For context, all mussel specimens are already deceased, I do not kill or take living animals.
Over the course of my many river mussel surveys, I’ve developed a method of cleaning the mussels for ID-ing. The issue is that it’s a painstaking process and often takes days if I’ve filled my bucket with specimens, so I was curious as to how other Unionidae fanatics prepare their mussels because I just feel like there has to be a swifter and less monotonous method other than what I came up with.
I’ll try to describe my process, which has three phases.
Phase 1: Washing
I bring my bucket of uncleaned mussels downstairs and set it on the floor. Then, I get a small bucket filled with clean tapwater that I use to wash the mussels. I clean them one by one by dunking them in the water bucket and carefully rubbing my thumb around the inside and outside of the shell to remove any bio-gunk and/or mud, which sinks to the bottom of the bucket. Washed mussels are placed on a towel spread out on the floor to my right so that they can dry. I repeat this process until all specimens are washed. Note that if both halves of the mussel are intact, I’ll place the complementing shell on top of its “partner” so as to denote one individual. Upon washing all specimens, Phase 1 is completed.
Phase 2: Drying
Phase 2 consists of me waiting for the mussels to dry. I’m not certain how long it takes but I generally leave one day for drying before IDs. If I feel motivated enough I might skip Phase 2 entirely. Generally, the next day (or whenever I feel like doing it) denotes Phase 3.
Phase 3: ID pics via “Batch-20 Method”
Phase 3 starts once I procure my ruler and red cutting board. In batches of 20 individuals taken from the drying process, I take three images of each specimen just above the ruler on top of the red cutting board for a dark background. The three images consist of: one shot of the inside, one shot of the outside, and one shot of the front of the umbo (note that I only recently was aware of the need of the third image). After each of the batch of 20 are photographed, I set them carefully inside labeled and dated bags. This process of 20 specimens yields at least 60 images per batch.
I came up with the Batch-20 Method as a safeguard against both me forgetting an image and iNat bugging out with a massive single upload. In other words, the Batch-20 Method largely prevents any anomalies and assures a clean and concise way to process specimens.
After each batch, I crop and edit the 60 images as needed. I transfer the edited photos to my computer which are then placed in labeled and dated folders from each outing. The batch of 20 are then uploaded to iNat. Phase 3 is repeated until all dried specimens have been photographed and submitted in batches of 20.
I’ve come to call this agonizing process “Shell Hell”. I love doing it but MAN it’s slow. There’s gotta be a better way, right??