Limnoperna fortunei Dunker, 1857 larvae in different environments of a Neotropical floodplain: relationships of abiotic variables and phytoplankton with different stages of development

Abstract

Limnoperna fortunei Dunker, 1857 is an Asian invasive freshwater bivalve. Although there need to contain their spread, studies about the biology of the larvae are scarce. We correlated the larval stages of L. fortunei with biotic factors such as phytoplankton and main abiotic variables in lotic environments of the Upper Paraná River floodplain. The four samples were taken quarterly during the year 2012. The Principal component analysis (PCA) showed only spatial differences, as did a Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). High densities of larvae were recorded in all samples the Paraná River and Baía River only in December, especially those in their initial stage. In the biovolume of Class of algae, Bacillarophyceae showed the highest value, but Chlorophycea who was strongly correlated with the density of D-stage larvae. The large variety of phytoplankton, especially microplankton Chlorophyceae, high values of PO 4 , NH 4 and temperature were positively correlated with high densities of D-stage larvae. We conclude that high temperature, and food availability, indicated by phytoplankton community, favored the reproduction of L. fortunei and enhance the ability of specie dispersion due to the increase in the emission of propagules. Therefore, studies that address the biology of golden mussel larvae should be performed in order to prevent its spread.Keywords: invasive species, limnic bivalves, Paraná river, dispersal patterns, environmental filters. Palavras-chave: espécie invasora, bivalves límnicos, rio Paraná, padrão de dispersão, filtros ambientais. Larvas de Limnoperna fortunei

More than two decades after the introduction of Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker 1857) in La Plata Basin

“…m -3 in winter. According to Ernandes-Silva et al (2016) high values of chlorophyll concentration provides food resources to L. fortunei. The maximum value of chlorophyll concentration (31.2 µg L -1 ) was observed in this sub-basin, but we did not found a large number of individuals.…”

“…Recent studies on a meso scale distribution of L. fortunei in the high Paraná River basin shows that, in addition to food resources, some abiotic factors seem to facilitate the establishment of L. fortunei, such as oxygen content and water temperature (Ernandes-Silva et al, 2016).…”

High‐latitude invasion and environmental adaptability of the freshwater mussel Limnopernafortunei in Beijing, China

“…Chl a correlated significantly with the density of plantigrade veligers but not with the density of any earlier stages (Appendix S1: Table S5), possibly because abiotic factors have a greater influence on the density of earlier stages (Frau et al, 2016), and plantigrade veligers are more tolerant to abiotic factors, as Ernandes‐Silva, Ragonha, Jati, and Takeda (2016) reported for several South American lakes. Chl a is a measure of the phytoplankton biomass in a water column and is crucial for the feeding and growth of veligers (Nakano et al, 2017; Oliveira et al, 2011; Xia et al, 2020).…”

“…Generally, adult L. fortunei exhibits strong adaptability to a wide range of variations in environmental conditions, including pH, calcium concentration, and conductivity (Boltovskoy, 2015; Liu et al, 2020), whereas the veligers are less tolerant to variations in environmental conditions (e.g., Zhang et al, 2017). Moreover, the four veliger stages (D‐shaped veliger, umbonated veliger, pediveliger, and plantigrade veliger) exhibit different tolerances to environmental stress (Ernandes‐Silva, Ragonha, Jati, & Takeda, 2016; Ernandes‐Silva, Ragonha, Rodrigues, & Mormul, 2016; Ernandes‐Silva et al, 2021; Liu et al, 2017). Early D‐shaped and umbonated veligers are sensitive to some abiotic stresses (e.g., high turbidity, high salinity, low DO); thus, abiotic factors may exert a filtering effect on these larval stages in some water bodies (Darrigran et al, 2011; Ernandes‐Silva et al, 2021; Oliveira et al, 2011).…”

“…Early D‐shaped and umbonated veligers are sensitive to some abiotic stresses (e.g., high turbidity, high salinity, low DO); thus, abiotic factors may exert a filtering effect on these larval stages in some water bodies (Darrigran et al, 2011; Ernandes‐Silva et al, 2021; Oliveira et al, 2011). Later‐stage veligers gradually become insensitive to abiotic stresses but sensitive to food sources (e.g., phytoplankton biomass; Ernandes‐Silva, Ragonha, Jati, & Takeda, 2016; Ernandes‐Silva, Ragonha, Rodrigues, & Mormul, 2016). Any change in the density or composition of phytoplankton may affect food availability and palatability and, thus, directly affect veliger density (e.g., Rojas Molina et al, 2010; Sylvester et al, 2005).…”