Yellow lampmussel (Lampsilis cariosa) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 9

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Special Significance of the Species

Bailey (1887) reports shell beads of local manufacture produced from unionids in a native Indian grave on the Tobique, northern New Brunswick. There is also literature suggesting that an informal unionid pearl fishery, focusing on Margaritifera, operated in some of the southern counties of New Brunswick in the late 19^th C (Ganong 1889). However, as far as is known, neither the Saint John or Sydney River L. cariosa had any traditional, cultural or commercial uses. Currently, the Yellow Lampmussel is considered to be threatened throughout its range in the United States and in some watersheds it is believed to have been extirpated or is at least endangered.

Further work is needed to estimate overall abundance of L. cariosa in the Saint John River system, but it is clear that the lower Saint John and tributaries harbor most of the Canadian population. Both the Saint John and Sydney River populations are disjunct, the latter being at least 500 km from the nearest population in the main part of the range. The apparent size and presumed genetic integrity of these isolated L. cariosa populations, as well as the current lack of zebra mussels (Dreissena sp.) in either the Saint John or Sydney River systems, suggests that these Yellow Lampmussel populations could play an important role in the future conservation of the species. Furthermore, relatively easy access to L. cariosa and associated freshwater mussels in the Saint John and Sydney Rivers provides an important research and educational resource.