Fawnsfoot (Truncilla donaciformis) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10
Special Significance of the Species
Freshwater mussels in general play an integral role in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Vaughn and Hakenkamp (2001) summarized much of the literature relating to the role of unionids and identified numerous water column processes (size-selective filter-feeding; species-specific phytoplankton selection; nutrient cycling; control of phosphorus abundance) and sediment processes (deposit feeding decreasing sediment organic matter; biodeposition of feces and pseudofeces; epizoic invertebrates and epiphytic algae colonizing shells; benthic invertebrate densities positively correlating with mussel density) mediated by the presence of mussel beds. Welker and Walz (1998) have demonstrated that freshwater mussels are capable of limiting plankton in European rivers, while Neves and Odom (1989) reported that mussels also play a role in the transfer of energy to the terrestrial environment through predation by muskrats and raccoons. However, given that the Fawnsfoot appears to have always been a minor component of the freshwater mussel community in Canada, its relative contribution to these processes is likely minor.
The Fawnsfoot is one of four species of the genus Truncilla, only two of which occur in Canada.
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