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ABSTRACT The introduction of invasive species has become an increasing environmental problem in freshwater ecosystems due to the high economic and ecological impacts it has generated. This systematic review covers publications from 2010 to 2020, focusing on non‐native invasive freshwater bivalves, a particularly relevant and widespread introduced taxonomic group in fresh waters. We collected information on the most studied species, the main objectives of the studies, their geographical location, study duration, and type of research. Furthermore, we focused on assessing the levels of ecological evidence presented, the type of interactions of non‐native bivalves with other organisms and the classification of their impacts. A total of 397 publications were retrieved. The studies addressed a total of 17 species of non‐native freshwater bivalves; however, most publications focused on the species Corbicula fluminea and Dreissena polymorpha, which are recognised for their widespread distribution and extensive negative impacts. Many other non‐native invasive bivalve species have been poorly studied. A high geographical bias was also present, with a considerable lack of studies in developing countries. The most frequent studies had shorter temporal periods, smaller spatial extents, and more observational data, were field‐based, and usually evaluated possible ecological impacts at the individual and population levels. There were 94 publications documenting discernible impacts according to the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT). However, 41 of these publications did not provide sufficient data to determine an impact. The most common effects of invasive bivalves on ecosystems were structural alterations, and chemical and physical changes, which are anticipated due to their role as ecosystem engineers. Despite a considerable number of studies in the field and advances in our understanding of some species over the past decade, long‐term data and large‐scale studies are still needed to understand better the impacts, particularly at the community and ecosystem levels and in less‐studied geographic regions. The widespread distribution of several non‐native freshwater bivalves, their ongoing introductions, and high ecological and economic impacts demand continued research. Systematic reviews such as this are essential for identifying knowledge gaps and guiding future research to enable a more complete understanding of the ecological implications of invasive bivalves, and the development of effective management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limnoperna fortunei (L. fortunei) (Dunker, 1857), the golden mussel, is an invasive species possessing exceptional environmental adaptability and a destructive impact on water systems and artificial structures. To better conservation of freshwater ecosystems by controlling this mussel, it is essential to study its distribution, potential for invasion, environmental tolerance and biological traits.This paper outlines the distribution of L. fortunei in Asia and South America, as well as its potential for future invasion in freshwater habitats, along with the research methods employed.We find that the mussel had a temperature tolerance range of 8–35 °C and a pH range was 5–10, with some individuals surviving in extreme conditions for extended periods.We find that temperature was a decisive factor for success at reproductive stages, larval development and adult growth.The biological traits of L. fortunei are discussed, focusing on feeding habits, attachment characteristics and locomotion, with an emphasis on byssus structure, foot proteins and adhesion mechanisms. The study elucidates the impact of flow velocity, light exposure and substrate material on their attachment, with the optimal attachment being identified at a flow velocity of 0.3–0.9 m/s. Additionally, the mussel exhibits strong light avoidance performances and a preference for rough surfaces.Extensively‐researched control strategies are classified and summarized, primarily categorized into physical, chemical and biological control, with an outline of their respective strengths and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aim: Golden mussel Limnoperna fortunei is an invasive bivalve in many freshwater ecosystems in Asia and South America. Cold winter temperatures are expected to restrict its spread to high‐latitude areas. Cold tolerance and potential distribution of this species remain largely unstudied because the most extensively studied populations occur in tropical and sub‐tropical areas. We sought to investigate cold tolerance of golden mussels and to model their potential distribution at higher latitudes. Location: China, Global. Methods: We investigated overwintering survival of caged golden mussels in a reservoir located at the northern invasion front in north China. We then determined the lowest water temperature at which mussel filtering occurred in laboratory. Finally, we modelled relative environmental suitability globally based on Maximum Entropy using the species' most updated occurrence records. Results: Golden mussels in a northern invasion front reservoir could survive over a course of 6 days at <1°C, or 41 days at <2°C, or 108 days at <5°C, with 27% survival overall. Caged mussels were inaccessible to local predators and reproduced, with the subsequent population size increasing in early summer by ~280%, representing a potential source population. Laboratory tests demonstrated that the lowest water temperature at which mussels could filter water was 5.5°C, and 50% of individuals became active when temperature rose to 7.5–8.0°C. Species distribution modelling illustrated a potential distribution of