ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would never have been able to finish my dissertation without the guidance of my committee members, help from

friends, and support from my family and wife. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Alan Heath, for his excellent guidance, caring, patience, and providing me with an excellent atmosphere for doing research. I would like to thank Dr. Neves, who let me experience the research of freshwater mussels in the field and practical issues beyond the textbooks, patiently corrected my writing and financially supported my research. I would also like to thank Dr. McNabb, Dr. Bevan, and Dr. Benfield for guiding my research for the past several years and helping me to develop my background in physiology, biochemistry, and ecology. Special thanks goes to Dr. Parker, who was willing to participate in my final defense committee at the last moment. I would like to thank David Balfour, who as a good friend, was always willing to help and give his best suggestions. It would have been a lonely lab without him. Many thanks to Braven Beaty, William Henley, Francis OBrien, David Neils, and other workers in the laboratory of Dr. Neves for helping me collect mussel samples from the field. My research would not have been possible without their helps. I would also like to thank my parents, two elder sisters, and elder brother. They were always supporting me and encouraging me with their best wishes. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Pawjai Khampang. She was always there cheering me up and stood by me through the good times and bad.