Year: 2021
Type: review
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.
Source: Global Change Biology
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15549
Authors: Ronaldo Sousa, Dariusz Halabowski, Anna M. Labecka, Karel Douda, Olga Aksenova, Yulia Bespalaya, Ivan Bolotov, Juergen Geist, Hugh A. Jones, Ekaterina Konopleva, Michael W. Klunzinger, Carlos A. Lasso, Iga Lewin, Xiongjun Liu, Manuel Lopes‐Lima, Jon Mageroy, Musa Mlambo, Keiko Nakamura, Mitsunori Nakano, Martin Österling, John Pfeiffer, Vincent Prié, Lucas R. P. Paschoal, Nicoletta Riccardi, Rogério Santos, Spase Shumka, Allan K. Smith, Mikhail O. Son, Amílcar Teixeira, Frankie Thielen, Santiago Torres, Simone Varandas, Ilya V. Vikhrev, Xiaoping Wu, Alexandra Zieritz, Joana G. Nogueira
Institutions: Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, University of Minho, University of Silesia in Katowice, Jagiellonian University, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Technical University of Munich, NSW Department of Planning and Environment, Griffith University, Western Australian Museum, Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, Nanchang University, Universidade do Porto, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Rhodes University, Universitat de València, Minami Kyushu University, Karlstad University, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne Université, Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, São Paulo State Technological College, Water Research Institute, National Research Council, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Agricultural University of Tirana, Institute of Marine Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Universidade Politécnica de Bragança, Centro de Investigação de Montanha, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, National University of Austral Patagonia, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Centro de Investigação e de Tecnologias Agro-Ambientais e Biologicas, University of Nottingham
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3138949751