Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
Invasive and nonnative species can create competitive pressures on food resources. Further, their burrowing activity can uproot native mussels in sandy sediments (Vaughn and Hakenkamp 2001; Bogan et al. 2011) . In 2007, the first location in the state of the nonnative Lilliput was discovered at Falls Lake in Wake County and was confirmed through DNA analysis (Bogan et al. 2011) . Asian Clam can be found throughout the state, often in such large quantities that they decrease available oxygen (Belanger et al.1990; Leff et al.1990; Bucci 2007) and create high levels of ammonia in streams that can negatively affect native mussels. Knowledge about how mussel species and communities may change in response to invasive nonnative species and pathogens is needed. Development of an early detection and rapid response system for new aquatic invaders (for example, use of eDNA) can be used as a means of targeting problems early (Newton et al. 2023) . Extinction of North American unionoid bivalves can be traced to impoundment and inundation of riffle habitat in major rivers basins of the central and eastern United States. Dams are a barrier to host fish, and the loss of obligate hosts, coupled with increased siltation, and various types of industrial and domestic pollution, have resulted in the rapid decline in the unionoid bivalve fauna in North America (Bogan 1993) . Hypolimnion water discharged from behind a dam will be colder and have less oxygen than downstream receiving waters (Neves and Angermeier 1990) . Participation in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing process will facilitate negotiation of more natural flow regimes in regulated rivers and help identify opportunities to mitigate negative impacts from hydropower development. Contaminants and water pollution are significant threats to all aquatic species, especially mussels. Point source discharges from municipal wastewater that contains monochloramine and unionized ammonia compounds are acutely toxic to freshwater mussels and may be responsible for glochidial mortality that results in local extirpation of mussels (Goudreau et al. 1993; Gangloff et al. 2009) . However, given the transient nature of flowing systems (e.g., a water continuum) and the potential for dilution at any point along the system, it is especially difficult to detect not only origin points but also concentration levels in the water column (Fleming et al. 1995) . A die-off event affecting Tar River Spinymussel populations was detected in the Swift Creek watershed (Nash County) as it occurred and was attributed to anticholinesterase poisoning related to organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides used in agricultural applications (Hill and Fleming 1982; Fleming et al. 1995) . Since the publication of Kolpin et al. (2002) on the extent and diversity of chemicals present in the nation’s waters, there has been increased concern about the biological relevance of the mix of chemicals to which mussels and other aquatic organisms are exposed, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and agrochemicals. Many pollutants detected in streams have never been evaluated for their impacts to mussels (2015 email from T Augspurger to the authors; unreferenced) . Toxicity data for mussels should be integrated into regulatory decisions for existing and new water quality standards (Newton et al. 2023) . It would be useful to understand the relative contribution of a suite of environmental contaminants to develop a risk profile and identify the lethal and non-lethal responses of mussels to the full spectrum of environmental contaminants (Newton et al. 2023) .
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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