Miriam E. Maroñas

Air Exposure as a Control Mechanism for the Golden Mussel, Limnoperna fortunei, (Bivalvia: Mytilidae)

ABSTRACT We examined the response of the invasive freshwater bivalve Limnoperna fortunei to air exposure under different conditions of relative humidity, at 25.00 ± 0,4°C. Survival of L. fortunei increased with relative humidity. Specimens exposed to air without humidity control (49 to 63% relative humidity) did not survive more than 120 hours, while those held in an elevated humidity environment survived up to 168 hours. Smaller mussels reached 100% mortality before larger ones. Consequently, in industrial systems colonized by L. fortunei, the periodic elimination of water for less than six days will not be an effective control mechanism.

Evaluation of sampling and analysis techniques for early detection of Limnoperna fortunei (Mytilidae) in limit areas of its distribution

on numerous South American rivers includes, among others, alteration of benthonic communities, alteration of fish diet, as well as severe macrofouling problems at industrial water intakes (Darrigran, 2002). Thus, it is fundamental to know the dynamic distribution of this invading species to explain its invading process and to have access to basic informa-tion to predict its distribution/ dispersion pattern.In the framework of a larger Project, in which we try to establish the extreme distribution limits of this species in South America, this work has as its goal to evaluate the efficiency of the sampling techniques of larvae and adults for the early detection of the invading species. For this purpose, sampling was carried out in different water bodies in limit areas of the species distribution in the en-dorreic system in the Province of Cordoba, Argentina.Between December 15 and 18, 2006, quantitative and qualitative samples of benthos and plankton were taken in eight localities looking for adults and larvae of the golden mussel (Table 1). Differing from sam-pling techniques in environments already invaded by the golden mussel where the aim is to know the population distribution of the settlement (e.g. Mansur et al., 2003), the goal of the sampling done in this work was early de-tection of the invading bivalve. The presence of adults of

A Potential Biocide for Control of the Golden Mussel, Limnoperna fortunei

ABSTRACT We assessed to response of larvae of the golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) to different concentrations of a quaternary ammonium polymer (Bulab 6002 ®) in order to estimate its effectiveness in controlling this invasive mussel. Mussels were collected along the coast of the Rio de la Plata, Argentina, and were tested in two laboratory trials. The estimated median lethal concentration for these 24-h exposures were 9.6 mg/L and 4, 6 mg/L, indicating that this biocide may be suitable as a control agent for this mussel.