Don't move a mussel? Parasite and disease risk in conservation action

Abstract: Freshwater mussels are one of the most endangered animal groups globally, making them a high conservation priority. Conservationists increasingly employ translocation or captive breeding procedures to support ailing populations, and the ecosystem engineering capabilities of mussels are being increasingly harnessed in bioremediation projects. However, there is little consideration of the risk of pathogen transmission when moving mussels from hatcheries or wild donor populations into new habitats. This is of significant concern as recent developments suggest parasites and diseases are highly prevalent and have contributed to several mass population‐level die‐offs. Here, we explicitly highlight the risks of pathogen spread in mussel translocations, explore how these risks are mediated, and provide recommendations for both research and action to avoid the inadvertent spread of virulent pathogens when conserving vulnerable mussel populations. While targeted at freshwater conservationists, this perspective has relevance for considering translocation‐mediated disease and parasite spread in any study system

Freshwater mussel conservation: A global horizon scan of emerging threats and opportunities

We identified 14 emerging and poorly understood threats and opportunities for addressing the global conservation of freshwater mussels over the next decade. A panel of 17 researchers and stakeholders from six continents submitted a total of 56 topics that were ranked and prioritized using a consensus-building Delphi technique. Our 14 priority topics fell into five broad themes (autecology, population dynamics, global stressors, global diversity, and ecosystem services) and included understanding diets throughout mussel life history; identifying the drivers of population declines; defining metrics for quantifying mussel health; assessing the role of predators, parasites, and disease; informed guidance on the risks and opportunities for captive breeding and translocations; the loss of mussel-fish co-evolutionary relationships; assessing the effects of increasing surface water changes; understanding the effects of sand and aggregate mining; understanding the effects of drug pollution and other emerging contaminants such as nanomaterials; appreciating the threats and opportunities arising from river restoration; conserving understudied hotspots by building local capacity through the principles of decolonization; identifying appropriate taxonomic units for conservation; improved quantification of the ecosystem services provided by mussels; and understanding how many mussels are enough to provide these services. Solutions for addressing the topics ranged from ecological studies to technological advances and socio-political engagement. Prioritization of our topics can help to drive a proactive approach to the conservation of this declining group which provides a multitude of important ecosystem services.This publication is based upon work from COST Action CA18239, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). DCA was supported by Corpus Christi College and a Dawson Fellowship at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. MLL was supported by FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (2020.03608.CEECIND). ISO was supported by a Whitten Studentship. INB was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 21-17-00126). YVB was supported by RSF project no. 21-14-00092. KD was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (19-05510 S). TZ was supported by statutory funds of IOP PAN. MK was supported by funding through the Australian National Environmental Science Program. For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission

Freshwater mussel conservation: A global horizon scan of emerging threats and opportunities.

Funder: Australian National Environmental Science FoundationFunder: Corpus Christi College; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000591Funder: IOP PANWe identified 14 emerging and poorly understood threats and opportunities for addressing the global conservation of freshwater mussels over the next decade. A panel of 17 researchers and stakeholders from six continents submitted a total of 56 topics that were ranked and prioritized using a consensus-building Delphi technique. Our 14 priority topics fell into five broad themes (autecology, population dynamics, global stressors, global diversity, and ecosystem services) and included understanding diets throughout mussel life history; identifying the drivers of population declines; defining metrics for quantifying mussel health; assessing the role of predators, parasites, and disease; informed guidance on the risks and opportunities for captive breeding and translocations; the loss of mussel-fish co-evolutionary relationships; assessing the effects of increasing surface water changes; understanding the effects of sand and aggregate mining; understanding the effects of drug pollution and other emerging contaminants such as nanomaterials; appreciating the threats and opportunities arising from river restoration; conserving understudied hotspots by building local capacity through the principles of decolonization; identifying appropriate taxonomic units for conservation; improved quantification of the ecosystem services provided by mussels; and understanding how many mussels are enough to provide these services. Solutions for addressing the topics ranged from ecological studies to technological advances and socio-political engagement. Prioritization of our topics can help to drive a proactive approach to the conservation of this declining group which provides a multitude of important ecosystem services