DETERMINATION OR VERIFICATION OF HOST FISH FOR 9 SPECIES OF UNIONID MUSSELS

Identification of host fish for native freshwater mussels (Family: Uni onidae) is increasingly important because of the rapid decline of thes e mollusks. To date, hosts have been identified for fewer than a third of all unionids inhabiting the United States and Canada. We identifie d previously unknown hosts for Elliptio buckleyi, E. icterina, Lampsil is straminea claibornensis, Villosa lienosa and V. villosa. Successful transformations also were achieved for Lampsilis siliquoidea, L. tere s, Megalonaias nervosa and Utterbackia imbecillis. Fish hosts for thes e species have been listed in previous studies but many were deduced f rom circumstantial evidence, or if based on laboratory experiments, ha ve not been verified.