Meeting Abstract

11.8  Sunday, Jan. 4  Comparative Phylogeography and DNA Barcoding of Freshwater Mussels BOYER, Sarah L.*; SZUMOWSKI, Suzy C.; HOWE, Alex A.; HOVE, Mark C.; HORNBACH, Daniel J.; Macalester College; Macalester College; Macalester College; Macalester College; Macalester College boyer@macalester.edu

Freshwater mussels (Order Unionoida) are sedentary organisms that accomplish dispersal during larval development. During this portion of their life history, these animals employ a strategy unique among bivalves: they parasitize fishes. Mussels may attract fish hosts by using lures that are modifications of the mantle or by releasing conglutinates of eggs that resemble food items. Interest in the evolution of host specificity and in the conservation of freshwater mussels, which are greatly imperiled in North America, has spurred laboratory studies aimed at identifying fish hosts of individual mussel species. However, few studies have surveyed larvae from wild-infested fishes, in part because morphology is inadequate for species-level identification of mussel larvae. We describe a pilot study that tests the efficacy of DNA barcoding for identification of freshwater mussel larvae recovered from wild-caught fishes. In addition, we explore the relationship between the number of fish hosts used by a mussel species and the genetic diversity of that species. Our findings have implications for both the evolution of host specificity and management strategies for imperiled freshwater mussels.