Initial Site sampling complete!

The UA and UM crew together on Bear Creek, AL.

Mussel displaying its lure to attract a host fish to carry its glochidia on the Duck River, TN.

Sampling on Bogue Chitto Creek, AL.

Cahaba River, AL

Over the last week and a half, the University of Alabama group, which has included Carla Atkinson (PI), Jeff Lozier (PI), Jamie Bucholz (PhD student), Ansley Hamid (undergraduate researcher), and Austin Beets (undergraduate researcher), have visited and sampled all of the sites for the project. We have visited the Sipsey River (AL), the Cahaba River (AL), Bogue Chitto Creek (AL), Bear Creek (AL), Paint Rock River (AL), the Buttahatchee River (MS), and the Duck River (TN). We have been collecting water samples, collecting seston samples (mussel food), and have been characterizing the substrate of each site. It's been hot, but luckily we can take a swim to cool down!