Palaeogeographic and tectonic rearrangements of rivers have significantly influenced the phylogeography of Iberian and North African freshwater fishes, but their impact remains unclear. We revisit the phylogeographic relationships and diversification timelines of Cobitis (spined loaches, family Cobitidae) on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. Sampling 230 sites across 41 river basins, we analysed genetic va...
Freshwater mussels across Europe exhibit physiological and behavioural adaptations to survive winter conditions. Climate change projections, including more frequent extreme weather events, are expected to intensify pressures on these ecosystems. In this study, we tested the temperature-size hypothesis, which posits that larger body size in ectothermic organisms is an adaptation to colder climates. We predicted ...
Coastal environments have been recognized as key reservoirs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The present study evaluated marine gastropods, Phorcus lineatus, as potential bioindicators to assess the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. P. lineatus was sampled in four sites, with different anthropogenic pressures, along the northwest Portuguese coastal area. From these specimens, bacteria were isolated and...
Freshwater bivalves (FWB) are attracting scientific and societal attention given their essential ecosystem services, ecological functions, and poor conservation status. Current knowledge of the spatial distribution of West Palearctic FWB is poor preventing the understanding of biogeography and conservation planning. One of the priorities of the pan-European networking project "CONFREMU - Conservation of freshwa...
Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) play essential roles in the well-functioning of ecosystems, even providing essential services to humans. However, these bivalves face numerous threats (e.g. habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, introduction of invasive species, and climate change) which have already led to the extinction of many populations. This underscores the need to fully characterize the biolog...
As bioindicators, freshwater bivalves are crucial for the assessment of the contamination impact on different levels of biological integration. Escherichia coli is used as a bioindicator of water fecal contamination, representing a critical global concern, especially with the rise of multidrugresistant (MDR) strains. Phylogenetic diversity, pathotypic characterization, and antibiotic resistance profiles of E. c...
Freshwater bivalves are widely used as accumulation indicators and monitoring tools for assessing contaminant effects on different levels of biological integration. This pilot study aimed to explore the phylogenetic diversity of Escherichia coli isolated from freshwater mussels (Margaritifera margaritifera and Potomida littoralis) and characterize their phenotypes and antibiotic resistance profiles. Samples wer...
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...
Climate change is becoming the leading driver of biodiversity loss. The Mediterranean region, particularly southwestern Europe, is already confronting the consequences of ongoing global warming. Unprecedented biodiversity declines have been recorded, particularly within freshwater ecosystems. Freshwater mussels contribute to essential ecosystem services but are among the most threatened faunal groups on Earth. ...
Aim: Freshwater mussels are among the most threatened taxa in the world, partially due to the dependence on fish hosts to complete their life cycle. Knowledge about the role of environmental and biotic drivers in determining mussels' distribution is currently lacking. We aimed to assess the role of environmental and biotic drivers in determining the distribution of mussels and their fish hosts and to test if co...