Physicochemical assessment of Unio crassus habitat quality in a small upland stream and implications for conservation

Denic, Marco; Stoeckl, Katharina; Gum, Bernhard; Geist, Juergen

doi:10.1007/s10750-013-1467-z

Cited by 42 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…One paper presents the molecular phylogeny of the Unio genus in France (Prié & Puillandre, 2014). Three papers assess the distribution of freshwater mussels and their implication for conservation at a large and small (Denic et al, 2014;Zieritz et al, 2014) spatial scales and another one modelled the importance of hydraulic parameters in the distribution of the invasive species Dreissena polymorpha (Sanz-Ronda et al, 2014). Several papers (six in total) used as a model organism, the freshwater pearl mussel M. margaritifera and address aspects such as distribution and conservation status of this species in Russia (Makhrov et al, 2014;Popov & Ostrovsky, 2014), host-dependent genetic variation (Karlsson et al, 2014), the physiological response of juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta) to encystment by the parasitic larvae (Thomas et al, 2014), captive breeding techniques (Scheder et al, 2014) and the impact of land use on M. margaritifera and its host fish S. trutta (Ö sterling & Högberg, 2014); all these works may have considerable importance for the conservation of this species and generate important information that can be used in the implementation of management measures.…”

Section: The International Meeting On Biology and Conservation Of Frementioning

confidence: 99%

Biology and conservation of freshwater bivalves: past, present and future perspectives

et al. 2014

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Freshwater bivalves have been highly threatened by human activities, and recently their global decline has been causing conservational and social concern. In this paper, we review the most important research events in freshwater bivalve biology calling attention to the main scientific achievements. A great bias exists in the research effort, with much more information available for bivalve species belonging to the Unionida in comparison to other groups. The same is true for the origin of these studies, since the publishing pattern does not always correspond to the hotspots of biodiversity but is concentrated in the northern hemisphere mainly in North America, Europe and Russia, with regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia being quite understudied. We also summarize information about past, present and future perspectives concerning the most important research topics that include taxonomy, systematics, anatomy, physiology, ecology and conservation of freshwater bivalves. Finally, we introduce the articles published in this Hydrobiologia special issue related with the International Meeting on Biology and Conservation of Freshwater Bivalves held in 2012 in Bragança, Portugal.

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Section: The International Meeting On Biology and Conservation Of Frementioning

confidence: 99%

Biology and conservation of freshwater bivalves: past, present and future perspectives

et al. 2014

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“…crassus is able to persist in areas characterized by high deposition of fine sediments and an extremely soft substrate, similar to previous findings by Denic et al . (). To date, it was assumed that the species has a similar narrow niche as the endangered freshwater pearl mussel M .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…crassus are still largely unknown. For example, a recent study found that the species is more tolerant of adverse habitat conditions and high fine sediment deposition (Denic et al ., ) than previously postulated: juvenile recruitment occurred in a stream with high loads of fine sediment and nutrients, exceeding the previously proposed threshold value for nitrate concentrations (Hochwald, ; Zettler and Jueg, ; Douda et al ., ). Another key knowledge gap is the species' requirements concerning hydrological conditions, which remains controversial in national conservation practice (Pfeiffer and Nagel, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrological and substrate requirements of the thick‐shelled river mussel Unio crassus (Philipsson 1788)

Stoeckl¹,

Geist²

2016

Aquatic Conservation

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ABSTRACT1. Conservation and restoration strategies require knowledge of the autecology of target species. The thick-shelled river mussel Unio crassus is an endangered freshwater bivalve with largely unknown habitat preferences. In this study, hydrological and substrate parameters including shear stress, flow velocity and penetration resistance of substrate were examined in relation to mussel presence/absence data in six streams with recruiting and self-sustaining populations to derive information on the hydrological and substrate habitat requirements of the species. The results indicate that the hydrological and substrate characteristics of U. crassus habitat are broader than expected. In contrast to the assumption that it depends on moderate to high flows (>0.3 m s À1 ), streams with low water flow and soft substrate were also identified as suitable habitats. 6. Functional characteristics of the substrate, especially stability and areas with low shear stress (<1.5 N cm À2 ), seem to be of great importance for the persistence of the species, and monitoring protocols used at present for habitat assessment of U. crassus should be updated.

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“…Models of a species with limited distributional range tend to reach higher AUC values than models of widespread species (Elith et al, ; Hernandez, Graham, Master, & Albert, ). Although the distribution of U. crassus was previously thought to be strictly limited by water and habitat quality (Buddensiek, Engel, Fleischauerrossing, & Wächtler, ; Hochwald, , ; Hus, Śmialek, Zajac, & Zajac, ; Zettler & Jueg, ), recent studies have suggested that this species has a much higher tolerance to various environmental conditions (Denic et al, ; Douda, ; Lewin, ; Stoeckl & Geist, ). Relatively low contributions of the environmental factors to the ENM suggests that no single environmental variable was a dominant factor in defining the habitat suitability of U. crassus (Figure ; Table ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both species are therefore currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List (IUCN, ) and protected under EU law (Annex II and Annex IV of the EU Habitats Directive for U. crassus ; Annex II and Annex V for M. margaritifera ). Despite their shared conservation status, these species differ substantially in their habitat requirements (Denic, Stoeckl, Gum, & Geist, ; Geist & Auerswald, ) and host use (Taeubert & Geist, ; Taeubert, Gum, & Geist, ). Margaritifera margaritifera is often considered as a habitat specialist.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A spatially explicit approach to prioritize protection areas for endangered freshwater mussels

Dobler

Geist

Stoeckl

et al. 2018

Aquatic Conservation

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In spite of their conservation importance, only a fraction of lakes and streams globally – including their catchments – are currently covered by conservation areas. To identify conservation gaps, assessing the spatial distribution of biodiversity in relation to conservation areas is a promising approach. A gap‐analysis approach was used to evaluate the protection status of the habitats of two endangered freshwater mussel species, Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) and Unio crassus (Philipsson, 1788), in the Federal State of Bavaria, Germany. First, ecological niche models (ENMs) were developed for both mussel species based on presence‐only data in order to identify suitable habitats. Second, binary maps of suitable and unsuitable habitats for the species were used to compare different categories of currently protected areas in a gap analysis. The ENMs for M. margaritifera revealed a spatially restricted distribution with good model performance, whereas the spatial distribution of U. crassus was wider and the model performance was weaker. For M. margaritifera, a higher percentage of suitable habitat is already under some sort of protection, whereas for U. crassus only half of the suitable habitats are under protection. The results suggest that suitable habitats of both species are not sufficiently protected. More effective conservation of M. margaritifera and U. crassus requires separate management: increasing the respective protection categories of already protected habitats of M. margaritifera and incorporating an increased area of suitable habitats under legal protection for U. crassus.

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Physicochemical assessment of Unio crassus habitat quality in a small upland stream and implications for conservation

Cited by 42 publications

References 31 publications

Biology and conservation of freshwater bivalves: past, present and future perspectives

Biology and conservation of freshwater bivalves: past, present and future perspectives

Hydrological and substrate requirements of the thick‐shelled river mussel Unio crassus (Philipsson 1788)

A spatially explicit approach to prioritize protection areas for endangered freshwater mussels

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