Adolfo Outeiro

Conservation status of freshwater mussels in Europe: state of the art and future challenges.

Freshwater 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.

Threatened freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera L. in NW Spain: low and very structured genetic variation in southern peripheral populations assessed using microsatellite markers

A genetic analysis of freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera populations from NW Spain, a peripheral area of its European distribution, was carried out using microsatellite markers. These populations were formerly reported as genetically differentiated on the basis of growth and longevity studies. Ten loci previously characterized in populations from central Europe were used to comparatively analyze the genetic variability at the southern edge of the species’ range. Iberian pearl mussel populations showed very low genetic variability and significant high genetic differentiation. Half of the total genetic diversity observed appeared to be distributed between populations, which suggested a highly structured adaptive potential in pearl mussel at the southern peripheral distribution of the species. Population distinctiveness was evidenced by assignment tests, which revealed a high accuracy of individual assignments to their population of origin. All data suggested low effective population size and major effects of genetic drift on population genetic structure. In order to avoid further loss of genetic variation in biologically distinctive populations from NW Spain, prioritization of genetic resources of this species is required for conservation and management.

Importance of soil exchangeable cations and aluminium content on land snail distribution

Abstract The influence of soil exchangeable cations and aluminium content on the distribution of various terrestrial gastropods was investigated. Calcium was the most important factor, though aluminium and magnesium content also had some effect. Potassium and sodium had no significant influence on distribution. The species most sensitive to the factors analysed were Cochlicopa lubrica, Vertigo pygmaea and Carychium tridentatum.

Biogeography of terrestrial gastropods of north-west Spain.

We carried out a biogeographical study of the terrestrial gastropods of north-west Spain on the basis of sampling from 51 10 X 10 km quadrants in the regions of Asturias, Leon, Zamora and Salamanca. Classification of quadrants by species composition using indicator species analysis (program TwINsPAN) revealed a zonation which corresponds very closely to the phytoclimatic zonation developed by Rivas Martinez. Correspondence analysis (program cANoco), using nominal environmental variables, confirmed the TWINSPAN classification and allowed identification of those factors which are most important in determining the broad patterns of terrestrial gastropod distribution in north-west Spain. The region corresponding to Rivas Martinezs Eurosiberian region is characterized by mean annual precipitation in excess of 700 mm and high gastropod species richness; that corresponding to Rivas Martinezs Mediterranean region is characterized by mean annual precipitation below 700 mm and a lower gastropod species richness. It is also of interest that the Eurosiberian part of our study area is an older landmass (having emerged in the Palaeozoic) than the Mediterranean part (which emerged in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic).