Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research

Dr. Wendell Haag Wins 2007 Chief's Early Career Scientist's Award

Dr. Wendell Haag, a Fishery Research Biologist at our Oxford, MS facility, has won the 2007 Forest Service Chief's Award in the Early Career Scientist category "For high productivity of quality research on freshwater mussels as an early-career scientist with the Aquatic and Terrestrial Fauna Team, Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research".

Dr. Haag’s research program has directly addressed some of the most intractable problems in freshwater mussel conservation and his research results have had a major impact on this field. North America supports the richest freshwater mussel fauna on Earth, with most of this diversity concentrated in the southeastern United States. Mussels are long-lived, bottom dwelling filter-feeders that are relatively sedentary, which makes them excellent indicators of water resource integrity. Because mussel populations have declined precipitously in recent years resulting in a large number species receiving protection under the Endangered Species Act, mussel conservation has become a major focus for land managers, both on private and federal lands. However, mussel conservation efforts have been severely handicapped by a lack of knowledge about virtually all aspects of their ecology. Dr. Haag’s research program has made valuable contributions to our knowledge of mussel ecology, most notably in the following five areas: population dynamics of freshwater mussels, fish hosts and reproductive biology of freshwater mussels, life histories and community ecology of freshwater mussels, sampling methods for freshwater mussels, and biochronology of shell rings in freshwater mussels.

Dr. Haag’s discoveries of fascinating life history adaptations of mussels have played a major role in publicizing the conservation plight of these animals by easing a “public relations problem” that existed previously because the animals were perceived as rather inconspicuous and uncharismatic. His research on mussel strategies for host fish attraction has been highlighted in a number of popular magazines and textbooks including Smithsonian, Wildlife (BBC, Great Britain), Illustreret Videnskab (Denmark), Pennak’s Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States, and Bond’s Biology of Fishes. His photographs of mussels and their elaborate fish lures are used widely and internationally, appearing in such diverse outlets as: the IUCN World Conservation Union Red List of Threatened Species; Wings, Essays on Invertebrate Conservation, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, OR; educational conservation materials for rural people prepared by the Department of Biotechnology, University of Natural Sciences, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Georgia Museum of Natural History educational website; and the cover of “A Conservation Assessment of Freshwater Fauna and Habitat in the Southern National Forests”, USDA Forest Service.

Dr. Haag’s research is having tangible effects on restoration and maintenance of freshwater mussel populations across the country:

• Surveys of Horse Lick Creek (Daniel Boone National Forest and The Nature Conservancy lands) and Shoal Creek (Talladega National Forest) developed population size estimates for two of the most important communities in Southern Region National Forests, allowing a critical assessment of their conservation status. As a result, an urgent need for conservation action in Horse Lick Creek was determined, and specific conservation actions necessary for recovery were recommended. In addition, a significant source of stream pollution was discovered and abated and other sources have been evaluated.
• Served as science advisor and team member on Upper Tombigbee Watershed Conservation Team for The Nature Conservancy Ecoregional Conservation Planning Initiative. This effort developed specific conservation objectives and actions for the region that are now being implemented by The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Resources Conservation Service. Dr. Haag continues to be an advisor for these efforts.
• Developed monitoring procedures for demographic characteristics of mussel populations and outlined specific levels of recruitment and survivorship necessary for population viability; these levels prescribe conservation targets for restoration efforts and are being used as guidelines for evaluation of population viability.
• Established fish-host relationships of 20 mussel species to date, including six federally threatened or endangered species. This information is being used by researchers in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, and Virginia to propagate these species in hatcheries for population restoration.
• Use of demographic and fecundity information to establish mussel replacement value in mitigation of mussel kills as a result of various impacts.
• Acts as scientific advisor to and researcher for the National Forest System and the Fish and Wildlife Service in matters concerning distribution, abundance, critical habitat needs, and population viability of freshwater mussels.

Learn more about Dr. Haag and his research.