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Mussels: A Shell of Indiana’s Rivers
October 20, 2021 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The past, present and future of Indiana’s water can be told through our 75-plus species of freshwater mussels, which places Indiana in the top ten of U.S. states for mussel diversity. From Native American use to Indiana’s thriving pearl button industry to the cultured pearl trade, Indiana’s freshwater mussels and bountiful rivers have sustained life and livelihoods. As filter feeders, freshwater mussels can only survive in clean rivers, and inversely, their filter feeding also cleans water. The history of people and mussels has left a mark on the health of our rivers. Join Cassie Hauswald as she shares positive choices for water that can keep the story of mussels in Indiana alive and well.
Cassie Hauswald has worked on conservation issues for The Nature Conservancy in Indiana for over twenty years. As a freshwater ecologist, focusing on aquatic habitats leads Cassie to think about the intersection of rural land use and water quality impacts to Indiana’s rivers and streams. Cassie is particularly concerned about freshwater mussel populations and their response to improved water quality.
This program is in conjunction with Historic New Harmony’s hosting of Water/Ways.
Water/Ways has been made possible in Indiana by Indiana Humanities. Water/Ways is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and State Humanities Councils nationwide. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress. Water/Ways was adapted from an exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (www.amnh.org), and the Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul (www.smm.org), in collaboration with Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland; The Field Museum, Chicago; Instituto Sangari, Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Museum of Australia, Canberra; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; San Diego Natural History Museum; and Science Centre Singapore with PUB Singapore.
