| Abstract | Abstract Freshwater mussels of the order Unionida have been dramatically declining globally. Despite their ecological importance, conservation of these animals has been hindered by unresolved taxonomy and a lack of data on the distribution and status of populations, especially in southern Europe. Although the Italian Peninsula has been noted as a centre of endemism and one of the major refugia of the glacial ages for several taxa, few studies have been performed on the genetic diversity of Unionida. Most importantly, the taxonomic status of several freshwater mussel populations of the Italian Peninsula is still unresolved. Here we present the first comprehensive dataset for the Unionida of the region spanning Italy and the coastal Croatian region (west of the Dinaric Alps). In total, 191 specimens were collected (85 Anodonta, 64 Unio, 17 Microcondylaea bonellii and 25 Sinanodonta woodiana) from 34 sites across the Italian Peninsula and coastal Croatian river basins for molecular identification (COI, 16S and 28S). Genetic analyses were performed to understand major phylogenetic and phylogeographic patterns. Seven species were detected: three Anodonta species (A. anatina, A. cygnea and A. exulcerata), two Unio species (U. mancus and U. elongatulus), Microcondylaea bonellii, and the invasive Sinanodonta woodiana. The presence of three endemic species (A. exulcerata, U. elongatulus and M. bonellii) confirms the importance of the region as a centre of endemism for freshwater mussels. The Apennine Mountains act as an important biogeographic barrier. |
| Text | 376846 2017 10.1007/s10531 017 1403 z Scopus 2 s2.0 85024497765 ISI Web of Science WOS WOS 000415281600002 Unionida Italy Croatia Biogeography Genetic diversity Conservation Lifting the curtain on the freshwater mussel diversity from the Italian Peninsula and Croatian Adriatic coast. Elsa Froufe1; Manuel Lopes Lima1,2,3; Nicoletta Riccardi4; Serena Zaccara4,5; Isabella Vanetti5; Jasna Lajtner6; Amilcar Teixeira7; Simone Varandas8; Vincent Prie 9; Alexandra Zieritz10; Ronaldo Sousa11; Arthur E. Bogan12 1 CIIMAR/CIMAR Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixo es, Avenida General Norton de Matos, S/N 4450 208 Matosinhos, Portugal; 2 CIBIO/InBIO Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agra´rio de Vaira o, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485 661 Vaira o, Portugal; 3 IUCN SSC Mollusc Specialist Group, c/o IUCN, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke St, Cambridge, England, UK; 4 CNR Institute for Ecosystems Studies, Verbania Pallanza VB , Italy; 5 DISTA Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy; 6 Division of Zoology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; 7 CIMO ESA IPB Mountain Research Centre, School of Agriculture, Polytechnic Institute of Braganc¸a, Campus de Santa Apolo´nia, Apartado 1172, 5301 854 Braganc¸a, Portugal; 8 Forestry Department, CITAB UTAD Centre for Research and Technology of Agro Environment and Biological Sciences, University of Tra´s os Montes and Alto Douro, Apartado 1013, 5001 811 Vila Real, Portugal; 9 Muse´um National d Histoire Naturelle, De´partement Syste´matique et Evolution, ISyEB UMR 7205 CNRS/UPMC/MNHN/EPHE , 43, Rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris, France; 10 School of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Malaysia; 11 CBMA Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710 057 Braga, Portugal; 12 Research Laboratory, North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, MSC 1626, Raleigh, NC 27699 1626, USA; Abstract Freshwater mussels of the order Unionida have been dramatically declining globally. Despite their ecological importance, conservation of these animals has been hindered by unresolved taxonomy and a lack of data on the distribution and status of populations, especially in southern Europe. Although the Italian Peninsula has been noted as a centre of endemism and one of the major refugia of the glacial ages for several taxa, few studies have been performed on the genetic diversity of Unionida. Most importantly, the taxonomic status of several freshwater mussel populations of the Italian Peninsula is still unresolved. Here we present the first comprehensive dataset for the Unionida of the region spanning Italy and the coastal Croatian region west of the Dinaric Alps . In total, 191 specimens were collected 85 Anodonta, 64 Unio, 17 Microcondylaea bonellii and 25 Sinanodonta woodiana from 34 sites across the Italian Peninsula and coastal Croatian river basins for molecular identification COI, 16S and 28S . Genetic analyses were performed to understand major phylogenetic and phylogeographic patterns. Seven species were detected three Anodonta species A. anatina, A. cygnea and A. exulcerata , two Unio species U. mancus and U. elongatulus , Microcondylaea bonellii, and the invasive Sinanodonta woodiana. The presence of three endemic species A. exulcerata, U. elongatulus and M. bonellii confirms the importance of the region as a centre of endemism for freshwater mussels. The Apennine Mountains act as an important biogeographic barrier. 26 Published version Lifting the curtain on the freshwater mussel diversity of the Italian Peninsula and Croatian Adriatic coast Froufe et al_2017.pdf Articolo in rivista Chapman Hall, 0960 3115 Biodiversity and conservation Biodiversity and conservation Biodivers. conserv. Biodiversity and conservation. nicolettarita.riccardi RICCARDI NICOLETTA RITA |
