Factors driving changes in freshwater mussel (Bivalvia, Unionida) diversity and distribution in Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) fulfil important ecosystem functions and are one of the most threatened freshwater taxa globally. Knowledge of freshwater mussel diversity, distribution and ecology in Peninsular Malaysia is extremely poor, and the conservation status of half of the species presumed to occur in the region has yet to be assessed. We conducted the first comprehensive assessment of Peninsular Malaysia's freshwater mussels based on species presence/absence and environmental data collected from 155 sites spanning all major river catchments and diverse habitat types. Through an integrative morphological-molecular approach we recognised nine native and one widespread non-native species, i.e. Sinanodonta woodiana. Two species, i.e. Pilsbryoconcha compressa and Pseudodon cambodjensis, had not been previously recorded from Malaysia, which is likely a result of morphological misidentifications of historical records. Due to their restriction to single river catchments and declining distributions, Hyriopsis bialata, possibly endemic to Peninsular Malaysia, Ensidens

Ancient River Inference Explains Exceptional Oriental Freshwater Mussel Radiations

“…Taking into account that the distribution range of the majority of species studied by us correspond to certain catchments, we suggest that widespread species of naiads are actually represent species complexes, each of which includes several cryptic species with a local range consistent with the records of Zieritz et al . 41, 42 . Only three species, Pilsbryoconcha cf.…”

“…The Oriental naiads are poorly studied by means of a molecular approach 27, 37–42 . The morphology-based taxonomic concept suggests that there are many widespread species, which ranged across a plethora of river systems from the Greater Sunda Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula to Indo-China and India 42–45 , although recent molecular studies reveal possible cryptic taxa 41 .…”

Phylogeny of the most species-rich freshwater bivalve family (Bivalvia: Unionida: Unionidae): Defining modern subfamilies and tribes

“…Based on the present results, a new classification of the Unionidae is presented, including the description of three new tribes: Cristariini Lopes-Lima, Bogan and Froufe, 2016;Lanceolariini Froufe, Lopes-Lima and Bogan, 2016;and Chamberlainiini Bogan, Froufe and Lopes-Lima, 2016 (Table 3).…”

“…In many of these studies, unionid genera or species that had been identified by morphological characters were not consistent with those revealed through molecular phylogenetic analyses (e.g., Campbell and Lydeard, 2012a,b;Nagel and Badino, 2001;Roe and Hoeh, 2003). Although the vast majority of these molecular studies have focused almost exclusively on North American and European taxa, geographic and taxonomic sampling has recently increased, particularly in Africa (Elderkin et al, 2016;Graf, 2013;Whelan et al, 2011) and Asia (Huang et al, 2002;Graf, 2013, 2015;Zhou et al, 2007;Zieritz et al, 2016).…”

Conservation of freshwater bivalves at the global scale: diversity, threats and research needs

“…Pereira et al, 2014for South America, Walker et al, 2014Lopes-Lima et al, 2017a for Europe;Williams et al, 2017 for North America, andZieritz et al, 2017 for East and Southeast Asia). Additionally, intercontinental cooperative research is also becoming increasingly common (see for example Zieritz et al, 2016;Lopes-Lima et al, 2017b). In order to discuss the current and future research challenges and needs, the Second International Meeting on Biology and Conservation of Freshwater Bivalves was hosted by the Great Lakes Centre at SUNY Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York, USA, from 4 to 8 October 2015, bringing together over 80 scientists from 19 countries and four continents (Europe, North America, South America and Australia) .…”