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NEW AQUATIC CONSERVATION LABORATORY OPENS AT YATES MILL
Heather Frantz NCSU Public Communication Specialist
A partnership with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Wake County, the laboratory aims to conduct propagation, research, education, and outreach in support of imperiled aquatic species conservation in North Carolina.
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Research is already underway at the facility with a robust population of Magnificent Ramshorn snails and several of the mussel species thriving in the lab’s network of tanks.
In addition to propagation, the laboratory is assisting in establishing an Imperiled Species Water Quality Monitoring Network in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
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A renovation of the research wing in the park’s A.E. Finley Center created space for the new lab, where officials gathered on May 17 to celebrate the opening of the laboratory.
Heather Frantz NCSU Public Communication Specialist
In total, the facility consists of approximately 4,400 square feet of both indoor and outdoor research and production space as well as an 800-square-foot pump house. Besides the primary wet lab, an additional classroom, office, and laboratory for in vitro mussel propagation will allow for a variety of research and educational opportunities.
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A series of tanks will help support water quality monitoring. A sign explains the pond ecosystem that supports the Magnificent Ramshorn snail and other mussel species. A display of tanks shows how freshwater mussels clean pond water as it flows from the top tank to the bottom tank.
“It’s really important that we make sure all these natural gifts that we have are preserved,” said Wake County Board of Commissioners member Susan Evans, adding, “Our natural habitats really are some of the most supportive partners for us, and I’m so glad that species like the endangered Dwarf Wedgemussel will get the attention they deserve here.”
Heather Frantz NCSU Public Communication Specialist
“I think the facility will become crucial to our ability to hold species, to do propagation, to do additional research and support the species that we see as critical in the future,” said Christian Waters, chief of the Inland Fisheries Division of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. “We look forward to the continued partnership that we’ve had with all the partners and the fact that this facility is going to contribute to the future conservation and hopefully recovery of a variety of species.”
The environment just got a little more hospitable for some threatened and endangered aquatic species in North Carolina — like the Magnificent Ramshorn snail, Carolina Madtom fish and Neuse River Waterdog salamander — thanks to the grand opening of the Yates Mill Aquatic Conservation Laboratory located at Historic Yates Mill County Park in Raleigh
Heather Frantz NCSU Public Communication Specialist
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) provided funding for the facility in conjunction with the construction of the southern portion of I-540, which disturbed the habitats of several vulnerable aquatic species. NCDOT is specifically funding propagation and research at the laboratory involving six aquatic species impacted along the Tar and Neuse river basins. The species include the Magnificent Ramshorn snail, Carolina Madtom fish, Dwarf Wedgemussel, Yellow Lance, Atlantic Pigtoe, and the Neuse River Waterdog salamander.
Editor's note: This article was adapted from "New Aquatic Conservation Laboratory Opens at Yates Mill” which originally appeared at https://news.ncsu.edu/2024/06/new-aquatic-conservation-laboratory-opens-at-yates-mill/