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Shells of Unio species from the Ob' River basin. (A-C) Unio crassus, 09.07.2006, Pond of Tagil River, Sverdlovsk Region (No. 37). (D) U. pictorum, 03.08.1998, Lake Isetskoye,
Source publication
Unionidae is a species-rich family of large freshwater mussels with an almost worldwide distribution. In many regions of the world, these mussels are imperiled. Northern Asia, excluding the Far East, is an excellent example of a region with a sharply impoverished fauna of the Unionidae as recently thought with one native species. Since the end of t...
Citations
... The gibbus clade contains only two species found in northwestern Africa, one of which also occurs in the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula Khalloufi et al., 2011). The tumidus clade is currently represented by a single species, Unio tumidus, which is widespread across northern Europe and the edges of western Asia (Lopes-Lima et al., 2017b;Babushkin et al., 2021). The pictorum and crassus clades are each represented by several closely related species across the Western Palearctic Araujo et al., 2018;Lopes-Lima et al., 2021). ...
The global decline of freshwater mussels and their crucial ecological services highlight the need to understand their phylogeny, phylogeography and patterns of genetic diversity to guide conservation efforts. Such knowledge is urgently needed for Unio crassus, a highly imperilled species originally widespread throughout Europe and southwest Asia. Recent studies have resurrected several species from synonymy based on mitochondrial data, revealing U. crassus to be a complex of cryptic species. To address long-standing taxonomic uncertainties hindering effective conservation, we integrate morphometric, phylogenetic, and phylogeographic analyses to examine species diversity within the U. crassus complex across its entire range. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (815 specimens from 182 populations) and, for selected specimens, whole mi-togenome sequences and Anchored Hybrid Enrichment (AHE) data on ∼ 600 nuclear loci. Mito-nuclear discor-dance was detected, consistent with mitochondrial DNA gene flow between some species during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Fossil-calibrated phylogenies based on AHE data support a Mediterranean origin for the U. crassus complex in the Early Miocene. The results of our integrative approach support 12 species in the group: the previously recognised Unio bruguierianus, Unio carneus, Unio crassus, Unio damascensis, Unio ionicus, Unio sesirmensis, and Unio tumidiformis, and the reinstatement of five nominal taxa: Unio desectus stat. rev., Unio gontierii stat. rev., Unio mardinensis stat. rev., Unio nanus stat. rev., and Unio vicarius stat. rev. Morphometric analyses of shell contours reveal important morphospace overlaps among these species, highlighting cryptic, but geographically structured, diversity. The distribution, taxonomy, phylogeography, and conservation of each species are succinctly described.
... He noted that the lower courses of the Volga and Don River basins, where the Holocene range of the zebra mussel was situated, are almost avoid of forests, and export timber was yielded in the territories of Russia, located much north, where D. polymorpha was absent. Equally, Zhadin disputed an old idea that the zebra mussel could arrive in England attached to the bottoms of marine ships ( [66], pp. 302-303). ...
... The existence of the Pleistocene refugia situated in Central and Eastern Europe cannot be ruled out either. In a series of recent studies, the application of molecular methods helped to identify such refugia for some species of pearl mussels (Unionidae), another family of freshwater Bivalvia [8,66,68,69]. ...
The case of naturalization of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771), in countries lying beyond its native Ponto–Caspian range is remarkable as one of the first instances when the scientific community as early as the mid-19th century was fully aware of the non-indigenous status of a particular species as well as of the need for the study and monitoring of this process. Based on a study of contemporary sources, I reconstruct the early response of European naturalists
(including those who today would be called “citizen scientist”) to the invasion of Dreissena and describe their attitudes to the problem, including the divergence in opinion about the origin and the means of dispersal of this bivalve species. An analysis of papers published in English, French, German, and Russian between 1774 and 1920 showed that the invasion of D. polymorpha was by no means “silent”; quite the opposite, it provoked an immediate reaction from naturalists. The scientific
agenda for the study of the new invader was proposed in England as early as 1838.
... The Painter's Mussel is the type species of the whole order Unionida and one of the most widespread freshwater mussel species in Europe. The species is found from Great Britain to the Ural River in Russia, and is also present in Asia on the upper tributaries of the Ob River basin, in Russia and Kazakhstan (Lopes-Lima et al. 2017a;Vinarski et al. 2020;Babushkin et al. 2021; fig. 1A). ...
The highly diverse group of freshwater mussels from order Unionida, are found in the world's freshwater systems due to several fascinating evolutionary adaptations, including 'parental care', and most notably, an obligatory parasitic phase in their early life cycle, called glochidia, which infests and uses fish for nutrition and dispersal. Freshwater mussels play essential ecological roles in freshwater habitats, including water filtration, sediment bioturbation and nutrient cycling. However, these species are also highly threatened, being one of the faunal groups with the highest recorded extinction rate in the wild. Genomics methods have an incredible potential to promote biodiversity conservation, allowing characterisation of population health, identification of adaptive genetic elements, delineation of conservation units, and providing a framework for predictive assessments of the impact of anthropogenic threats and climate change. Unfortunately, only six freshwater mussel species have had their whole genomes sequenced to date, and only two of these are European species. Here, we present the first genome assembly of the Painter's Mussel, Unio pictorum (Linnaeus, 1758), the type species representative of the order and the most widespread species of the genus in Europe. We used long-read PacBio HiFi sequencing reads to produce a highly contiguous assembly that will pave the way for the study of European freshwater mussels in the Genome Era.
