Senior Aquatic Scientist, Lance Butler and his team of student interns have completed three propagation trials so far. You may know that the life cycle of the freshwater mussel is slightly complicated. Mussel larvae called glochidia must attach to the gills of a host fish to transform into juvenile mussels. In the lab, glochidia are […]
It’s been a little more than six years since consistent heavy downpours swelled the neighboring Schuylkill River and subsequently flooded our historic site. We remember well the impacts of Tropical Storm Lee, and Katia which hit in 2014. Last week, as a result of Tropical Storm Isaias, the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center flooded again. On Tuesday, August 4, at […]
The cold (or not so cold) winter months have given us time to get our freshwater mussel hatchery ready for the new propagating season. Tanks and equipment are cleaned and sanitized. Equipment is built or repaired. Three brood stock tanks have been set up for the gravid female mussels (gravid means their eggs have been […]