Issue 17•March 2006                                Keeping you informed about the land and water we care about.
You can reach us by phone:  540-674-0166; or mail:  Friends of Claytor Lake, PO Box 815, Pulaski, VA 24301
We meet the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 6pm in the Council Chamber of the Dublin Town Hall

This issue’s content:

    Claytor Lake Drawdown/Mussel Study
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Claytor Lake Drawdown/Mussel Study

At the February FOCL Board meeting, Brian Watson of the Virginia Department of
Game and Inland Fisheries presented the results of his study of the effect of the
drawdown on Claytor Lake’s mussel population. The study was essentially a count
of live mussels at the beginning and end of the drawdown.

Seven points along the shoreline were targeted for the study as shown:

Aerial view of Claytor Lake.

At each of the above sites, mussels were located, flagged and numbered. A total of
755 mussels were marked.

Locating the mussels at the beginning of the drawdown; flagging and numbering.

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At the end of the drawdown period, Brian and his team returned to the sites. Of the
755 mussels marked, only 21 mussels were found alive. Three hundred fifteen were
found dead; the remaining missing.

Collecting data at the end of the study; collection of empty mussel shells.

The primary reason for the mussel deaths:  predation. That is, the drawdown
provides easy access to those natural predators that feed upon mussels such as
birds and raccoons.

Dead mussels:  the broken shells indicate these were a predator’s lunch.

Though it is clear that the drawdown negatively affects mussels, it is not clear to
what degree. That is, the total mussel population in the lake is unknown, therefore
the percentage of the population affected is unknown. A study to determine the
total mussel population in the lake, and thus the percentage of the mussel
population affected, would be cost prohibitive.

So in many ways we are left where we started:  the drawdown negatively affects
the mussel population to an unknown degree, but the drawdown provides an
opportunity to care for the shoreline of the lake which is also very important.

We thank Brian Watson and his team for their time and dedication to this study.
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Thanks for your support of FOCL and Claytor Lake. http://www.focl.org


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