Increased sediment deposition triggered by climate change impacts freshwater pearl mussel habitats and metapopulations

Baldan, Damiano; Kiesel, Jens; Hauer, Christoph; Jähnig, Sonja C.; Hein, Thomas

doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13940

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 69 publications

(96 reference statements)

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“…Furthermore, climate change-related range shifts may promote the loss of population connectivity, isolating surviving populations and leading to a decrease of intrapopulation genetic diversity (Inoue & Berg, 2017). A reduction in the availability of suitable habitats will decrease the likelihood of successful colonisation, hindering the ability of the regional population dynamics to compensate for local extirpations (Inoue & Berg, 2017;Baldan et al, 2020Baldan et al, , 2021. Considering the long lifespan of M. margaritifera, it is likely that the offspring of the current generation will face the impacts of the future climate conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting climatic threats to an endangered freshwater mussel in Europe: The need to account for fish hosts

et al. 2022

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1. The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera has been suffering major population declines in Europe. This endangered species is a host specialist and exclusively requires salmonid species (Salmo trutta and Salmo salar) to complete its life cycle. In theory, obligatory biotic interactions should deserve special conservation attention, because the loss or massive decline of fish hosts may elicit the extirpation of their affiliated species. While many threats disturbing M. margaritifera are similarly affecting salmonids, climate change is particularly alarming, with the potential to significantly change the fish-mussel dynamics.2. To evaluate the importance of including the occurrence of fish hosts for predicting the distribution of M. margaritifera in Europe, three datasets were used to build species distribution models (SDMs) with a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) approach: (1) environmental variables (ENV); (2) probability of fish hosts occurrence (FH); and (3) environmental variables and probability of fish hosts occurrence (ENV + FH). We identified the environmental variables that better explain M. margaritifera distribution and modelled its current and future distribution under a suite of climate change scenarios. Furthermore, projections were used to evaluate the adequacy of current networks of European protected areas in covering the suitable habitats for M. margaritifera. 3. Results showed that incorporating data about fish hosts into M. margaritifera SDMs avoided the overprediction of geographical projections and, to a minor extent, improved model performance (area under the curve: ENV = 0.851; FH = 0.848; ENV + FH = 0.867). The distribution range of M. margaritifera in Europe | 843 da SILVa et aL.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting climatic threats to an endangered freshwater mussel in Europe: The need to account for fish hosts

et al. 2022

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“…This hump‐shaped association should thus not be interpreted as high salmonid density having a negative effect on the occurrence of mussels per se, but rather that high salmonid density is indicative of a river with more adverse habitat conditions for the mussel. The highest abundance of salmonids is found in shallow waters (Donadi et al, 2019), a habitat that may change rapidly with flow conditions and are more prone to sediment deposition that may be harmful for mussel juveniles (Baldan et al, 2021). Being a less vagile species, FPM may have to choose an intermediate habitat, optimizing the trade‐off between high abundance of salmonids and the risk of hazardous conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This suggests that the optimal habitat suitability of FPM may shift to higher altitude and/or more northern areas over time and ultimately result in local extinctions and a reduced southern distribution range of FPM (Bolotov et al, 2018). A warming climate may also lead to changes in catchment processes that can have effects on hydrology, fine sediment dynamics and on the host fishes, which may all directly, indirectly and interactively affect FPM (Baldan et al, 2021; da Silva et al, 2022). The increased sediment and nutrient input predicted from global warming will lead to a decrease in the availability of interstitial oxygen, which will be particularly hazardous for juvenile mussels (Baldan et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This decline is believed to reflect deteriorating riverine habitats encompassing both biotic (presence of obligate Salmo trutta or S. salar host species for FPM parasitic larvae) and abiotic factors (e.g. fragmentation, poor water quality and increased sediment load) (Hoess & Geist, 2020; Young & Williams, 1984), as well as effects of climate change (Baldan et al, 2021; Bolotov et al, 2018). In Sweden for instance, about 30% of all populations are believed to have become extinct since the beginning of the 20th century and out of the remaining populations only 50% are expected to be viable (ongoing recruitment as indicated by the presence of mussels that are less than 50 mm and approximately 20‐year‐old) (Arvidsson et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological marginality and recruitment loss in the globally endangered freshwater pearl mussel

