ATLANTA (CN) — The southern elktoe mussel, a freshwater mussel native to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, has been proposed for inclusion on the endangered species list, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Tuesday.
The agency is also proposing to designate 578 river miles of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act across 25 counties in the three states to bring the southern elktoe back from the brink of extinction.
An olive brown mussel recognizable by its rounded, 3-inch long triangular shell and pinkish-purple inner lining, the southern elktoe mussel is typically found in large creeks and rivers with slow flowing currents.
Freshwater mussels like the southern elktoe are vital contributors to the bodies of water they inhabit because they filter and remove pollutants. They are also often the first group of organisms to suffer from changes to water quality, the agency's proposal says.
Once found at 29 different sites throughout the Apalachicola, Chipola, Chattahoochee and Flint rivers, only six small populations of the mussel remain in the river basin today. Fewer than 70 individuals have been observed since 2000, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Center for Biological Diversity.
“The health of our rivers depends on mussels like the southern elktoe, which have been clobbered by dams and dredging,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center, adding that protecting the mussel will help safeguard overall aquatic diversity.
The mussel’s decline, the agency said, is the result of ongoing habitat loss due largely to poor water quality and decreased water quantity associated with withdrawals for industrial agriculture and urban land development.
Agriculture is the biggest source of water use in the river basin, the proposal explains, and has been shown to increase the presence of sediment and contaminants like pesticides in streams and rivers. Concentrations of these impurities can negatively affect the viability of southern elktoe populations, according to the agency.
Dams and other barriers within the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin have also inhibited the movement of host fish necessary for the mussel to reproduce. Like other species of mussels, the southern elktoe releases its fertilized eggs onto the gills of a host fish, where they remain for several weeks until they develop into juvenile mussels.
“Mussels such as the southern elktoe serve as ecological indicators of the health of river basins, including the ACF. It’s clear the population of this mussel is disappearing, so we must be diligent in maintaining high water quality within this biologically diverse watershed,” Mike Oetker, acting southeast regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a statement Tuesday. “By protecting the southern elktoe and its habitat, we are not only committed to recovering this species, we are also ensuring favorable water quality for people who depend on it for human use.”
The proposal comes after environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Gulf Restoration Network petitioned the agency in April 2010 to list more than 400 aquatic, riparian and wetland species as threatened or endangered.
The public comment period on the proposed rule will remain open until Aug. 20.
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