4 documents found, page 1 of 1
A roadmap for the conservation of freshwater mussels in Europe
Sousa, Ronaldo; Zając, Tadeusz; Halabowski, Dariusz; Aksenova, Olga V.; Bespalaya, Yulia V.; Carvalho, Francisco; Castro, Paulo S.; Douda, KarelEurope has a long history of human pressure on freshwater ecosystems. As pressure continues to grow and new threats emerge, there is an urgent need for conservation of freshwater biodiversity and its ecosystem services. However, whilst some taxonomic groups, mainly vertebrates, have received a disproportionate amount of attention and funds, other groups remain largely off the public and scientific radar. Freshw...
The silent extinction of freshwater mussels in Portugal
Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Reis, Joaquim; Alvarez, Maria G.; Anastácio, Pedro M.; Banha, Filipe; Beja, Pedro; Castro, Paulo S.; Gama, Mafalda; Gil, Maria G.Freshwater mussels are one of the most threatened animal groups in the world. In the European Union, threatened and protected mussel species are not adequately monitored, while species considered to be common and widespread receive even less attention. This is particularly worrying in the Mediterranean region, where species endemism is high and freshwater habitats are severely affected by water scarcity. In the...
Interspecific differences in the physiological condition of native freshwater m...
Modesto, Vanessa; Ilarri, Martina; Castro, Paulo S.; Carvalho, Francisco; Cavalheri, Thais; Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Teixeira, Amílcar; Ozório, Rodrigo O.A.The Asian clam Corbicula fluminea has been widely introduced into aquatic ecosystems and may impact the physiological condition and survival of native freshwater mussels. However, very few studies have evaluated this issue quantitatively. To fill this gap, manipulative field experiments were performed to assess two possible mechanisms of impact on native mussels: (i) interspecific interactions, and (ii) C. flum...
Trophic niche overlap between native freshwater mussels (Order: Unionida) and t...
Modesto, Vanessa; Dias, Ester; Ilarri, Martina; Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Teixeira, Amílcar; Varandas, Simone; Castro, Paulo S.; Antunes, CarlosFreshwater mussels (Order Unionida) are highly threatened. Interspecific competition for food sources with invasive alien species is considered to be one of the factors responsible for their decline because successful invaders are expected to have wider trophic niches and more flexible feeding strategies than their native counterparts. In this study, carbon (δ13C: 13C/12C) and nitrogen (δ15N: 15N/14N) stable is...