Quoddy Nature Notes – Freshwater Mussels
Since time began I called those things clams; you know, the critters that crawl around on the bottom of the local swimming hole and the kids with masks and snorkels and swim fins would bring the mollusc up for an ID. ‘That’s a clam,’ I’d say, ‘Nice one.’ The bad thing is it was really a mussel. What’s the difference between a clam and a mussel? Everyone in the Quoddy region knows the clam is a steamer, and has two fused siphons in its mantle and you peel the skin off these (the neck) before eating. With mussels you don’t have to do this. Mussels also have byssal threads for attachment, and clams don’t. Freshwater mussels have byssal threads as juveniles, but not as adults.
Watching a mussel is not very exciting but there are lots of mysteries and clever goings on in that little bivalve. For example, how did they get here? Towards the end of the last ice age, about 18,000 years ago, there was a mile or so of ice here, and no freshwater mussels. Sea level was several hundred feet lower than at present, but there were, however, mussels living in the exposed land that is now Grand Bank, Georges Bank, and the Middle Atlantic coastal plain and in the Midwest around southern Illinois and Indiana. Mussels had already developed means for long distance travel when conditions arose as the glaciers retreated. When male and female mussels spawn the eggs are held by the female and develop into larvae called glochidia. The female waits until an opportune time to release the larvae in the presence of migratory fish. The glochidia attach to the gills of the unsuspecting fish for a free ride to wherever, and colonize new territory. Mussels may parasitize several types of fish (or even amphibians) for this endeavor, but usually have a preferred host. Maine, with only 10 species of mussels, was not heavily colonized, but New York, closer to the Midwest hub of mussel diversity, has about 50 species.
Once mussels set up shop in an area, they are preyed upon by almost everything, including birds, fish, otters, raccoons and especially muskrats. It is unusual for a rodent to have such a tendency to be a carnivore, but unfortunately for the mussels. Native Americans ate freshwater mussels, especially in the Midwest. Shell middens on the Tennessee River accumulated over thousands of years and covered acres of land to a depth of over a hundred feet. Freshwater mussels were eaten by Maine Indians but not to a great extent. In my early years, working at a farm in Massachusetts in the Connecticut valley, some of my fellow workers were migrants from Haiti, and would eat the mussels from the contaminated river. I tried, but their immune system was much better than mine, and a case of vomiting and diarrhea kept me home for a couple of days.
In the early 1800’s, freshwater mussel shells were first used commercially to make buttons, and as our population grew more and more buttons were required. This industry peaked in the early 1900’s, when over 5.5 billion buttons were made annually, worth over $12,500,000. Freshwater mussels in New England tend to have thinner shells and are not good for buttons, so this industry was centered in the Midwest. With the advent of plastics about 1920 the mussel shell button industry declined, but about that time it was discovered in Asia that a small piece of grit could be inserted beneath the mantle of a marine oyster and the oyster would secrete nacreous material over this irritation and produce a pearl. It was also discovered that the best material for this piece of grit was a bead of freshwater mussel shell, and the best mussel shell came from our Midwest. This industry peaked about 1988 when about 25,000 tons of mussel shells were exported, and as recently as 10 years ago prime mussel shells from the Midwest were fetching as much as $7 per pound.
So that’s a bit about our freshwater mussels, but much, much more can be found in the “Freshwater Mussels of Maine” from the Maine DIFW. But do we have any freshwater clams in Maine? Sure do, but that’s another story. In the meantime, notice the flocks of robins, grackles, blackbirds and the Mourning cloaks and Commas and listen for the frogs.
