Variation in Freshwater Mussel Shell Sculpture and Shape Along a River Gradient

2010 ◽  
Vol 164 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Hornbach ◽  
Valerie J. Kurth ◽  
Mark C. Hove
Author(s):  
Evan Peacock ◽  
Cliff Jenkins ◽  
Paul F. Jacobs ◽  
Joseph Greenleaf

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Eales ◽  
Catherine Westcott ◽  
Ian Lilley ◽  
Sean Ulm ◽  
Deborah Brian ◽  
...  

This site report presents a description of archaeological investigations undertaken at Roof Fall Cave, an occupied rockshelter and art site located at Cania Gorge, eastern Central Queensland. Excavation yielded quantities of stone artefacts, bone and charcoal, along with some freshwater mussel shell and ochre with an occupational sequence spanning from up to 18,576 cal BP to the historical period. Roof Fall Cave is currently the oldest dated site in Cania Gorge and possibly in the Central Queensland region.


1988 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 42-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Hall ◽  
Peter Hiscock

Platypus Rockshelter is a multicomponent archaeological site set into a conglomerate cliff on the Brisbane River near Fernvale, S.E. Queensland.  Excavation revealed seven stratigraphic units in the smaller of two weathered cavities and these date from some 300 BP to younger than 540 BP. An abundance of bone, freshwater mussel shell, charcoal and a lesser amount of other organic material (e.g. feathers, hair, plants) was found associated with numerous stone artefacts. This good organic preservation, when linked with an internally consistent C14 dating series, a model of site formation and an initial understanding of site disturbance processes, makes it feasible to investigate variability in prehistoric human use of Platypus Rockshelter. Details concerning the site's complex stratigraphy, dating and site formation are the focus of a separate paper in this issue of QAR (Hall et al 1988). In accordance with the aims of the Moreton Region Archaeological Project - Stage II (Hall and Hiscock 1988), this companion paper presents data on the assemblage content and discard patterns in order to discuss changing site use during the Holocene. In particular we raise the issue of how the changing morphology of the shelter may have influenced the temporal pattern of cultural discard and follow with a discussion of how the nature of assemblages may be employed to tease out some factors relating to temporal changes in site use. We also offer the caveat that changes in the discard rate of cultural material through time do not necessarily reflect shifts in "occupational intensity".


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimaima Lako ◽  
Nanise Kuridrani ◽  
Milika Sobey

This paper examines the local freshwater mussel, or kai (Batissa violacea), fishery value chain, its values and contribution to the livelihood of people in Viti Levu, Fiji. The assessment was performed through face-to-face interviews, with the use of semi-structured questionnaires administered to 125 actors. A walk through the value-chain was also conducted that confirmed the sites’ environmental conditions. Results revealed that even though the kai fishery is dominated by rural women, men were also employed as kai processors, transporting agents and exporters. This fishery generated at least 58 other employments through the 500 kai harvesters within the five major provinces understudy. These were drivers, boat builders, retailers, processors, exporters, and harvesters. Three sales pathways were identified that determined the revenues and profits: (i) harvesters sell own harvests directly to the consumer at the municipal markets, (ii) harvesters sell through intermediary traders to consumers, and (iii) harvesters sell through processors to supermarkets, hotels or exporters. When revenues and profits were calculated, harvesters earned much less, compared to intermediary traders, processors, and exporters. Major constraints include continuous reduction in catch size of kai, lack of transport, and marketing at the local municipal markets that require improvements.


Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Adrianna Kilikowska ◽  
Monika Mioduchowska ◽  
Anna Wysocka ◽  
Agnieszka Kaczmarczyk-Ziemba ◽  
Joanna Rychlińska ◽  
...  

Mussels of the family Unionidae are important components of freshwater ecosystems. Alarmingly, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Species identifies almost 200 unionid species as extinct, endangered, or threatened. Their decline is the result of human impact on freshwater habitats, and the decrease of host fish populations. The Thick Shelled River Mussel Unio crassus Philipsson, 1788 is one of the examples that has been reported to show a dramatic decline of populations. Hierarchical organization of riverine systems is supposed to reflect the genetic structure of populations inhabiting them. The main goal of this study was an assessment of the U. crassus genetic diversity in river ecosystems using hierarchical analysis. Different molecular markers, the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer ITS region, and mitochondrial DNA genes (cox1 and ndh1), were used to examine the distribution of U. crassus among-population genetic variation at multiple spatial scales (within rivers, among rivers within drainages, and between drainages of the Neman and Vistula rivers). We found high genetic structure between both drainages suggesting that in the case of the analyzed U. crassus populations we were dealing with at least two different genetic units. Only about 4% of the mtDNA variation was due to differences among populations within drainages. However, comparison of population differentiation within drainages for mtDNA also showed some genetic structure among populations within the Vistula drainage. Only one haplotype was shared among all Polish populations whereas the remainder were unique for each population despite the hydrological connection. Interestingly, some haplotypes were present in both drainages. In the case of U. crassus populations under study, the Mantel test revealed a relatively strong relationship between genetic and geographical distances. However, in detail, the pattern of genetic diversity seems to be much more complicated. Therefore, we suggest that the observed pattern of U. crassus genetic diversity distribution is shaped by both historical and current factors i.e. different routes of post glacial colonization and history of drainage systems, historical gene flow, and more recent habitat fragmentation due to anthropogenic factors.


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