Invasive bivalves in fresh waters: impacts from individuals to ecosystems and possible control strategies

Abstract

Invasive bivalves may cause great ecological, evolutionary, and economic impacts in freshwater ecosystems. Species such as Corbicula fluminea, Dreissena bugensis, Dreissena polymorpha, Limnoperna fortunei, and Sinanodonta woodiana are widely distributed hyper-successful invaders, but several others not yet invasive (or at least not considered as such) may become so in the near future. These species can affect hydrology, biogeochemical cycling, and biotic interactions through several mechanisms, with impacts ranging from individuals to ecosystems. Freshwater invasive bivalves can create no-analog ecosystems, posing serious difficulties for management, but new techniques are becoming available which may enhance options to detect early introductions and mitigate impacts. Although knowledge about the biology of these bivalves has increased considerably in the last two decades, several fundamental gaps still persist; we suggest new research directions that are worth exploring in the near future. Keywords Bivalves Á Corbicula fluminea Á Dreissena Á Impacts Á Invasive species Á Limnoperna fortunei Á Sinanodonta woodiana

Zoochorous dispersal of freshwater bivalves: an overlooked vector in biological invasions?

“…In particular, zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771), quagga mussel, Dreissena bugensis (Andrusov, 1897) and Asian clam Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) are prolific invaders, whose presence can have damaging ecological and economic consequences for invaded habitats (Pimentel et al, 2005;Sousa et al, 2014;Karatayev et al, 2015). Moreover, despite management efforts to reduce invader spread within EU and USA territories, further range expansion of these bivalves has been observed (e.g., Aldridge et al, 2014;Benson, 2014;Caffrey et al, 2016).…”

Next-generation sequencing of Dreissena polymorpha transcriptome sheds light on its mitochondrial DNA

“…The freshwater zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771) (Dreissenidae), is one of the most successful invaders in terms of abundance and high density (Nalepa & Schlosser, 1993;Van der Velde et al, 2010;Schlosser & Schmuckal, 2012;Sousa et al, 2014). Native to the lakes, slow moving rivers and low salinity areas of the Black, Caspian and Azov Seas regions of central and eastern Europe, the zebra mussel was introduced to northwestern Russia, much of mainland Europe and England by at least the mid1800s by the construction of canal systems in Europe and Russia that linked several major river drainages.…”

“…polymorpha is one of the most studied invasive species (Karatayev et al, 1997(Karatayev et al, , 2007Kołodziejczyk et al, 2011;Schlosser & Schmuckal, 2012;Sousa et al, 2014); however, most studies concentrate on their ecology, toxicology, and physiology, whereas purely genetic studies are less abundant and concentrate more on North American than European samples (Sousa et al, 2014). Few markers are available, mainly allozyme electrophoretic and RAPDs markers (Hebert et al, 1989;May & Marsden, 1992;Spidle et al, 1994;Marsden et al, 1995;Lewis et al, 2000;Elderkin et al, 2001Elderkin et al, , 2004Stepien et al, 2002).…”

The scientific literature on Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker 1857) from 1982 to 2012

“…Among the various taxonomic groups of invaders in freshwater ecosystems, the ecological and economic impact of bivalves is well-documented (see Karatayev et al 2007a, b andSousa et al 2013 to review). Invasive bivalves are considered an aggressive species and a threat to both native diversity and ecosystem functioning (Karatayev et al 2007b), and in addition to being a threat due to their biofouling activity in structures of industrial and power plants (e.g., hydroelectric power stations, pulp and paper mills, refineries, and water treatment and distribution facilities) (Magara et al 2001, Elliott et al 2005, Darrigran et al 2007, Lucy et al 2012 (Karatayev et al 2007b).…”

“…In a recent scientometric study, Sousa et al (2013) showed that scientific production on invasive bivalves in freshwater ecosystems has increased steeply in the last years. Therefore, an assessment of the publications on L. fortunei is essential to the scientific progress in the field of the invasive species.…”