golden mussels at higher latitude than presently found. Models that considered updated high‐latitude occurrence records predicted a significantly larger suitable area than currently exists, including near the lower Laurentian Great Lakes. Main conclusions: Our findings suggest enhanced cold tolerance of golden mussels and wider potential distribution than currently exists. We emphasize the importance of examining samples from invasion fronts when developing distribution predictions for spreading invasive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since its introduction into South America around 1990, the freshwater bivalve Limnoperna fortunei (the golden mussel) has spread rapidly and is now a dominant component of the benthic and periphytic fauna in many rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Sizable impacts of this nonindigenous species on nutrient recycling, plankton abundance and composition, and trophic relationships with fishes have been reported, but its effects on the sediments have received little attention. In this work, we use eighteen 20‐L flow‐through experimental units with and without mussels where changes in the mass and characteristics of the sediments accumulated throughout a yearly cycle in monthly, biannual, and annual intervals are analyzed. Experimental units with mussels yielded almost 2 times more sediments than units without mussels and contained significantly higher loads of organic matter and total N. Total P was not affected by the presence of mussels. Sediments accumulated in the biannual and annual experimental units agreed well with the yields of the monthly units, but the vertical stratification of organic matter, N, and P was unpatterned. Seasonal changes in the volume of total sediments, biodeposits, and their organic matter and N contents were positively associated with ambient water temperature and with intermediate (~150–250 NTU, nephelometric turbidity units) turbidity. Our results suggest that ecosystem‐wide modifications in the living conditions of the benthic epifaunal and infaunal organisms in waterbodies invaded by the mussel are likely significant, although variable locally, regionally, and across taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invasive aquatic species introductions cause tremendous environmental and economic damage. Conservation and management efforts will benefit from rapid, inexpensive, and accurate on-site methods to detect harmful aquatic species to prevent their introduction and spread. Here, two technologies, environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling and Light Transmission Spectroscopy (LTS), were combined to address this need. Specifically, eDNA filtering and extraction methods were used to isolate DNA from: (1) lake water samples that were seeded with a microscopic fragment of five high-risk invasive species and (2) untreated samples from lakes infested with the invasive zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. LTS was then used to detect size shifts resulting from hybridization of PCR products with nanobeads covered with species-specific oligonucleotide probes. The results demonstrate that coupling eDNA sampling with LTS species detection can provide a sensitive and real-time solution for screening real-world water samples for invasive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxic cyanobacterial blooms and biological invasions are major threats to freshwater systems worldwide. While usually dealt with independently, the two threats can interact to produce synergistic or antagonistic outcomes. The aim of this survey is to analyse interactions between the cyanobacterium Microcystis spp. and the Asian invasive mussel Limnoperna fortunei., On the basis of 9 years of observational data in a large subtropical reservoir ( Salto Grande, Argentina- Uruguay), we analyse causal relationships between recurring summer-early autumn blooms of Microcystis spp. and recruitment by L. fortunei. Reproduction of the mussel was interrupted during dry summers ( January- April), coinciding with periods of peak Microcystis spp. growth and low water discharge (which favours build-up of algal biomass). On the other hand, wet summers with high discharge rates were characterised by low Microcystis spp. densities and high numbers of L. fortunei larvae in the water column., Of the seven South American waterbodies investigated, Salto Grande was the only one with very marked cyanobacterial blooms and where larval numbers decrease to near zero during January- April; in all others, reproduction peaks in January- April., The assumption that microcystin-producing algae are responsible for these troughs during periods when elsewhere larvae are very abundant was reinforced by experimental results indicating that microcystin- LR is highly toxic to the mussel's larvae, eliminating 58-100% of animals in 48 h at 10-20 μg L−1., Paradoxically, high concentrations of microcystin in water are probably partly due to L. fortunei's own activity, which enhances growth of Microcystis spp. through modification of nutrient concentrations, selective grazing of solitary Microcystis spp. cells over colonial ones and production of chemical cues that trigger the formation of colonies., These interactions have important implications for the management of biofouling of industrial raw cooling water facilities by the byssate mussels, as well as policies oriented at curtailing the spread of the invasive bivalve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Larvae of ‘sábalo’, Prochilodus lineatus, whose adults represent over 60% of overall fish biomass in the Río de la Plata Catchment, have been observed to feed intensively on veligers of the exotic bivalve Limnoperna fortunei. 