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On 5/16/2014 1:06 PM, David McCorquodale wrote:
> Muskrats are important predators of freshwater mussels in eastern North
> America, including NS. Often they pile shells in middens.
>
> In Blacketts Lake and Pottle Lake in CBRM piles of shells of several
> species of freshwater mussels, including the Yellow Lamp Mussel, are
> obvious.
* these URLs just took me to a general flckr site, not to the individual
photos.
Muskrats and Beavers can process astonishing numbers of mussels, and
often leave the shells quite undamaged - and nonhuman mammals, with weak
connections of cultural memory can "discover" a food source and use it
to depletion for one generation with the descendents never learning
about it, giving the prey time to build up to high density.
Freezing or anoxia can kill mussels, though they'd die buried in the
substrate, and wouldn't be expected to be on the beach this early - also
low water levels can cause mass mortality. Without being able to see the
pictures, I can't say what species these are, but if they're Anodonta or
Pyganodon "Floaters" the light-weight shells would be more likely to
work loose from the substrate and blow onto a lee shore.
fred.
==============================================
>
> On Fri, May 16, 2014 at 1:35 PM, nancy dowd <nancypdowd@gmail.com
> <mailto:nancypdowd@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Water levels have dropped just enough on L Torment to show about 6"
> of beach in places now but the shore has been completely submerged
> since last October. The number of mussel shells seen in these
> pictures is unusual:
>
> At the end of the path they are visible as far as you can see out
> into the water:
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/92981528@N08/14196083311/
>
> And it is this way the whole way along the shore. Another view 40'
> along the submerged beach:
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/92981528@N08/14012727849/
>
> This side of the lake has the prevailing onshore winds and waves and
> the shells are starting to collect in the exposed pockets:
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/92981528@N08/14199406975/
>
> Why so many empty mussel shells? Would the winter somehow have been
> hard on them- ice or cold or oxygen levels? Doesn't look like
> predation to me- too many shells. This is the first year I have ever
> seen anything like this.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Nancy
>
>
>
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