Next OWA Meeting

Meeting link will be sent out via H2OAddicts and posted in the OWA Facebook group

Biography

Celeste Searles Mazzacano is the owner and Principal Scientist at CASM Environmental LLC, where her work focuses on insects, freshwater mussels, and other invertebrates. She has a B.S. in Genetics & Cell Biology and a Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Minnesota Her research and teaching takes her from river bottoms to tree canopies as she works to investigate, characterize, and preserve invertebrate species, and develop management plans that protect the overall ecosystem. As an educator, she strives to impart her almost excessive enthusiasm about the world of invertebrates to others and engender a greater appreciation of their important functions. Celeste has worked on freshwater mussels in the Pacific Northwest for 13 years and loves mussel research not just because they are amazing creatures, but because it’s also a great excuse to snorkel, kayak, or scuba dive.

Presentation: Freshwater mussels: mysterious dwellers in the deep

The Pacific region has low freshwater mussel diversity, but our native species are found nowhere else in North America. Mussels and humans have intersected for a long time; shell middens left by indigenous northwest peoples who harvested mussels for food, tools, and ornaments date back more than 10,000 years. Unfortunately, more modern intersections with humans that include overharvesting, altered stream flows, and water pollution have made mussels one of the most threatened groups of wildlife in North America. Oregon’s rivers have never been surveyed systematically and both historic and current mussel records are very incomplete, which makes conservation a challenge. This situation is further complicated by the fact that many people know little or nothing about our native freshwater mussels. In this presentation, you’ll be introduced to Oregon’s Western Pearlshells (Margaritifera falcata), Western Ridgemussels (Gonidea angulata), and Floaters (Anodonta) and learn the basics of freshwater mussel biology and ecology and why their health is linked to the health of our rivers, streams, and lakes.