Browsing by Author "Geist, Juergen"
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- Conservation status of freshwater mussels in Europe: state of the art and future challengesPublication . Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Sousa, Ronaldo; Geist, Juergen; Aldridge, David C.; Araujo, Rafael; Bergengren, Jakob; Bespalaya, Yulia V.; Bódis, Erika; Burlakova, Lyubov E.; Van Damme, Dirk; Douda, Karel; Froufe, Elsa; Georgiev, Dilian; Gumpinger, Clemens; Karatayev, Alexander Y.; Kebapçi, Ümit; Killeen, Ian; Lajtner, Jasna; Larsen, Bjørn M.; Lauceri, Rosaria; Legakis, Anastasios; Lois, Sabela; Lundberg, Stefan; Moorkens, Evelyn A.; Motte, Gregory; Nagel, Karl Otto; Ondina, Paz; Outeiro, Adolfo; Paunovic, Momir; Prié, Vincent; Proschwitz, Ted von; Riccardi, Nicoletta; Rudzīte, Mudīte; Rudzītis, Māris; Scheder, Christian; Seddon, Mary; Şereflişan, Hülya; Simić, Vladica; Sokolova, Svetlana; Stoeckl, Katharina; Taskinen, Jouni; Teixeira, Amílcar; Thielen, Frankie; Trichkova, Teodora; Varandas, Simone; Vicentini, Heinrich; Zajac, Katarzyna; Zając, Tadeusz; Zogaris, StamatisFreshwater mussels of the Order Unionida provide important ecosystem functions and services, yet many of their populations are in decline. We comprehensively review the status of the 16 currently recognized species in Europe, collating for the first time their life-history traits, distribution, conservation status, habitat preferences, and main threats in order to suggest future management actions. In northern, central, and eastern Europe, a relatively homogeneous species composition is found in most basins. In southern Europe, despite the lower species richness, spatially restricted species make these basins a high conservation priority. Information on freshwater mussels in Europe is unevenly distributed with considerable differences in data quality and quantity among countries and species. To make conservation more effective in the future, we suggest greater international cooperation using standardized protocols and methods to monitor and manage European freshwater mussel diversity. Such an approach will not only help conserve this vulnerable group but also, through the protection of these important organisms, will offer wider benefits to freshwater ecosystems.
- The crown pearl: a draft genome assembly of the European freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758)Publication . Gomes-dos-Santos, André; Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Machado, André M.; Ramos, António Marcos; Usié, Ana; Bolotov, Ivan N.; Vikhrev, Ilya V.; Breton, Sophie; Castro, L. Filipe C.; Fonseca, Rute R. da; Geist, Juergen; Österling, Martin E.; Prié, Vincent; Teixeira, Amílcar; Gan, Han Ming; Simakov, Oleg; Froufe, ElsaSince historical times, the inherent human fascination with pearls turned the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) into a highly valuable cultural and economic resource. Although pearl harvesting in M. margaritifera is nowadays residual, other human threats have aggravated the species conservation status, especially in Europe. This mussel presents a myriad of rare biological features, e.g. high longevity coupled with low senescence and Doubly Uniparental Inheritance of mitochondrial DNA, for which the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly known. Here, the first draft genome assembly of M. margaritifera was produced using a combination of Illumina Paired-end and Mate-pair approaches. The genome assembly was 2.4 Gb long, possessing 105,185 scaffolds and a scaffold N50 length of 288,726 bp. The ab initio gene prediction allowed the identification of 35,119 protein-coding genes. This genome represents an essential resource for studying this species' unique biological and evolutionary features and ultimately will help to develop new tools to promote its conservation.
- A roadmap for the conservation of freshwater mussels in EuropePublication . Sousa, Ronaldo; Zając, Tadeusz; Halabowski, Dariusz; Aksenova, Olga V.; Bespalaya, Yulia V.; Carvalho, Francisco; Castro, Paulo S.; Douda, Karel; Silva, Janine P.; Ferreira-Rodríguez, Noé; Geist, Juergen; Gumpinger, Clemens; Labecka, Anna M.; Lajtner, Jasna; Lewin, Iga; Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Meira, Alexandra; Nakamura, Keiko; Nogueira, Joana Garrido; Ondina, Paz; Ożgo, Małgorzata; Reis, Joaquim; Riccardi, Nicoletta; Shumka, Spase; Son, Mikhail O.; Teixeira, Amílcar; Thielen, Frankie; Urbańska, Maria; Varandas, Simone; Wengström, Niklas; Zajac, Katarzyna; Zieritz, Alexandra; Aldridge, David C.Europe has a long history of human pressure on freshwater ecosystems. As pressure continues to grow and new threats emerge, there is an urgent need for conservation of freshwater biodiversity and its ecosystem services. However, whilst some taxonomic groups, mainly vertebrates, have received a disproportionate amount of attention and funds, other groups remain largely off the public and scientific radar. Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) are an alarming example of this conservation bias and here we point out six conceptual areas that need immediate and long-term attention: knowledge, threats, socioeconomics, conservation, governance and education. The proposed roadmap aims to advance research, policy and education by identifying the most pressing priorities for the short- and long-term conservation of freshwater mussels across Europe.
- The role of anthropogenic habitats in freshwater mussel conservationPublication . Sousa, Ronaldo; Halabowski, Dariusz; Labecka, Anna M.; Douda, Karel; Aksenova, Olga V.; Bespalaya, Yulia V.; Bolotov, Ivan N.; Geist, Juergen; Jones, Hugh A.; Konopleva, Ekaterina; Klunzinger, Michael W.; Lasso, Carlos A.; Lewin, Iga; Liu, Xiongjun; Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Mageroy, Jon; Mlambo, Musa; Nakamura, Keiko; Nakano, Mitsunori; Österling, Martin E.; Pfeiffer, John; Prié, Vincent; Paschoal, Lucas R.P.; Riccardi, Nicoletta; Santos, Rogério; Shumka, Spase; Smith, Allan K.; Son, Mikhail O.; Teixeira, Amílcar; Thielen, Frankie; Torres, Santiago; Varandas, Simone; Vikhrev, Ilya V.; Wu, Xiaoping; Zieritz, Alexandra; Nogueira, Joana GarridoAnthropogenic freshwater habitats may provide undervalued prospects for long-term conservation as part of species conservation planning. This fundamental, but overlooked, issue requires attention considering the pace that humans have been altering natural freshwater ecosystems and the accelerated levels of biodiversity decline in recent decades. We compiled 709 records of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) inhabiting a broad variety of anthropogenic habitat types (from small ponds to large reservoirs and canals) and reviewed their importance as refuges for this faunal group. Most records came from Europe and North America, with a clear dominance of canals and reservoirs. The dataset covered 228 species, including 34 threatened species on the IUCN Red List. We discuss the conservation importance and provide guidance on how these anthropogenic habitats could be managed to provide optimal conservation value to freshwater mussels. This review also shows that some of these habitats may function as ecological traps owing to conflicting management practices or because they act as a sink for some populations. Therefore, anthropogenic habitats should not be seen as a panacea to resolve conservation problems. More information is necessary to better understand the trade-offs between human use and the conservation of freshwater mussels (and other biota) within anthropogenic habitats, given the low number of quantitative studies and the strong biogeographic knowledge bias that persists.