Thanks to the expertise and inspiration of Doug Shelton we have started to catalog and categorize our thousands of freshwater shells. The collection covers the US and parts of Europe, and contains specimens collected from 1898 through present day non-endangered specimens collected by UniverShell. The Illinois Natural History Survey Mollusk Collection contains over 104,300 catalogued specimens, most of which were collected in Illinois and the southeastern United States. A generalized description of shell features and organ system functions of freshwater mussels is provided in this report. Presented also are management options to protect mussels and their habitats, a resource bibliography, and references to education and outreach materials.
Lesson plan to demonstrate the impact of a non-native species to an environment.