Massive die-offs of freshwater bivalves as resource pulses

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2012

Authors

Sousa, R (Author) Other; Varandas, S (Author) Other; Cortes, R (Author) Other; Teixeira, A (Author) Other; Lopes Lima, M (Author) Other; machado, j (Author) ICBAS; Guilhermino, L. (Author) ICBAS

Journal

Title: Annales de Limnologie

Vol. 48

Pages: 105-112

ISSN: 0003-4088

Publisher: EDP Sciences

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 25 Citations

Scopus - 20 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-GCA

DOI: 10.1051/limn/2012003

Abstract (EN): The winter of 2009/2010 was particularly severe in Northern Portugal resulting in higher river flow levels. A study was undertaken to assess the impact of this situation on several populations of freshwater bivalves (e.g., Anodonta anatina, Corbicula fluminea, Margaritifera margaritifera, Potomida littoralis and (Unio delphinus) in the catchments of the Rivers Minho, Douro, Tamega, Tua and Sabor. Massive die-offs occurred for all species in all rivers, resulting in the removal of great numbers and biomass from the riverbed to the adjacent riverbanks, reaching maximum values of 2280 individuals.m(-2) and 10 225 g wet wcight.m(-2), respectively. The invasive Asian clam C. fluminea had both highest density and biomass (however, this invasive bivalve is not dominant in several surveyed sites, and some rivers are still not colonized by this species). Results show that the quantitative and qualitative importance of this carrion transfer to the riverbank should be incorporated in future studies on the assessment of ecosystem function, contributing to a better understanding of the role of freshwater bivalves as resource pulses in adjacent terrestrial habitats. Some of the affected species have conservational importance and these extreme climatic events are predicted to increase in the future. These massive die-off events should be incorporated into management plans and selected restoration measures such as rapid relocation of endangered native mussels back to the riverbed can be easily applied to lessen possible impacts.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 8