch River that encompassed a range of mussel abundance and health. To provide insight into the potential role of pollutants in the decline of mussels, including within a previously documented “zone of mussel decline”, the mainstem Clinch River (8 sites) and its tributaries (4 sites) were examined over two consecutive years. We quantified and related metals and organic contaminant concentrations in mussels to their associated habitat compartments (bed sediment, suspended particulate sediment, pore water, and surface water). We found that concentrations of organic contaminants in resident mussels, particularly the suite of 42 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) analyzed, were related to PAH concentrations in all four habitat (media) compartments. Further, PAH concentrations in mussel tissue (range 37.8–978.1 ng/g dry weight in 2012 and 194.3–1073.7 ng/g dry weight in 2013) were negatively related to the spatial pattern in mussel densities (rs = −0.64, p ≤ 0.05 in 2012 and rs = −0.83, p ≤ 0.05 in 2013) within the river, and were highest in the “zone of mussel decline”. In contrast, the suite of 22 metals analyzed in resident mussels were largely unrelated to the spatial pattern of variation of metals in the four habitat compartments except for Manganese (Mn; range 3630.5-23,749.2 μg/g dry weight in 2012 and 1540.4-12,605.8 μg/g dry weight in 2013) in surface water (rs = 0.58, p < 0.1) and pore water (rs = 0.76, p ≤ 0.05). This study revealed that PAHs and Mn are important pollutant stressors to mussels in the Clinch River and that they are largely being delivered through the Guest River tributary watershed. Accordingly, future conservation and management efforts would benefit by identifying, and ideally mitigating, the sources of PAHs, Mn, and other current or legacy mining-associated pollutants to the mainstem river and its tributaries.}, journal={SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT}, author={Cope, W. Gregory and Bergeron, Christine M. and Archambault, Jennifer M. and Jones, Jess W. and Beaty, Braven and Lazaro, Peter R. and Shea, Damian and Callihan, Jody L. and Rogers, Jennifer J.}, year={2021}, month={Jun}, pages={144757} }
 @article{archambault_bergeron_cope_lazaro_leonard_shea_2016, title={Assessing toxicity of contaminants in riverine suspended sediments to freshwater mussels}, volume={36}, ISSN={0730-7268}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.3540}, DOI={10.1002/etc.3540}, abstractNote={AbstractThe Clinch River in Virginia and Tennessee, USA, is well known for its diverse native freshwater mussel assemblages; however, notable declines in mussel populations in recent decades have prompted much concern and subsequent research. The authors examined the toxicity of recently deposited sediments on juveniles of the freshwater mussel Epioblasma brevidens by collecting time‐integrated sediment samples from the water column with sediment traps from 11 sites in the Clinch River basin, including 6 sites within an 88‐km reach deemed a “mussel zone of decline.” Mussels were exposed to the riverine sediments and to 3 control sediments for 28 d; survival, shell length, and biomass were then assessed. Sediment treatment (i.e., river location) had a significant effect on mussel survival (p < 0.01) and biomass (p = 0.02) but did not affect length (p = 0.37), and sediments from 2 of the tributaries were the most toxic. Inorganic and organic analyses of sediments indicated the presence of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at all sites. Manganese was negatively correlated with mussel survival and biomass, as was ammonia with survival and total organic carbon with biomass. Current land uses in the watershed indicate that fossil fuel mining and agriculture may be associated with elevated manganese and ammonia, respectively. The authors found that sediments collected with sediment traps over relatively short deployment durations can help elucidate recent contaminant influx and its potential for inducing toxicity in benthic organisms. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:395–407. © 2016 SETAC}, number={2}, journal={Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry}, publisher={Wiley}, author={Archambault, Jennifer M. and Bergeron, Christine M. and Cope, W. Gregory and Lazaro, Peter R. and Leonard, Jeremy A. and Shea, Damian}, year={2016}, month={Aug}, pages={395–407} }
 @article{archambault_bergeron_cope_richardson_heilman_corey_netherland_heise_2015, title={Sensitivity of freshwater molluscs to hydrilla-targeting herbicides: providing context for invasive aquatic weed control in diverse ecosystems}, volume={30}, ISSN={["2156-6941"]}, DOI={10.1080/02705060.2014.945104}, abstractNote={Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) is an invasive aquatic weed that has spread rapidly throughout the USA, especially in the southeast. A common control method is the application of aquatic herbicides, such as fluridone and endothall. However, there is limited documentation on the effects of herbicides commonly used to control hydrilla and other aquatic weeds on many non-target freshwater species and no published information exists on the toxicity of these herbicides to freshwater molluscs. We exposed juveniles (96 h) and glochidia (48 h) of the unionid mussel Lampsilis siliquoidea and adults (28 d) of Lampsilis fullerkati to a formulation of fluridone (Sonar – PR®) in laboratory toxicity tests. The early life stages of L. siliquoidea were also exposed to a formulation of the dipotassium salt of endothall (Aquathol – K®) in separate tests. Juveniles of the freshwater gastropod snail, Somatogyrus viriginicus (Lithoglyphidae), were exposed (96 h) to the Sonar – Genesis® fluridone formulation. Endpoints were survival (all species and life stages) as well as siphoning behavior and foot protrusion (adult mussels). Median lethal fluridone concentrations (LC50s) were 865 μg/L (95% CI, 729–1,026 μg/L) for glochidia (24 h), 511 μg/L (309–843 μg/L) for juvenile L. siliquoidea (96 h), and 500 μg/L (452–553 μg/L) for juvenile S. viriginicus (96 h). No mortality occurred in the 28-d exposure of adult L. fullerkati and we found no statistically significant effect of fluridone concentration on foot protrusion (p = 0.06) or siphoning behavior (p = 0.08). The 24-h LC50 for glochidia exposed to the dipotassium salt of endothall was 31.2 mg/L (30.3–32.2 mg/L) and the 96-h LC50 for juvenile mussels was 34.4 mg/L (29.3–40.5 mg/L). Freshwater molluscs were more sensitive to fluridone and endothall than most other species previously tested. Fluridone and endothall concentrations typically recommended for hydrilla treatment (5–15 μg/L and 1–5 mg/L, respectively) were not acutely toxic to the molluscs we tested and a 28-d exposure to fluridone was not lethal to adult mussels even at the highest concentration (300 μg/L), indicating minimal risk of short-term exposure effects.}, number={3}, journal={JOURNAL OF FRESHWATER ECOLOGY}, author={Archambault, Jennifer M. and Bergeron, Christine M. and Cope, W. Gregory and Richardson, Robert J. and Heilman, Mark A. and Corey, J. Edward, III and Netherland, Michael D. and Heise, Ryan J.}, year={2015}, pages={335–348} }