Author(s):
Aldridge, David C. ; Ollard, Isobel S. ; Bespalaya, Yulia, V ; Bolotov, Ivan N. ; Douda, Karel ; Geist, Juergen ; Haag, Wendell R. ; Klunzinger, Michael W. ; Lopes-Lima, Manuel ; Mlambo, Musa C. ; Riccardi, Nicoletta ; Sousa, Ronaldo Gomes ; Strayer, David L. ; Torres, Santiago H. ; Vaughn, Caryn C. ; Zajac, Tadeusz ; Zieritz, Alexandra
Date: 2022
Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/86792
Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Subject(s): conservation; diversity; ecosystem services; freshwater mussel; horizon scan; mussel health; threats; unionid
Description
We identified 14 emerging and poorly understood threats and opportunities for addressing the global conservation of freshwater mussels over the next decade. A panel of 17 researchers and stakeholders from six continents submitted a total of 56 topics that were ranked and prioritized using a consensus-building Delphi technique. Our 14 priority topics fell into five broad themes (autecology, population dynamics, global stressors, global diversity, and ecosystem services) and included understanding diets throughout mussel life history; identifying the drivers of population declines; defining metrics for quantifying mussel health; assessing the role of predators, parasites, and disease; informed guidance on the risks and opportunities for captive breeding and translocations; the loss of mussel-fish co-evolutionary relationships; assessing the effects of increasing surface water changes; understanding the effects of sand and aggregate mining; understanding the effects of drug pollution and other emerging contaminants such as nanomaterials; appreciating the threats and opportunities arising from river restoration; conserving understudied hotspots by building local capacity through the principles of decolonization; identifying appropriate taxonomic units for conservation; improved quantification of the ecosystem services provided by mussels; and understanding how many mussels are enough to provide these services. Solutions for addressing the topics ranged from ecological studies to technological advances and socio-political engagement. Prioritization of our topics can help to drive a proactive approach to the conservation of this declining group which provides a multitude of important ecosystem services.