Saco (Map 3)
Gardiner (Map 6)
Well, I would like to say that I saw our first woodchuck today. It was on the I95 in West Gardiner. Actually 2 about a mile apart, but one was casualty of being run over. DH
Lincoln (Map 43)
Skowhegan (Map 3)
I noticed that one of my bird feeders–a clear plastic tube–was empty and flying around and inside it were what I think of as honeybees! I watched them come and go for about an hour. These bees were about an inch in length and had a brown/orange patch of color on the end of their bodies. Isn’t it early for them to be out and were they looking for a place to
settle? They are not around now. JB
Lincoln (Map 43)
Two butterflies today! One was a orange and black, about the size of a nickle. The second was approximately 1″ wide with its wings spread, also orange and black. TF
Northern Lights
This morning, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded a halo CME emerging from the vicinity of sunspot 1054: (movie at link). The cloud appears to be heading toward Earth and it could spark geomagnetic storms when it arrives on or about March 17th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras. RE
Quoddy Nature Notes – Bon Appetit
Bon appétit
Now that we are well into 2010, most of us can, without too many pains of a well-scarred conscience, recall the New Year’s resolutions that we failed to keep. I was reminded of my neglect a while back when looking through ‘A Popular Handbook of the Birds of the United States and Canada’, by Thomas Nuttall. What was my abandoned resolution? Not to eat so much. Now what could possibly be the connection between my discarded resolution and an old birder’s handbook? Well, Thomas Nuttall, writing in the mid 1800’s, described birds not only in the way we do today (i.e. size, color, range, habitat, diet, etc.) but he frequently included their edibility, such as:
Osprey -‘…from the nature of its food, the flesh and even the eggs are rendered exceedingly rank and nauseous.’
Barred Owl – ‘…Their flesh is eaten by the Creoles of Louisiana and considered palatable… At Hudson’s Bay a large owl resembling the cinereous (probably the Great Gray owl) is likewise eaten and esteemed a delicacy.’
Meadowlark – ‘…The flesh of our bird is white and for size and delicacy it is considered a little inferior to the partridge, but that of the European is black and bitter.’
Red-winged Blackbird - ‘The flesh of this bird is but little esteemed except when young, being dark and tough like that of the starling, yet in some markets of the US they are at times exposed for sale.’
Bobolink – ‘…As soon as the cool night of October commence and as the wild rice crops begin to fail, the birds take their departure from Pennsylvania and New Jersey and in their farther progress through the southern states they swarm in the rice fields and before the crop is gathered they have already made their appearance in the islands of Cuba and Jamaica, where they feed on the seeds of the Guinea grass and become so fat as to deserve the name of “Butterbirds” and are in high esteem for the table.’
Cedar Waxwing – ‘…Like its European representative (the Waxen Chatterer), it is capable of braving a considerable degree of cold; for in Pennsylvania and New Jersey some of these birds are seen throughout the winter, where as well as in the early part of the summer and fall, they are killed and brought to market generally fat and much esteemed as food.’
Robin – ‘…Mr. Lock was engaged in fowling and wounded a robin which was claimed by a shrike. He finally shot the shrike and got his robin…Even in the vicinity of Boston, flocks of robins are seen, in certain seasons, assembling around open springs in the depth of winter, having arrived probably from the interior; and in these situations they are consequently often trapped and killed in great numbers. When feeding on cherries, poke, sassafras and sour gum berries they are so intent as to be easily approached and shot down in numbers; and when fat are justly esteemed for food and often brought to market.’
Horned Lark – ‘…During migration they are usually fat , esteemed as food and are frequently seen exposed for sale in our markets.’
Snow bunting – ‘…At times, pressed by hunger, they alight near the door of the cottage and approach the barn, or even venture into the outhouses in quest of dormant insects, seed or crumbs wherewith to allay their hunger; they are still, however, generally plump and fat, and in some countries much esteemed for the table.’
Tree swallows – ‘(After migrating to Louisiana)…the greater number resorted to the lakes and spent the night among the wax myrtle whose berries at this season afford them a support which they fatten and are then considered as excellent food.’
Flicker – ‘…In this part of New England (Boston), it is known by the name of Pigeon Woodpecker, from its general bulk and appearance; and to the disgrace of our paltry fowlers, it is in the autumn but too frequently seen exposed for sale in the markets, though its flesh is neither fat nor delicate.’
Considering that these are not even reckoned as game birds, I find it amazing that we have any birds left. Waterfowl were exploited even worse. Again from Nuttall, ‘…The islands between the small port of Little Macatine and Brador (I could not find either of these) abound with the Razor-bill and other allied marine birds whose eggs are collected by the inhabitants of Nova Scotia. For this purpose they commence by trampling on all that they find laid and the following day begin to collect those which are newly dropped, and such is the abundance of the eggs that Mr. Audubon fell in with a party of three men who, in the course of six weeks, had collected thirty thousand dozen with an estimated value of four hundred pounds sterling.’
