Conservation of freshwater bivalves at the global scale: diversity, threats and research needs

Bivalves are ubiquitous members of freshwater ecosystems and responsible for important functions and services. The present paper revises freshwater bivalve diversity, conservation status and threats at the global scale and discusses future research needs and management actions. The diversity patterns are uneven across the globe with hotspots in the interior basin in the United States of America (USA), Central America, Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Freshwater bivalves are affected by multiple threats that vary across the globe; however, pollution and natural system (habitat) modifications being consistently found as the most impacting. Freshwater bivalves are among the most threatened groups in the world with 40% of the species being near threatened, threatened or extinct, and among them the order Unionida is the most endangered. We suggest that global cooperation between scientists, managers, politicians and general public, and application of new technologies (new generation sequencing and remote sensing, among others) will strengthen the quality of studies on the natural history and conservation of freshwater bivalves. Finally, we introduce the articles published in this special issue of Hydrobiologia under the scope of the Second International Meeting on Biology and Conservation of Freshwater Bivalves held in 2015 in Buffalo, New York, USA.This work was supported by FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology, Project 3599—Promote the Scientific Production and Technological Development and Thematic 3599-PPCDT by FEDER as part of the project FRESHCO: multiple implications of invasive species on Freshwater Mussel co-extinction processes (Contract: PTDC/AGRFOR/1627/2014). FCT also supported MLL under Grant (SFRH/BD/115728/2016)

Limnological Compilation of Water Quality of the Minnesota River Watershed, in Minnesota

This work is a compilation of water quality data taken from monitoring records of the Minnesota River System from 1957 through 1975 by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The data is grouped and presented in a format (seasonal and downstream) so that it can be utilized directly for water quality interpretation in relation to changes in land use, soils, and geomorphology, as well as isolating the effects of various tributaries. T-tests to compare means in selected pairs of monitoring locations are presented and reveal a surprising equilibrium from the upper to the lower reach, in levels of parameters of water quality.Water Resources Research CenterFeind, T.; Braaten, D.; Quade, H.W.. (1981). Limnological Compilation of Water Quality of the Minnesota River Watershed, in Minnesota. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/91225