Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Michelle R Bartsch

Michelle Bartsch

Science and Products

link
Tagging channel catfish with acoustic transmitters and infesting them with Winged Mapleleaf glochidia

Hydroacoustic mapping for native mussel and host fish habitats using Quadrula fragosa and Ictalurus punctatus

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) is one of the best remaining refuges for declining populations of native unionid mussels in the United States and supports the only known self-sustaining population of the federally endangered Winged Mapleleaf ( Quadrula fragosa ) in the Upper Mississippi River basin. Mussel fauna are important to the river ecosystem, providing important ecological...
By
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
link

Hydroacoustic mapping for native mussel and host fish habitats using Quadrula fragosa and Ictalurus punctatus

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) is one of the best remaining refuges for declining populations of native unionid mussels in the United States and supports the only known self-sustaining population of the federally endangered Winged Mapleleaf ( Quadrula fragosa ) in the Upper Mississippi River basin. Mussel fauna are important to the river ecosystem, providing important ecological...
Learn More
link
Juvenile Winged Mapleleaf

Evaluate Propagation Efforts and Determine Dispersal Patterns for Quadrula fragosa from Tagged, Artificially Infested Host Fish (Ictalurus punctatus) in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN)

The Winged Mapleleaf mussel ( Quadrula fragosa ) is only known to inhabit five locations in the U.S., and the population in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway is isolated both physically and genetically from the other populations. In 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued Reasonable and Prudent Measures, which required the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to establish...
By
Species Management Research Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
link

Evaluate Propagation Efforts and Determine Dispersal Patterns for Quadrula fragosa from Tagged, Artificially Infested Host Fish (Ictalurus punctatus) in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN)

The Winged Mapleleaf mussel ( Quadrula fragosa ) is only known to inhabit five locations in the U.S., and the population in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway is isolated both physically and genetically from the other populations. In 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued Reasonable and Prudent Measures, which required the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to establish...
Learn More
link
Brooding Winged Mapleleaf displaying its mantle magazine during September in the St. Croix River.

Improving Survival of Juvenile Winged Mapleleaf Mussels (Quadrula fragosa) Through Identification of Host Fish Overwintering Areas

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) is one of the last refuges for rapidly declining populations of native unionid mussels in the United States and supports the only known self-sustaining population of the federally endangered Winged Mapleleaf mussel ( Quadrula fragosa ) in the upper Mississippi River basin. The Channel Catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) is the only known host for Winged...
By
Species Management Research Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
link

Improving Survival of Juvenile Winged Mapleleaf Mussels (Quadrula fragosa) Through Identification of Host Fish Overwintering Areas

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) is one of the last refuges for rapidly declining populations of native unionid mussels in the United States and supports the only known self-sustaining population of the federally endangered Winged Mapleleaf mussel ( Quadrula fragosa ) in the upper Mississippi River basin. The Channel Catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) is the only known host for Winged...
Learn More

Age, Trace Metal, Stable Isotope, and Fatty Acid Data Collected from Sturgeon Captured in the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2015-2016.

Proposed invasive carp barriers may threaten populations of migratory fishes in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area by preventing movements between rivers needed to fulfill life history requirements. Moreover, reproducing populations of invasive carp could alter aquatic food webs and negatively affect mussels and migratory fishes. In this s
By
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Assessment of uncontained Zequanox applications in a Midwestern lake data

We applied Zequanox using a custom-engineered, boat mounted application system to replicated 0.30 Hectare plots within a small inland lake. The objectives of these applications were to determine if uncontained, open-water Zequanox applications could effectively control zebra mussel populations and protect native unionid mussel populations within zebra mussel infested systems. The datasets included
By
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Food web fatty acids and stable isotopes in the Upper Mississippi River Basin 2013-2014: Data

This dataset includes information from multiple taxa collected from four main reaches in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, including La Grange reach of Illinois River, Pool 2 of Mississippi River, Pool 19 of Mississippi River, and the St. Croix River. Taxa include hydropsychid caddisflies, chironomids, hexagenia mayflies, threeridge mussels, mapleleaf mussels, Wabash pigtoe mussels, bigmouth buff
By
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Filter Total Items: 23

Evaluate propagation efforts and determine dispersal patterns for Quadrula fragosa from tagged, artificially infested host fish (Ictalurus punctatus) in the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN)

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) has been the site of propagation and restoration efforts for two federally endangered unionid mussels: Higgins’ Eye, Lampsilis higginsii and Winged Mapleleaf (WML), Quadrula fragosa. Since about 2000, government agencies have collaboratively developed techniques to successfully propagate Higgins’ Eye and reintroduce the captive-reared subadult mussels
Authors
Michelle Bartsch
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Assessing the migratory histories, trophic positions, and conditions of lake sturgeon in the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers using fin ray microchemistry, stable isotopes, and fatty acid profiles

BackgroundReproducing populations of invasive carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) could alter aquatic food webs and negatively affect native fishes in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS) and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN). However, proposed invasive carp barriers may also threaten populations of native migratory fishes by preventing movements of fish between rivers
Authors
Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid, Michelle Bartsch, Lynn A. Bartsch, Steven J. Zigler, Robert J Kennedy, Seth A. Love
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Use of carbon dioxide to prevent zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) settlement and effects on native mussels (Order Unionoida) and benthic communities

