Complete data for Overwinter survival of Corbicula fluminea in a central Minnesota lake

Abstract

Corbicula fluminea is regarded as one of the most pervasive freshwater aquatic invasive species in the world. It has been widely cited to have a lower lethal temperature threshold of 2 degrees Celcius, which suggests the species would be unable to survive in Minnesota outside of areas of thermal refuge from sources such as power plant, water treatment facility, and other raw water user effluent). In August 2020 a volunteer participating in Starry Trek, an aquatic invasive species early detection event, recovered live C. fluminea from an inland Minnesota lake with no known thermal refuge (Briggs Lake, Sherburne County). This data set documents the distribution, overwinter survival, and size class structure of the population in Briggs Lake and observational data at a nearby lake (Big Lake, Sherburne County) where additional clams were discovered by a volunteer towards the end of the Briggs Lake project timeline. The data from this study are available here for public use.