Catchment prioritization for freshwater mussel conservation in the Northeastern United States based on distribution modelling.

ABSTRACT: Freshwater mussels are critical to the health of freshwater systems, but their populations are declining dramatically throughout the world. The limited resources available for freshwater mussel conservation necessitates the geographic prioritization of conservation-related actions. However, lack of knowledge about freshwater mussel spatial distributions hinders decision making in this context. In this study, we assessed the distribution of twelve native freshwater mussel species across six Northeastern states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine) in the United States using data collected from lentic and lotic environments by eight state agencies. We first modeled individual distributions using a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model and then compiled distri

SUBMITTER: O'Brien RSM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12419594 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature