Fan mussel populations –the biggest bivalve mussel in the Mediterranean– are endangered due to the severe parasitosis caused by the protozoan Haplospridium pinnae since 2016. Now, a study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science reveals the fan mussel would express a certain natural ability to recover thanks to the dispersal in the marine environment of larvae from populations which are not affected by the pathogen. These populations would be crucial for the future of the species.
The study is led by the expert Diego Kersting, from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona. More than twenty institutions take part in the study as well, such as the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies IMEDEA-UIB-CSIC), the Oceanographic Centre of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (COB-IEO), the Coastal Observation System of the Balearic Islands (SOCIB), the University of Alicante, the University of Murcia, the Environment and Water Agency of Andalusia, the Catholic University of Valencia, the Abdelhamid Ibn Badis Mostaganem University (Argelia), SUBMON entity in Barcelona, Zagreb University (Croatia), the Oceanographic Institute Paul Ricard (France), and University of Messina (Italy), among others.
Read more at: University of Barcelona
Beaverdam Reservoir in Vinton, Virginia. Photo courtesy of Alexandria Hounshell. Protecting the marine areas that distribute larvae will be decisive for the future of the species in the Mediterranean. (Photo Credit: Diego Kersting (UB-IRBio))