Yates Mill Aquatic Conservation Center

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Yates Mill Aquatic Conservation Center At NCSU, our mission is to conserve North Carolina’s imperiled aquatic species through propagation, research, education, and public outreach.

These three mussel species were among the first to be propagated in 2026. Early in life these species form sculpturing ...
09/03/2026

These three mussel species were among the first to be propagated in 2026. Early in life these species form sculpturing on their shell believed to help them stay in place in the presence of high flows that would otherwise wash them downstream.

1. The Savannah Lilliput (Toxolasma pullus) - Deep River (Cape Fear). (8 mm long)

2. The Brook Floater (Alasmidonta varicosa) - Roaring River (Yadkin-Pee Dee). (14 mm long)

3. The Yellow Lampmussel (Lampsilis cariosa) - Eno River (Neuse). (15 mm long)

These are beautiful animals in our state’s waterways (and along parts of the Atlantic Slope) and are highly imperiled as a faunal group. To find out more about what we do and how and why we do it, or to support conservation of tspecies like these, visit our website at the link in our bio.

08/18/2026

Carolina Madtom males stay in their hide to guard their eggs and keep them clean. They will typically guard the young even after hatching until they absorb their yolk sacs and begin foraging on their own. These 40-some eggs are likely the last nest of the season.

07/08/2026

Today the last gravid female Yellow Lance of the 2026 propagation season released its brood. Most females release between 20-30,000 larvae. Those larvae are suspended with aeration together with their host fish (White Shiners). After 12 minutes, the fish were transferred to our custom built recirculating aquaculture system. Larvae will undergo a metamorphosis over the next 7-11 days before they drop off the fish as transformed juvenile mussels. Those mussels will then be reared for two years before being released back to the wild to support this threatened species.

07/02/2026

REARING METHODS TRIAL: We gathered up rhe almost 2,000 Eastern Creekshell (Villosa delumbis) propagated in 2025 from the Deep River (Cape Fear River Basin) to test two different methods for final grow-out. Half will be reared in these troughs with natural sand substrate, and the other half will be reared in Heath Trays at varying densities. Heath Trays are designed for large scale egg hatching in fish hatcheries, but they can be modified for mussel rearing as well. All of these mussels will still receive a constant flow of water from Yates Mill pond, which will provide all the food they need to reach a size suitable for release by the end of this year.

06/30/2026

Another pair of wild Carolina Madtoms have found their One True Love….. or at least their summer fling…… here in the lab. Mating pairs wall themselves off under these terra cotta saucers (AKA Honeymoon Suites) for a couple of days while eggs are laid and fertilized. After females lay their eggs, they leave the nest, but the male stays behind to guard the eggs and keep them clean. A healthy breeding pair can produce up to 3-5 nests in a season in captivity. With these newly laid eggs, we should have another round of fry hatching in about two weeks.

Carolina Madtoms are federally endangered and endemic only to the Tar and Neuse River Basins in NC. To find out more or support the work we do to help conserve the imperiled freshwater fauna of NC, check out the link in our bio.

06/18/2026

NEWLY HATCHED!! These Carolina Madtoms (Noturus furiosus) just hatched in the last 24 hours here in the lab. This is our first year of spawning wild fish of this species, and we are excited to be a part of direct conservation action for this endangered NC endemic. It will take them a few days to completely absorb their yolk sacs that continue to provide nutrients until they start foraging for food on their own.

Visit the link in our bio to learn more about us or support conservation of our state’s most imperiled freshwater species.

Endangered mussel conservation update: This week, we were in the Dan River collecting gravid female James Spinymussels...
06/05/2026

Endangered mussel conservation update: This week, we were in the Dan River collecting gravid female James Spinymussels. Today, the first one released its brood, and the glochidia were cleaned up and placed into in vitro culture. This species constructs these ribbon-like conglutinates with a ring of larvae and eggs around the outside. This female produced about 4,300 larvae.

The Broadtail Madtom is an undescribed species complex endemic to the Carolinas. This small and cryptic fish is difficu...
05/21/2026

The Broadtail Madtom is an undescribed species complex endemic to the Carolinas. This small and cryptic fish is difficult to find in the wild but is still believed to be rare. We have a few individuals here in the lab and hope they will start exhibiting spawning behavior this Spring.

05/15/2026

This 6” Petri dish contains several hundred of the more than 10,000 tiny juvenile Brook Floaters that came out of our in vitro lab. Now about 7 weeks old, they averaging 2 mm in length….. about 7 times their original size.

The Brook Floater ranges from Georgia all the way up to Canada along the Atlantic Slope, but its populations are highly fragmented. North Carolina lists the species as endangered within the state. The broodstock for this cohort came from the Roaring River in the foothills of the state, where flooding from Hurricane Helene has further negatively impacted populations.

To find out more about us or to support our work, check out the link in our bio.

The Magnificent Ramshorn (Planorbella magnifica) is an endangered freshwater snail endemic only to a few locations in Br...
05/08/2026

The Magnificent Ramshorn (Planorbella magnifica) is an endangered freshwater snail endemic only to a few locations in Brunswick County, NC. We are working with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission to help this species on the brink.

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4620 Lake Wheeler Road
Raleigh, NC
27603

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