Endemic Caspian Sea mollusks in hotspot and non-hotspot areas differentially affected by anthropogenic pressures

Extinction risk is linked to lifestyle in freshwater gastropods

“…Long-lived lakes typically form in geologically stable, deep tectonic basins (Cohen, 2003). In many of these ecosystems, there is a clear bathymetric zonation of gastropod species (e.g., Hauffe et al, 2011Hauffe et al, , 2016Lattuada et al, 2020;Michel, 2000;Sitnikova, 2006;Stelbrink et al, 2016). As they are not bound to air oxygen, the dioecious caenogastropods have naturally higher depth tolerances and, on average, can diversity across a wider bathymetric range (Michel, 1994; but see, e.g., Stelbrink et al, 2015 for an exception of abyssal Hygrophila).…”

Decline of unique Pontocaspian biodiversity in the Black Sea Basin: A review

“…This paper aims to review distribution trends of PC biota (using mollusks as a model group) in the BSB by comparing historical (20th century) and modern (21st century) occurrences. Furthermore, we aim to identify the direct anthropogenic threats to their existence and survival (sensu Díaz et al., 2015 ), viz., processes and settings resulting from human decisions and actions that have direct implications for turnover/decline of PC biota, such as uncontrolled influx of sewage, invasion of alien species, and establishment of large dammed reservoirs in river basins (Shiganova, 2011 , Semenchenko et al., 2015 , Lattuada et al., 2019 , e.g., Lattuada et al., 2020 ). Pontocaspian biodiversity is also affected by indirect anthropogenic drivers such as the organization and interaction within and between societies, stakeholders, and people and their interactions with nature.…”

From the Eastern Paratethys to the Pontocaspian basins

“…In the past decades, amplification of the anthropogenic activity in the Caspian Sea and its catchment areas facilitated in a rapid decrease of endemic mollusc biodiversity. The most severe impact on the basin was the introduction of several invasive species that took over the ecological niches of Pontocaspian molluscs (Lattuada et al, 2020).…”

“…In de afgelopen decennia heeft de toename van antropogene activiteiten in de Kaspische Zee en het omliggende afwateringsgebied een versnelde teruggang van de endemische weekdierbiodiversiteit veroorzaakt (van de Velde, 2019). De meest ernstige gevolgen op het bekken werden veroorzaakt door de verontreiniging van het bekken en de introductie van IV verschillende invasieve soorten die de ecologische niches van Pontokaspische weekdieren overnamen (Lattuada et al, 2020).…”

“…В последние десятилетия, рост хозяйственной деятельности в акватории Каспийского моря привел к вымиранию значительной части эндемичных моллюсков. Наибольший вред был нанесен загрязнением и разведением инвазивных видов, быстро оккупировавших экологические ниши Понто-Каспийских эндемиков (Lattuada et al, 2020). Моделирование климатического влияния на Каспийский регион в перспективе до 2100 года показало, что из-за глобального потепления уровень Каспия может опуститься на 18 метров (Nandini-Weiss et al, 2020), что может очень негативно отразиться на Понто-Каспийских экосистемах.…”