Tamario

Tibblin

Degerman

2022

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Ecological marginality is the existence of species/populations in the margins of their ecological niche, where conditions are harsher, and the risk of extinction is more pronounced. In threatened long‐lived species, the disparity between distribution and population demography may provide understanding of how environmental heterogeneity shapes ecological marginality, potential extinction patterns and range shifts. We set out to evaluate this by combining a species distribution model (SDM) with population‐specific demography data. Location Sweden, 450,000 km2. Major Taxa Studied Freshwater pearl mussel (FPM, Margaritifera margaritifera) and two salmonid fish species. Methods A SDM for the mussel was constructed with MaxEnt using salmonid host fish (Salmo trutta plus S. salar) density, extreme low and high temperatures, precipitation, altitude, and clay content as explanatory variables. The output was used to test the ecological marginality hypothesis by evaluating whether lowly predicted populations had higher loss of recruitment. Logistic regression was used to explicitly test the factors involved in recruitment loss. Results Host fish density contributed the most (50.3%) to the mussel distribution, followed by lowest temperature the coldest month (34.3%) and altitude (10.3%), while the remaining explanatory variables contributed minimally (<3.3%). Populations with lower SDM scores lacked recruitment to a significantly higher degree. Populations inhabiting areas at low altitude, with lower densities of host fish, and warmer winter temperatures have lost recruitment to a higher degree. Main Conclusions We found support for the ecological marginality hypothesis. The patterns indicate that FPM habitat niche may shift northwards over time. Salmonid host fish density seems to be a driving factor for both historical distribution and recent demographic performance. Finally, we emphasize the value of combining SDMs with independent data on population demography as it both lends rigidity to model validation and understanding of how ecological marginality affects species distribution and viability.

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“…The fine particles can clog the hyporheic zone matrix composed of coarser substrates, lead to accumulations of toxic substances [18][19][20], and impair fish spawning [21]. When FBMDs are mobilized, the collisions among the grains lead to reduced macroinvertebrate abundances [22][23][24][25] and impaired biofilm functionalities [11]. Minimizing FBMDs is challenging, as they are controlled by multiple catchment-scale factors (e.g., soil erosion) and reach scale factors (e.g., reach transport capacity [26]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Two-Stage Ditch and Natural Floodplains on Sediment Processes Driven by Different Hydrological Conditions

Baldan

Pucher

Akbari

et al. 2021

Water

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The two-stage ditch is a river restoration technique that aims at improving the sediment regime and lateral channel connectivity by recreating a small floodplain alongside a stream reach. This study aimed to analyze the efficiency of a two-stage ditch in improving the stream sediment structure and functions under different hydrological conditions (baseflow, post-bankfull, post-flood). Stream sediments were collected in channel sections adjacent to the two-stage ditch, adjacent to a natural floodplain along channelized reaches without inundation areas. Grain sizes, organic matter content and phosphorous (P) fractions were analyzed along with functional parameters (benthic respiration rate and P adsorption capacity, EPC0). The reach at the two-stage ditch showed no changes in sediment texture and stocks, while the floodplain reach showed higher fines and organic matter content under all hydrological conditions. The sediments in degraded reaches were more likely to be P sources, while they were more in equilibrium with the water column next to the natural floodplains and the two-stage ditch. Only functional parameters allowed for assessing the restoration effects on improving the sediment stability and functionality. Due to its sensitivity, the use of P adsorption capacity is recommended in future studies aiming at evaluating the response of river sediments to restoration measures under different hydrological conditions.

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Increased sediment deposition triggered by climate change impacts freshwater pearl mussel habitats and metapopulations

Abstract: This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as

Cited by 12 publications

References 69 publications

Predicting climatic threats to an endangered freshwater mussel in Europe: The need to account for fish hosts

Predicting climatic threats to an endangered freshwater mussel in Europe: The need to account for fish hosts

Ecological marginality and recruitment loss in the globally endangered freshwater pearl mussel

Effects of Two-Stage Ditch and Natural Floodplains on Sediment Processes Driven by Different Hydrological Conditions

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