APRIL 1,
2019
The round
goby—a small, extremely prolific, invasive fish from Europe—poses a threat to
endangered freshwater mussels in northwestern Pennsylvania's French Creek, one
of the last strongholds for two species of mussels, according to researchers.
French Creek
flows from southwest New York state about 117 miles to the Allegheny River at
Franklin, Pennsylvania. It is the most species-rich stream in Pennsylvania and
is nationally recognized for its biodiversity, with more than 80 species of
fish and 29 species of freshwater mussels.
Four of
the mussels in
French Creek are listed under the Endangered Species Act: northern riffleshell,
snuffbox, clubshell and rayed bean. Northern riffleshell and clubshell mussels
are considered critically imperiled and have lost 95 percent of their historic
global range—but they appear to have stable populations in French Creek.
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