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Biological Surveys Find Duck River Most Biodiverse in U.S.

Nashville, Tenn — 22 August 2003 — Recent biological surveys of the Duck River indicate that it is one of the most biodiverse rivers in North America, according to the Tennessee Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Free flowing for most of its 269 miles and brimming with species, the Duck River is one of the last rivers of its kind anywhere in the nation.

The Nature Conservancy’s Project Manager Leslie Colley, through a grant from the Tennessee Environmental Endowment, has worked with the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute and the U. S. Geological Survey to conduct an extensive biological survey of the mussel and snail fauna of the Duck River over a three-year period.

"Compared to the last recorded survey results in1988, we have found four times more mussels in the river. We are overwhelmed by the findings because mussels are the most imperiled species’ in North America," said Steve Ahlstedt, aquatic biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey.

The statistics supporting the diversity of the Duck River include:

• 53 mussel species,
• 22 snail species and
• 147 fish species.

"No other place in the world has the diversity of freshwater mollusks than we do in the Southeast United States," said Dr. Paul Johnson, research scientist with the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute. The Southeast is home to the highest diversity of mussels, snails, crayfish, temperate freshwater fishes, and amphibians.

Recently the Sheepnose mussel was found in the Duck River – the first recorded finding for that mussel in 100 years. Ahlstedt attributes the rebound of mussel and snail populations in the Duck to The Nature Conservancy’s work with partners in the watershed, improved reservoir releases by the Tennessee Valley Authority at Normandy Dam and improvements made at the Shelbyville sewage treatment plant.

According to Johnson, mussels and snails serve as sentinels of water quality for rivers like the Duck. "They are very sensitive creatures which makes them a good gauge of how we are managing water resources," Johnson said.

Colley noted that the Duck River serves as the primary drinking water source in five Middle Tennessee counties. "The fewer chemicals that the local utilities have to use in water treatment the healthier it will be for every citizen and the lower the cost of treatment," said Colley.

"The rebound of the mussels and snails in the Duck River is one of the most important conservation stories in the United States," said Johnson.

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