Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/36805

Title: The silent extinction of freshwater mussels in Portugal
Authors: Lopes-Lima, M.
Reis, J.
Alvarez, Maria G.
Anastácio, P. M.
Banha, F.
Beja, P.
Castro, P.
Gama, Mafalda
Gil, M. G.
Gomes-dos-Santos, A.
Miranda, F.
Nogueira, J. G.
Sousa, R.
Teixeira, Amílcar
Varandas, S.
Froufe, E.
Keywords: Biodiversity crisis
Droughts
Dams
Europe
Extinction
Invasive species
Invertebrates
Mediterranean
Issue Date: 23-Aug-2023
Publisher: Biological Conservation
Citation: Manuel Lopes-Lima, Joaquim Reis, Maria G. Alvarez, Pedro M. Anastácio, Filipe Banha, Pedro Beja, Paulo Castro, Mafalda Gama, Maria G. Gil, André Gomes-dos-Santos, Fernando Miranda, Joana Garrido Nogueira, Ronaldo Sousa, Amílcar Teixeira, Simone Varandas, Elsa Froufe. The silent extinction of freshwater mussels in Portugal, Biological Conservation, Volume 285, 2023, 110244, ISSN 0006-3207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110244.
Abstract: Freshwater mussels are one of the most threatened animal groups in the world. In the European Union, threatened and protected mussel species are not adequately monitored, while species considered to be common and widespread receive even less attention. This is particularly worrying in the Mediterranean region, where species endemism is high and freshwater habitats are severely affected by water scarcity. In the absence of hard data on population trends, we report here a long-term comparison of freshwater mussel assemblages at 132 sites covering 15 different hydrological basins in Portugal. This study reveals a widespread decline of 60 % in the number of sites and 67 % in the overall abundance of freshwater mussels across Portugal over the last 20 years, indicating that all species are rapidly declining and threatened with extinction. These results show that current legislation and conservation measures are largely ineffective and highlight the importance of updating the Habitats Directive to enforce standard monitoring protocols for threatened species in the European Union and to extend monitoring to other freshwater species thought to be common and widespread. Efficient water management, restrictions on irrigation expansion in important biodiversity areas, mitigation of hydrological changes and loss of aquatic habitat connectivity caused by physical alterations are urgently needed to reverse these declining population trends. For the severely endangered species Margaritifera margaritifera, Potomida littoralis, and Unio tumidiformis, where populations are now critically low, more urgent action is needed, such as ex-situ conservation, protection of remaining populations and large-scale habitat restoration.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/36805
Type: article
Appears in Collections:PAO - Publicações - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais Com Arbitragem Científica
MARE-UE - Publicações - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais Com Arbitragem Científica

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