Freshwater Mussels, Ecosystem Services, and Clean Water Regulation in Minnesota: Formulating an Effective Conservation Strategy
Freshwater mussels are threatened with extirpation in North America. They are a sentinel species for ecosystem function and contribute towards many ecosystem services. As mussels require clean water to survive, and since conserving ecosystem services is implicit in the federal Clean Water Act, incor...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/14/2560 |
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| author | Baishali Bakshi R. William Bouchard Robert Dietz Daniel Hornbach Philip Monson Bernard Sietman Dennis Wasley |
| author_facet | Baishali Bakshi R. William Bouchard Robert Dietz Daniel Hornbach Philip Monson Bernard Sietman Dennis Wasley |
| author_sort | Baishali Bakshi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Freshwater mussels are threatened with extirpation in North America. They are a sentinel species for ecosystem function and contribute towards many ecosystem services. As mussels require clean water to survive, and since conserving ecosystem services is implicit in the federal Clean Water Act, incorporating mussel conservation into state water policies could serve multiple conservation goals. In this paper we conduct a comprehensive critical review of three topics related to freshwater mussels: their contribution to ecosystem services, their links with water quality, and threats to their survival from water pollutants and extent of protection available from regulation. In so doing, we identify gaps between the water quality requirements of mussels and the protection provided by current water regulation to help inform clean water and conservation goals in Minnesota. We find freshwater mussels to be generally sensitive to a wide variety of pollutants, and particularly to nutrients such as total nitrogen and total phosphorus and to major ions such as chloride. In addition, we find that current state water quality standards may not be sufficiently protective of mussels. We formulate a framework for determining an effective conservation strategy for mussels in Minnesota based on ecological and economic criteria to ensure adequate conservation at a reasonable cost. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:33:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-de495c205775427e8b1320e2f51be965 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:33:41Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-de495c205775427e8b1320e2f51be9652023-11-18T21:47:04ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-07-011514256010.3390/w15142560Freshwater Mussels, Ecosystem Services, and Clean Water Regulation in Minnesota: Formulating an Effective Conservation StrategyBaishali Bakshi0R. William Bouchard1Robert Dietz2Daniel Hornbach3Philip Monson4Bernard Sietman5Dennis Wasley6Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Saint Paul, MN 55155, USAMinnesota Pollution Control Agency, Saint Paul, MN 55155, USAMinnesota Pollution Control Agency, Saint Paul, MN 55155, USADepartment of Environmental Studies, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55113, USAMinnesota Pollution Control Agency, Saint Paul, MN 55155, USAMinnesota Department of Natural Resources, Lake City, MN 55041, USAMinnesota Pollution Control Agency, Saint Paul, MN 55155, USAFreshwater mussels are threatened with extirpation in North America. They are a sentinel species for ecosystem function and contribute towards many ecosystem services. As mussels require clean water to survive, and since conserving ecosystem services is implicit in the federal Clean Water Act, incorporating mussel conservation into state water policies could serve multiple conservation goals. In this paper we conduct a comprehensive critical review of three topics related to freshwater mussels: their contribution to ecosystem services, their links with water quality, and threats to their survival from water pollutants and extent of protection available from regulation. In so doing, we identify gaps between the water quality requirements of mussels and the protection provided by current water regulation to help inform clean water and conservation goals in Minnesota. We find freshwater mussels to be generally sensitive to a wide variety of pollutants, and particularly to nutrients such as total nitrogen and total phosphorus and to major ions such as chloride. In addition, we find that current state water quality standards may not be sufficiently protective of mussels. We formulate a framework for determining an effective conservation strategy for mussels in Minnesota based on ecological and economic criteria to ensure adequate conservation at a reasonable cost.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/14/2560freshwater mussel conservationecosystem servicespollutionclean water regulation |
| spellingShingle | Baishali Bakshi R. William Bouchard Robert Dietz Daniel Hornbach Philip Monson Bernard Sietman Dennis Wasley Freshwater Mussels, Ecosystem Services, and Clean Water Regulation in Minnesota: Formulating an Effective Conservation Strategy Water freshwater mussel conservation ecosystem services pollution clean water regulation |
| title | Freshwater Mussels, Ecosystem Services, and Clean Water Regulation in Minnesota: Formulating an Effective Conservation Strategy |
| title_full | Freshwater Mussels, Ecosystem Services, and Clean Water Regulation in Minnesota: Formulating an Effective Conservation Strategy |
| title_fullStr | Freshwater Mussels, Ecosystem Services, and Clean Water Regulation in Minnesota: Formulating an Effective Conservation Strategy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Freshwater Mussels, Ecosystem Services, and Clean Water Regulation in Minnesota: Formulating an Effective Conservation Strategy |
| title_short | Freshwater Mussels, Ecosystem Services, and Clean Water Regulation in Minnesota: Formulating an Effective Conservation Strategy |
| title_sort | freshwater mussels ecosystem services and clean water regulation in minnesota formulating an effective conservation strategy |
| topic | freshwater mussel conservation ecosystem services pollution clean water regulation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/14/2560 |
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