We determined the efficacy of carbon dioxide (CO2) for preventing larval (veliger) settlement of the invasive zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and compared the response of native juvenile mussels and macroinvertebrate and periphyton communities to hypercapnia. A microcosm system of control (ambient Camb) and CO2 treatments [low PCO2 (Clow)=35,094 µatm, and high PCO2 (Chigh)=66,685 µatm)] was su
Authors
Diane L. Waller, Lynn A. Bartsch, Michelle Bartsch, Matthew J Meulemans, Thomas J. Zolper, Todd J. Severson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Temperature‐related responses of an invasive mussel and 2 unionid mussels to elevated carbon dioxide

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) have exacerbated the decline of native freshwater mussels (Order Unionida) in North America since their arrival in the 1980s. Options for controlling invasive mussels, particularly in unionid mussel habitats, are limited. Previously, carbon dioxide (CO2) showed selective toxicity for zebra mussels, relative to unionids, when applied in cool water (12 °C). We fi
Authors
Diane L. Waller, Michelle R. Bartsch, Eric G. Lord, Richard A. Erickson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Assessment of uncontained Zequanox applications for zebra mussel control in a Midwestern lake

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are invasive bivalves that have perturbed aquatic ecosystems within North America since their introduction in the mid-1980s. Control of zebra mussels has largely been restricted to raw water conveyance systems and associated infrastructures because few control products are registered for application in surface waters. The biopesticide Zequanox was registered in
Authors
James A. Luoma, Diane L. Waller, Todd J. Severson, Matthew Barbour, Jeremy K. Wise, Eric G. Lord, Michelle R. Bartsch, Lynn A. Bartsch
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Use of carbon dioxide in zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) control and safety to a native freshwater mussel (Fatmucket, Lampsilis siliquoidea)

Control technology for dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis) currently relies heavily on chemical molluscicides that can be both costly and ecologically harmful. There is a need for more environmentally neutral tools to manage dreissenid mussels, particularly in cooler water. Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been shown to be lethal to several species of invasive bivalves, including zeb
Authors
Diane L. Waller, Michelle R. Bartsch
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Evaluating potential effects of bigheaded carps on fatty acid profiles of multiple trophic levels in large rivers of the Midwest, USA

Recent work indicates that the establishment of bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) in the United States has led to a reduction in condition of native planktivores and may detrimentally affect other trophic levels by altering the base of aquatic food webs. We used fatty acids to evaluate potential effects of bigheaded carps on taxa from multiple trophic levels in the Upper Mississippi, Illin
Authors
Andrea K. Fritts, Brent C. Knights, Toben LaFrancois, Jonathan M. Vallazza, Lynn A. Bartsch, Michelle R. Bartsch, William B. Richardson, Sean Bailey, Rebecca Kreiling, Byron Karns
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Spatial and temporal variance in fatty acid and stable isotope signatures across trophic levels in large river systems

Fatty acid and stable isotope signatures allow researchers to better understand food webs, food sources, and trophic relationships. Research in marine and lentic systems has indicated that the variance of these biomarkers can exhibit substantial differences across spatial and temporal scales, but this type of analysis has not been completed for large river systems. Our objectives were to evaluate
Authors
Andrea K. Fritts, Brent C. Knights, Toben D. Lafrancois, Lynn A. Bartsch, Jonathan M. Vallazza, Michelle R. Bartsch, William B. Richardson, Byron N. Karns, Sean Bailey, Rebecca Kreiling
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Lethal and sublethal responses of native mussels (Unionidae: Lampsilis siliquoidea and Lampsilis higginsii) to elevated carbon dioxide

Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) that have been proposed for aquatic invasive species control (24 000 – 96 000 μatm partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2); 1 atm = 101.325 kPa) were tested on two juvenile mussels, the fatmucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) and the US federally endangered Higgins’ eye (Lampsilis higginsii). A suite of responses (survival, growth, behavior, and gene expression) were measured after
Authors
Diane L. Waller, Michelle R. Bartsch, Lynn A. Bartsch, Craig Jackson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Using a gradient in food quality to infer drivers of fatty acid content in two filter-feeding aquatic consumers

Inferences about ecological structure and function are often made using elemental or macromolecular tracers of food web structure. For example, inferences about food chain length are often made using stable isotope ratios of top predators and consumer food sources are often inferred from both stable isotopes and fatty acid (FA) content in consumer tissues. The use of FAs as tracers implies some de
Authors
James H. Larson, William B. Richardson, Jonathan M. Vallazza, Lynn A. Bartsch, Michelle R. Bartsch
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Effects of food resources on the fatty acid composition, growth and survival of freshwater mussels

Increased nutrient and sediment loading in rivers have caused observable changes in algal community composition, and thereby, altered the quality and quantity of food resources available to native freshwater mussels. Our objective was to characterize the relationship between nutrient conditions and mussel food quality and examine the effects on fatty acid composition, growth and survival of juveni
Authors
Michelle R. Bartsch, Lynn A. Bartsch, William B. Richardson, Jonathan M. Vallazza, Brenda Moraska Lafrancois
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Effects of carbon dioxide on juveniles of the freshwater mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea [Unionidae])

Carbon dioxide (CO2) has shown promise as a tool to control movements of invasive Asian carp, but its effects on native freshwater biota have not been well studied. The authors evaluated lethal and sublethal responses of juvenile fatmucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea) mussels to CO2 at levels (43–269 mg/L, mean concentration) that bracket concentrations effective for deterring carp movement. The 28-d l
Authors
Diane L. Waller, Michelle R. Bartsch, Kim T. Fredricks, Lynn A. Bartsch, Susan M. Schleis, Sheldon Lee
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Science and Products