Ümit Kebapçi

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.

Phylogeny of the most species-rich freshwater bivalve family (Bivalvia: Unionida: Unionidae): Defining modern subfamilies and tribes

Freshwater mussels of the order Unionida are key elements of freshwater habitats and are responsible for important ecological functions and services. Unfortunately, these bivalves are among the most threatened freshwater taxa in the world. However, conservation planning and management are hindered by taxonomic problems and a lack of detailed ecological data. This highlights the urgent need for advances in the areas of systematics and evolutionary relationships within the Unionida. This study presents the most comprehensive phylogeny to date of the larger Unionida family, i.e., the Unionidae. The phylogeny is based on a combined dataset of 1032bp (COI+28S) of 70 species in 46 genera, with 7 of this genera being sequenced for the first time. The resulting phylogeny divided the Unionidae into 6 supported subfamilies and 18 tribes, three of which are here named for the first time (i.e., Chamberlainiini nomen novum, Cristariini nomen novum and Lanceolariini nomen novum). Molecular analyses were complemented by investigations of selected morphological, anatomical and behavioral characters used in traditional phylogenetic studies. No single morphological, anatomical or behavioral character was diagnostic at the subfamily level and few were useful at the tribe level. However, within subfamilies, many tribes can be recognized based on a subset of these characters. The geographical distribution of each of the subfamilies and tribes is also presented. The present study provides important advances in the systematics of these extraordinary taxa with implications for future ecological and conservation studies.

Phylogeny, phylogeography, and evolution in the Mediterranean region: news from a freshwater mussel (Potomida, Unionida)

The Potomida genus (Bivalvia, Unionida) has a Circum-Mediterranean distribution and like other freshwater mussel species, its populations have suffered dramatic declines. Although this genus is currently considered as monotypic, it has a long history of taxonomic revisions and presently many aspects of its systematics and evolutionary history are unclear. We sampled a total of 323 individuals from 39 different sites across the Potomida genus distribution, and sequenced two mitochondrial (16S rDNA and Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit I) and one nuclear (28S rDNA) genes to clarify its phylogeny and phylogeographic history. Our results show that the genus includes two well-supported clades, one comprising solely the western Mediterranean species Potomida littoralis, and the other including two eastern Mediterranean species, the Greek endemic P. acarnanica and the Anatolian and Middle Eastern P. semirugata. We suggest that Potomida started radiating during the upper Miocene, and that both vicariance and dispersal events shaped the diversification and distribution of the genus along the Mediterranean region. P. littoralis is further divided in two mitochondrial lineages, one restricted to Europe and the other occurring mostly in North Africa. Moreover, some European basins present both lineages in sympatry. The conservation status of the three recognized species should be reevaluated, particularly P. acarnanica, since it is restricted to two Greek river basins presenting a high risk of extinction. Overall, our results clarify some important gaps in knowledge concerning the phylogeny, phylogeography and evolution of the Potomida genus in the Mediterranean region with important taxonomical, ecological and conservational implications.

Description of two new species of Pseudamnicola from southern Turkey (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae)

New material of freshwater molluscs in the Mediterranean region of Turkey revealed two new species of the genus Pseudamnicola Paulucci, 1878, i.e., P. kayseriensis n. sp., and P. gullei n. sp. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3E39E467-22A5-4091-9975-17343DA8D02E

New Bythinella (Gastropoda, Bythinellidae) species from western Turkey.

Abstract Bythinella anatolica sp. n., Bythinella istanbulensis sp. n., Bythinella magdalenae sp. n., and Bythinella wilkei sp. n. from western Turkey are described herein. Illustrations of the shell and genitalia of the newly described taxa, together with comparisons with previously known Bythinella taxa and a key to the species from western Turkey, are also provided.

Mersin Limonlu (Lamos) Çayı Malakofaunası

Bu calismada, Limonlu cayinin mollusk faunasinin belirlenmesi amaclanmistir. Butun mollusk turleri cay havzasinda secilen 5 istasyondan toplanmistir. Calisma sonucunda Gastropoda sinifina ait 7 ( Theodoxus anatolicus , Melanopsis buccinoidea , Physella acuta , Galba truncatula , Radix labiata , Gyraulus piscinarum , Oxyloma elegans ) ve Bivalvia sinifina ait 1 ( Unio bruguierianus ) tur olmak uzere toplam 8 mollusk turu tespit edilmistir. Bulunan tum turler arastirma alanindan ilk defa bildirilmektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler : Malakofauna, Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Limonlu cayi, Mersin. Abstract The Malacofauna of Limonlu (Lamos) Stream, Mersin The main aim of the present study is to identify the mollusk fauna of Limonlu (Lamos) Stream. All mollusc species were collected from 5 stations chosen on the stream basin. As a consequence of the study, in total 8 mollusc species were determined, 7 Gastropoda ( Theodoxus anatolicus , Melanopsis buccinoidea , Physella acuta , Galba truncatula , Radix labiata , Gyraulus piscinarum , Oxyloma elegans ) and 1 Bivalvia ( Unio bruguierianus ). All these species are new records for the research area. Keywords : Malacofauna, Gastropoda, Bivalvia, Lamos stream, Mersin.

Kahramanmaraş Kumaşır Gölü’nde Yaşayan Melanopsis buccinoidea buccinoidea (Olivier, 1801)’nın (Gastropoda:Melanopsidae) Konkometrik ve Sistematik Özellikleri

Bu calismada Kumasir golu’nden toplanan 60 adet Melanopsis buccinoidea buccinoidea bireyinde morfometrik olcumler yapilmistir. Ortalama olarak; kabuk yuksekligi, kabuk genisligi, apertur yuksekligi, apertur genisligi, vucut helezon yuksekligi ve spir yuksekligi sirasiyla; 25.95 mm, 12.18 mm, 14.13mm, 8.02 mm, 18.47 mm, 8.01 mm’dir. Incelenen bireylerin ortalama agirliklari ise 2.05 g’dir. Kabuk yuksekligi-kabuk agirligi iliskisi KY=20.995W0.3187 (r=0.943), kabuk genisligi-kabuk agirligi iliskisi ise KG=9.274W0.4059 ( r=0.957) olarak bulunmustur. Gol ekosisteminin devamliligi acisindan Melanopsis buccinoidea buccinoidea’ nin korunmasi gerektigi sonucuna varilmistir.