Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Maine
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

As with many freshwater mussels species, Yellow Lampmussel (YLM) monitoring, assessment, and conservation planning occurs primarily within states and provinces, with little interaction outside geographic boundaries. Informal comparisons across boundaries have revealed that YLM populations occur in a variety of habitats throughout its range. In some portions of their range they are found only in medium and large rivers; in others, they more commonly occur in lakes and ponds. YLM has been described as inhabiting a variety of substrates and flow conditions, with some studies suggesting a preference for riffles and strong currents and others locating YLM in slow currents around sandbars. The presence of YLM in varied habitat types across its range suggests that populations may be impacted by different stressors and different approaches may be needed for conservation. Although recent YLM surveys are limited and not standardized, making it difficult to assess range-wide status, a comprehensive assessment is critical for understanding species’ habitat and vulnerabilities and facilitating coordinated and resource-efficient conservation and restoration efforts. One of the primary goals of this project is to assess landscape-scale threats and identify potential restoration sites for YLM across its range using multi-species distribution modelling.