Dark False Mussels are Back in the Magothy River

For the second year in a row, dark false mussels (Mytilopsis leucophaeata) are abundant in the Chesapeake Bay’s Magothy River. The population of this small native mussel, usually restricted to oyster bars, exploded due to unknown causes during the summer of 2004. These mussels have returned at elevated levels in 2005. Water clarity at sites with increased abundance of the mussels nearby began to improve in early July 2005; in some areas, water clarity has almost reached the record set last summer. Submerged aquatic vegetation, especially the native redhead grass, has expanded upriver during 2005 into areas where the mussels are now abundant. Observations of redhead grass have not been reported so far upriver for decades. NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office biologist, Peter Bergstrom, will present a paper describing the effects on the ecosystem at the Estuarine Research Federation 2005 Conference in October.

Dark False Mussels are Back in the Magothy River

For the second year in a row, dark false mussels (Mytilopsis leucophaeata) are abundant in the Chesapeake Bay’s Magothy River. The population of this small native mussel, usually restricted to oyster bars, exploded due to unknown causes during the summer of 2004. These mussels have returned at elevated levels in 2005. Water clarity at sites with increased abundance of the mussels nearby began to improve in early July 2005; in some areas, water clarity has almost reached the record set last summer. Submerged aquatic vegetation, especially the native redhead grass, has expanded upriver during 2005 into areas where the mussels are now abundant. Observations of redhead grass have not been reported so far upriver for decades. NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office biologist, Peter Bergstrom, will present a paper describing the effects on the ecosystem at the Estuarine Research Federation 2005 Conference in October.