Population dynamics ofLimnoperna fortunei,an invasive fouling mollusc, in the lower Parana river (Argentina)

Ecosystem Engineering Impact ofLimnoperna fortuneiin South America

“…Fish species that predate on populations of Limnoperna fortunei in environments of the Plata basin. 1, Boltovskoy and Cataldo, 1999;2, Ferriz et al, 2000;3, García and Protogino, 2005;4, García and Montalto, 2006;5, López Armengol and Casciotta, 1998;6, Montalto et al, 1999;7, Montalto, 2000;8, Penchaszadeh et al, 2000 late organic matter are retained in the freshwater bodies by filtration activities of L. fortunei. Thus, besides the local impacts due to filtration mentioned above, there are longrange impacts that can only be detected in the medium and long terms.…”

The effect of temperature and body size on filtration rates of Limnoperna fortunei (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) under laboratory conditions

“…The capacity to form enormous aggregates of up to 150,000 individuals/m 2 (Cataldo et al, 2002) has caused this species to exert severe negative environmental and economic impacts in its introduced range. Although there are individuals of virtually all size classes in large aggregates of L. fortunei, there are times of the year when more than 70% of the individuals in these aggregates are smaller than 2 mm (Boltovskoy et al Cataldo, 1999). In addition to the economic impacts associated with the clogging of pipes in industrial and hydroelectric power plants, common environmental impacts of the golden mussel include significant changes in fish (Montaldo et al, 1999) and benthic faunas (Darrigran et al, 1998), as well as in the dynamics of nutrient and pollutant cycling in freshwater environments (Porta, 2001).…”

Structure and density population of the invasive mollusc Limnoperna fortunei associated with Eichhornia crassipes in lakes of the Middle Paraná floodplain

“…In comparison, larger individuals were registered in studies carried out with L. fortunei attached to inert hard substrates (30 to 40 mm; Boltovskoy and Cataldo, 1999;Darrigran and Damborenea, 2011;Spaccesi, 2013) than bivalves recorded in association with the vegetation roots in these lakes. Several reasons could explain the fact that mussels older than 5 mm are scarce in the macrophyte roots.…”

“…In the present study, the densities recorded were lower than the values obtained in inert and hard substrates in the lower and upper Paraná River and in the Río de La Plata River (from 22,000 to 250,000 ind. m -2 ; Boltovskoy and Cataldo, 1999;Sylvester et al, 2007;Belz et al, 2010;Bonel, 2011;Spaccesi, 2013, among others). In spite of these last values are dominated by small recruits (over 70% of the mussels below 1 mm in length) due to seasonal changes in density through the year, the abundance of adults are much higher than in the present study.…”

“…Indeed, practically all these figures refer to abundances over very restricted areas, usually less than 1 m 2 in size, and the sites in question are not selected at random, either because they are densely covered by mussels, or are ad hoc deployed artificial substrata . Particularly, in the Paraná River, studies on the population densities of L. fortunei are restricted to the lower (Boltovskoy and Cataldo, 1999;Boltovskoy et al, 2006;Darrigran et al, 2007;Sylvester et al, 2007) Oliveira et al, 2006;Belz et al, 2010;Oliveira et al, 2010), with values above 250,000 ind. m -2 .…”