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Burrowing behavior protects a threatened freshwater mussel in drying rivers
Hydrobiologia ( IF 2.6 ) Pub Date : 2020-04-25 , DOI: 10.1007/s10750-020-04268-0
Alan J. Lymbery , Le Ma , Samuel J. Lymbery , Michael W. Klunzinger , Stephen J. Beatty , David L. Morgan

Reduced streamflow because of climate change presents a major threat to aquatic biodiversity in arid, semi-arid and Mediterranean climatic regions. Freshwater mussels are particularly sensitive to this threat, because of their sedentary nature and limited mobility as juveniles or adults. The freshwater mussel Westralunio carteri, which is endemic to south-western Australia, has undergone a 49% reduction in range in the last 50 years, and a drying climate presents substantial extinction risk, as highlighted by two recent cases of mass mortality. Experimental studies found that mussels respond to water emersion by first tracking receding water levels, then burrowing. The amount of horizontal movement by mussels was not affected by size, but smaller mussels initiated burrowing sooner and were also more likely to be predated if they remained on the surface. Burrowing and shading both significantly reduced mortality rate and increased survival time when mussels were exposed to drying; when shaded or allowed to burrow, mussels could survive at least 62 days out of water. Predicted future reductions in streamflow are likely to increase the mortality rate in W. carteri, but it may be possible to partially avert the adverse effects of drying rivers by increasing riparian shading.

中文翻译:

穴居行为保护干涸河流中受威胁的淡水贻贝

气候变化导致的流量减少对干旱、半干旱和地中海气候地区的水生生物多样性构成重大威胁。淡水贻贝对这种威胁特别敏感,因为它们在幼年或成年时久坐不动且行动不便。淡水贻贝 Westralunio carteri 是澳大利亚西南部特有的,在过去 50 年中,其活动范围减少了 49%,气候干燥带来了巨大的灭绝风险,最近两起大规模死亡案例就凸显了这一点。实验研究发现,贻贝通过首先追踪水位下降,然后挖洞来应对水涌出。贻贝的水平移动量不受大小影响,但较小的贻贝更早开始挖洞,如果它们留在表面,也更有可能被捕食。当贻贝暴露在干燥环境中时,挖洞和遮荫都可以显着降低死亡率并延长存活时间;当遮荫或允许挖洞时,贻贝可以在离开水的情况下存活至少 62 天。预计未来流量的减少可能会增加 W. carteri 的死亡率,但有可能通过增加河岸遮荫来部分避免河流干涸的不利影响。
更新日期:2020-04-25
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