Overview

This is a comprehensive accounting of the richest mussel fauna in the U.S.Alabama rivers and waterways are home to the largest and most diverse population of freshwater mussel species in the nation, roughly 60 per cent of U.S. mussel fauna. The Mobile River Basin, which drains portions of Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi waterways, also contains diverse mussel populations. However, many of these species have been significantly depleted in the last century due to habitat alteration (river damming, channelization, siltation), pollution, and invasive species, and many more are in imminent danger of extinction.The authors offer encyclopedic entries on each of the 178 mussel species currently identified in Alabama and the Mobile River Basin - the scientific and common names; a morphological description as well as color photographs of the shell appearance; analysis of the soft anatomy; information about ecology, biology, and conservation status; and, a color distribution map. With an extensive glossary of terms and full index, plus additional material on the archaeological record, a history of commercial uses of mussels, and the work of significant biologists studying these species, this volume is a long overdue and invaluable resource, not only for scholars of aquatic biology and zoology but also conservationists interested in the preservation of ecological diversity and protection of inland environments.

Full Product Details

Author:   James D. Williams ,  Arthur E. Bogan ,  Jeffrey T. Garner ,  E.O. Wilson
Publisher:   The University of Alabama Press
Imprint:   The University of Alabama Press
Dimensions:   Width: 22.90cm , Height: 5.30cm , Length: 30.50cm
Weight:   4.000kg
ISBN:  

9780817316136

ISBN 10:   0817316132
Pages:   960
Publication Date:   10 August 2008
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Reviews

[The authors] have thrown a searchlight on one of the richest and most imperiled assemblages in North America. The mussel fauna of Alabama and in the Mobile Basin of adjacent states comprises dozens of invertebrate equivalents of the Ivorybilled Woodpecker which, when their images are magnified, project an equal mystery and beauty. - from the Foreword by E. O. Wilson

Author Information

James D. Williams is retired Senior Research Biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey at the Florida Caribbean Science Center, Gainesville, Florida, and coauthor of The National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes. Arthur E. Bogan is Research Curator of Aquatic Invertebrates for the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina and coauthor of Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee. Jeffrey T. Garner is a malacologist for the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries and coauthor of Alabama Wildlife (Vol 4): Conservation and Management Recommendations for Imperiled Wildlife.

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