The role of anthropogenic habitats in freshwater mussel conservation

Sousa, Ronaldo; Halabowski, Dariusz; Labecka, Anna M.; Douda, Karel; Aksenova, Olga; Bespalaya, Yulia; Bolotov, Ivan; Geist, Juergen; Jones, Hugh A.; Konopleva, Ekaterina; Klunzinger, Michael W.; Lasso, Carlos; Lewin, Iga; Liu, Xiongjun; Lopes-Lima, Manuel; Mageroy, Jon; Mlambo, Musa; Nakamura, Keiko; Nakano, Mitsunori; �sterling, Martin; Pfeiffer, John; Pri�, Vincent; Paschoal, Lucas R. P.; Riccardi, Nicoletta; Santos, Rog�rio; Shumka, Spase; Smith, Allan K.; Son, Mikhail O.; Teixeira, Am�lcar; Thielen, Frankie; Torres, Santiago; Varandas, Simone; Vikhrev, Ilya V.; Wu, Xiaoping; Zieritz, Alexandra; Nogueira, Joana

Abstract

Anthropogenic 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.

Citation

Sousa, R., Halabowski, D., Labecka, A. M., Douda, K., Aksenova, O., Bespalaya, Y., Bolotov, I., Geist, J., Jones, H. A., Konopleva, E., Klunzinger, M. W., Lasso, C., Lewin, I., Liu, X., Lopes-Lima, M., Mageroy, J., Mlambo, M., Nakamura, K., Nakano, M., Österling, M., …Nogueira, J. (2021). The role of anthropogenic habitats in freshwater mussel conservation. Global Change Biology, 27(11), 2298-2314. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15549

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 2, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Mar 19, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Deposit Date: Mar 22, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 20, 2022
• Journal: Global Change Biology
• Print ISSN: 1354-1013
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2486
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 11
• Pages: 2298-2314
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15549
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5384114
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.15549
• Additional Information: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Sousa, R., Halabowski, D., Labecka, A.M., Douda, K., Aksenova, O., Bespalaya, Y., Bolotov, I., Geist, J., Jones, H.A., Konopleva, E., Klunzinger, M.W., Lasso, C.A., Lewin, I., Liu, X., Lopes‐Lima, M., Mageroy, J., Mlambo, M., Nakamura, K., Nakano, M., Österling, M., Pfeiffer, J., Prié, V., Paschoal, L.R.P., Riccardi, N., Santos, R., Shumka, S., Smith, A.K., Son, M.O., Teixeira, A., Thielen, F., Torres, S., Varandas, S., Vikhrev, I.V., Wu, X., Zieritz, A. and Nogueira, J.G. (2021), The role of anthropogenic habitats in freshwater mussel conservation. Glob Change Biol. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15549, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15549. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.