Qualitative surveys of mussel communities at sites in the Tri-State Mining District, 2016 - 2018

The Tri-State Mining District (TSMD) is an area encompassing portions of Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma in which lead and zinc mining historically occurred. To further investigate the relationship between metal contamination and unionid communities, goals of this study were as follows; 1) Conduct a reconnaissance survey of the North Fork Spring River, Spring River, Center Creek, Shoal Creek, Tar Creek, Lost Creek, and Neosho River for areas containing live unionids and/or suitable unionid habitat with the goal of identifying approximately 25 sites that warrant further quantitative assessment, 2) Conduct quantitative unionid and habitat surveys at selected sites, and 3) Compare quantitative mussel data and preliminary sediment metal concentrations among sites. This data set is comprised of the results of qualitative and quantitative sampling of freshwater mussel communities in the TMSD including sampling locations, count of each species during surveys, and associated size, age, and life stage data.