The Appalachian elktoe (Alasmidonta raveneliana) is found at geographically fragmented locations in Western North Carolina and Tennessee. The species is imperiled and was federally listed as endangered in 1994. The elktoe population in the Little Tennessee River in Western NC has experienced a precipitous decline since 2004. Preliminary studies suggest that rapidly expanding populations of an invasive species, the Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea), may be contributing to the decline. We propose to build on these preliminary studies and examine the likelihood that the nutritional health of Appalachian elktoe populations has been impaired. Sentinel A. raveneliana will be held at selected sites in the Little Tennessee and Tuckasegee rivers. Their survival and growth will be measured and their nutritional health status assessed relative to available seston and other food resources supporting their diets in the two rivers systems. Concurrent assessment of sediment microbial populations will facilitate the development of profiles of microbial communities and examination of relative changes over time at locations where they are in decline in the Little Tennessee and thriving in the Tuckasegee. Additional studies in the laboratory will be conducted to assess the role of different components of particulate organic matter in the growth and survival of A. raveneliana.