We could improve our association with the natural world, but I think we have come a long way since the ‘good old days’, but if you want a super recipe for crow, let me know. You’ll have to hurry, as the spring season in the Quoddy region closes on March 31. FG
Baring (Map 36)
There were three Canada geese near the bald eagle platform on Rt 1 in Baring this morning. RF
Ogunquit (Map 1)
February 12, 2010
I never knew seagulls were banded until Feb. 12, 2010 when my wife was feeding them in the parking lot at Ogunquit Beach. I happened to notice this one with bands on both legs. DH
Woodland/Baileyville (Map 36)
I saw a pair of mallards in an open water ditch this afternoon. They are the first wild ducks I’ve seen this year. RF
Quoddy Nature Notes – Seaweed
By Fred Gralenski
Many of us in the Quoddy region were drawn to the coast like characters from a Melville novel, for some reason to be here at a boundary to the unknown, dictated by salt, versus the other different ecosystems of, say, Michigan or New Mexico. Here we have a definite line of separation between land based critters and plants that generally don’t mix with the marine based critters and plants only a few feet away. But even if one is not a naturalist there seems to be a noticeable difference about the coast. Some say that part of the attraction is the scent of the tangy salt air. But salt doesn’t have any smell. The smell of the tangy salt air is due to decaying marine organisms. Are we attracted to the coast by the aroma of rotten seaweed?
The commonest seaweed that we have here is rockweed, Ascophyllum nodosum. There are many thousands of tons of the stuff growing in the intertidal zone in the Cobscook and Passamaquoddy Bays, and the harvesting of a few thousand tons has triggered a vigorous debate over the practice, monitoring, licensing, method, surcharges and overall long term and short term effects. It seems it should be simple, but a meeting in Orono and many reports and documents indicate otherwise. Rockweed is a key species in the ecology of the bays. Without rockweed just about all of the marine critters would be sorely depleted or eliminated, and clammers, wrinklers, and a host of others that make their living from the coastal waters would see their livelihood disappear. It is of the utmost importance that the rockweed remain healthy. A recent article in the Bangor Daily News by two well respected scientists, Robert L. Vadas and Brian Beal, (See Rockweed harvesting: a recipe for sustainability, BDN Feb 18, 2010) advocated for a rigorous enforcement of a harvesting method that leaves the seaweed undisturbed for at least 16 inches above the holdfast. This, the authors claim, “…would seem to meet the precautionary principle for sustainability and for providing habitat for associated species.” Pretty tricky considering the terrain where rockweed grows, but maybe something can be worked out. I would also like to see a peer reviewed study of the nutrient cycle and budget. I want to know where does all of the nutrient value of the rockweed that is naturally ‘lost’ now go? If a few thousand tons of rockweed are harvested from the bays, which species, if any, get shortchanged? The bays in the Quoddy region have high nutrient and oxygen levels and the high tides cycle twice daily to maintain a very productive ecosystem. Strangely enough, a comprehensive study indicated that the nutrients seem to follow the salinity, that is, the majority of the nutrients of Cobscook bay come from the Gulf of Maine. Does that mean that we in Cobscook bay do not have to be especially concerned about the nutrient value of the seaweed harvest, as the nutrients are just going to be flushed out to the Gulf of Maine? I don’t know. If the nutrients are ‘just flushed out’ do they just drop to the seabed of the Gulf or do they remain suspended for a considerable amount of time? If they remain suspended are they utilized by the inshore phytoplankton, which in turn are utilized by the zooplankton, which in turn are consumed by herring, which in turn are…Oh Oh. Herring stocks are down. Since 2004 the allowable catch of Atlantic herring has been reduced by half. The front page of the same BDN with the article mentioned above indicates the closing of the last remaining sardine cannery in the United States, in Prospect Harbor, Maine.
I inserted a lot of conjecture in between the hard facts. There are many ways to connect the dots. But I collected some washed up seaweed this morning. I wet down my 1’ by 3’ seed starting box, lined it with old newspaper and wet that down, then put down a 1 inch layer of seaweed. On top of that I put 2 inches of ProMix, and then I put it by the water storage tank of my wood boiler. After a day of settling and warming up I will plant my onion seeds. Spring is coming.
