Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Extreme longevity in freshwater mussels revisited: sources of bias in age estimates derived from mark-recapture experiments

Informally Refereed

Abstract

There may be bias associated with mark–recapture experiments used to estimate age and growth of freshwater mussels. Using subsets of a mark–recapture dataset for Quadrula pustulosa, I examined how age and growth parameter estimates are affected by (i) the range and skew of the data and (ii) growth reduction due to handling. I compared predictions from von Bertalanffy growth models based on mark–recapture data with direct observation of mussel age and growth inferred from validated shell rings.

Citation

Haag, Wendell R. 2009. Extreme longevity in freshwater mussels revisited: sources of bias in age estimates derived from mark-recapture experiments. Freshwater Biology, Vol. 54: 1474-1486.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/33528