A decade of change: Recovery of the endangered wavy-rayed lampmussel (Lampsilis fasciola) in Canada (1999-2009)?

The Wavyrayed Lampmussel (Lampsilis fasciola) was first assessed as Endangered  by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 1999. It was formally protected under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) in 2003 with a national recovery strategy completed in 2006.  Efforts are currently underway to compile data and evaluate changes in the species’ status as part of the 10 year review cycle of COSEWIC. Subsequent to the initial COSEWIC assessment, and the SARA listing that followed, research interest in this species has increased dramatically. Extensive surveys have been conducted across its range, detailed studies have been undertaken to examine the biology and ecology of the species and long-term monitoring stations have been established to track changes in numbers and key population statistics. As these new data have been collected it has become clear that many populations are showing obvious signs of improvement over the 1999 assessment levels. Population estimates have risen, area of occupancy has increased by 2-3 fold and relative abundances have increased from 2-4% to 20-50% in some watersheds. Virtually all populations are showing signs of reproduction and recruitment.