2. To assess the effects of this dietary shift on the growth of P. lineatus, 28-day laboratory experiments were carried out feeding newly hatched P. lineatus larvae with three diets: zooplankton artificially enriched with L. fortunei veligers; natural zooplankton; and zooplankton artificially enriched with cladocerans and copepods. The average length, weight and gut contents of the fish larvae were assessed weekly and metabolic rates of fish larvae were measured. 3. Proportions of veligers in gut contents were always higher than those in the experimental diet: 100, 76 and 21% for veliger-enriched, natural and low-veliger diets, respectively. Larvae fed a veliger-enriched diet grew to a significantly larger size than larvae fed the other two diets. In energetic balance comparisons using metabolic rates and prey energy content, all three diets were sufficient to support metabolism and growth. The greatest values of excess energy at the end of each week were in the veliger-enriched experiments. 4. Feeding on veligers of L. fortunei significantly enhances the growth of P. lineatus larvae and supports the idea that this new and abundant resource is selectively preyed upon by P. lineatus during its larval stage. Higher growth rates may stem from the higher energy contents of veligers compared to crustaceans and/or from the lower energy costs of capturing slower prey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) (Bivalvia) invaded Argentina through the Río de la Plata estuary around 1990 and is presently established throughout five South American countries as a dominant component of the benthic fauna and a major nuisance for industry and power plants. Between 1997 and 2006 we monitored the reproductive activity of L. fortunei through weekly measurements of planktonic larvae in six South American water bodies: Río de la Plata estuary, Paraná and Carapachay rivers, Salto Grande, Itaipú and Embalse de Río Tercero reservoirs. Mean larval densities varied between 4000 and 7000 individuals m−3; except in the reservoirs of Itaipú (450 ind. m−3) and Salto Grande (869 ind. m−3), where the mussel was first recorded shortly before our surveys, and upstream dispersal is limited (Salto Grande). In all cases, reproductive output decreases during the winter. At four of the six sites surveyed larval densities were comparatively high for 8.8–10.2 months per year. A lower food supply is possibly responsible for the shorter reproductive period of 5.9 months at Embalse. At Salto Grande, there is a well-defined mid-summer drop in larval numbers, coinciding with blooms of cyanobacteria. We propose that, in addition to temperature, two major factors may regulate the reproductive activity of L. fortunei: (i) the availability of food; and (ii) blooms of toxic cyanobacteria, significantly shortening the otherwise very long reproductive period. This information is important for the design of antifouling programmes involving the use of molluscicides, and has potential for reduced biocide use. These results provide supporting evidence for some fundamental ecological theories of invasions discussed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diet composition of Pterodoras granulosus was investigated from June 2004 to June 2005 in the Upper Paraná River floodplain, following invasion by two mollusc species Corbicula fluminea and Limnoperna fortunei. Stomach and intestinal contents analysis showed spatial differences in the diet composition. In the Baía River, P. granulosus diet consisted mainly of C. fluminea, whereas plant items dominated in the Ivinheima River, and L. fortunei was the most important food in the Paraná River. There was little selectivity in shell length consumed. In spite of C. fluminea being a larger mollusc, L. fortunei appears to be energetically more profitable because its shell is more fragile and is rapidly opened and digested. A considerable amount of closed shells of C. fluminea at the end of the digestive tract points to a possible role of P. granulosus as a mollusc disperser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparison of Limnoperna fortunei numbers and biomass in screened (5, 15 and 40 mm) and unscreened cages deployed for 18 months in the lower Paraná delta indicates that predators harvest 26–79% (numbers), or 20–85% (biomass) of the mussel population. Predation impact decreases with mussel size. On average, 6 kg of whole live mussel × m−2 × year−1 (0.36 g of dry mussel tissue × m−2 × day−1) were eliminated from the unscreened cages. Cages with 15 and 40 mm screens lost between 1 and 2 kg × m−2 × year−1. Aquatic mammals, birds, and especially fish, are probably the main consumers of large mussels. Small L. fortunei are most probably eaten by fish and also by several invertebrates, including crustaceans, leeches and gastropods. It is suggested that L. fortunei intercepts a significant fraction of the organic carbon that the Paraná-Uruguay rivers flush into the ocean, locally boosting numbers of benthophagous animals, deposit feeders and, indirectly, higher level predators. Our results indicate that only 15 years after its first introduction in South America this invasive species is very actively consumed by local predators, but predatory suppression of the mussel seems very unlikely. Comparisons with the effects reported for the zebra mussel ( Dreissena polymorpha) in Europe and North America suggest that L. fortunei is consumed more actively and that its negative impact on the local fauna is more restricted. These differences are attributed to the fact that while D. polymorpha feeds chiefly on plankton, a limited resource, L. fortunei feeds on detrital particulate organic matter, whose supply in these large South American rivers largely exceeds consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]