... Since then, the volume of new information about aquatic mollusk species new to Siberia has grown significantly. In addition to the registration of new species in the malacofauna of Siberia and new localities of previously known species [11][12][13][14][15][16][17], there have been works devoted to the ecology of recent migrants in Siberian reservoirs [5,[18][19][20][21], as well as publications interpreting the problem from a broader point of view, in particular, raising the question of whether all newly registered species must be considered as "real" aliens, or whether one should rather speak about restoring a part of the original range once lost by some of these species, not about introductions and/or invasions in the commonly accepted sense of these terms [16,22]. ...
... Since then, the volume of new information about aquatic mollusk species new to Siberia has grown significantly. In addition to the registration of new species in the malacofauna of Siberia and new localities of previously known species [11][12][13][14][15][16][17], there have been works devoted to the ecology of recent migrants in Siberian reservoirs [5,[18][19][20][21], as well as publications interpreting the problem from a broader point of view, in particular, raising the question of whether all newly registered species must be considered as "real" aliens, or whether one should rather speak about restoring a part of the original range once lost by some of these species, not about introductions and/or invasions in the commonly accepted sense of these terms [16,22]. ...
... It was assumed that, in the territory of Siberia, mollusks of this genus, once very widespread, disappeared in the Pleistocene [57,58]. Despite this, there were a few references in the literature to the presence of Unio in the modern period in Western Siberia [42,59]; summarized in [16]. Since the end of the last century, different species of the genus have been registered both in the upper reaches of the Irtysh basin (Bukhtarma reservoir), and at the junction of the Irtysh and Volga-Kama basins in the Transuralian region [7,27] as well as in Transbaikalia (Lake Kenon). ...
Abstract: (1) This article reviews all available information on the species composition, current distribution, and origins of the neobiotic (non-indigenous and restoring the lost range) freshwater mollusks in Siberia. (2) An extensive literary search has been carried out, and virtually all existing publications of recent decades on the findings of freshwater mollusk species new to Siberia were taken into account. We examined extensive malacological collections of some of Russia's and Kazakhstan's scientific organizations. The core of the examined material is our own observations and collections made in various parts of Siberia and adjacent areas. (3) An annotated checklist of neobiotic species of mollusks reliably recorded in Siberia is presented, and probable mechanisms and "corridors" of infiltration of these species into the region are discussed. Most of the discovered snail species belong to a group popular among aquarists, and their source of introduction is obvious. Another large portion of species infiltrate into the region with the development of fish farming. A classification of species of neobiotic freshwater mollusks of Siberia was proposed and a forecast was made for changes in the Siberian freshwater malacofauna for the coming decades. (4) In our opinion, at present it is possible to accept the newest stage in the genesis of the freshwater malacofauna of Siberia, occurring in conditions specific to the Anthropocene.
Citation: Babushkin, E.S.; Nekhaev, I.O.; Vinarski, M.V.; Yanygina, L.V. Aliens and Returnees: Review of Neobiotic Species of Freshwater Mollusks in Siberia from the Kazakhstan Steppe to the Arctic Tundra. Diversity 2023, 15, 465.
... Therefore, after the retreat of the glacier, the third wave of invaders from Siberia entered the northeast of Europe. However, there was apparently no counterinvasion of aquatic organisms from Europe to Siberia after the retreat of the glacier, except for invasions that INLAND WATER BIOLOGY Vol. 15 No. 6 2022MAKHROV et al. occurred recently (Interestova, 2016Yanygina, 2017;Popov, 2020;Babushkin et al., 2021). ...
Until recently, cold-water species were believed to have appeared in Europe during the Quaternary glaciations. However, ample molecular genetic and zoogeographic data obtained in recent years allow us to state confidently that the formation of the cold-water fauna of Europe was a long process with several distinct steps. Species whose ancestors migrated westwards from the Far East through the Paratethys invaded southern and then central Europe as early as the Miocene. The first wave of invaders from Siberia found its way into central Europe later, in the Pliocene. The second wave of Siberian species entered Europe in an interglacial period (possibly through a strait that connected the future White Sea to the future Baltic Sea). The third wave of invaders from Siberia entered northeastern Europe during the last deglaciation (approximately 10000 years ago), along with small groups of migrants from North America and the Pacific basin. The cross distribution of cold-water species (from Europe to Siberia) was extremely rare. Apparently, such a high evolutionary and adaptive plasticity of many Siberian aquatic organisms is apparently related to their origin from the giant Siberian sea lake water body that existed east of the Urals over several millions of years and experienced many fluctuations in water level, temperature, and salinity.
... Despite ordinary habitats specific for the River, fauna is represented also by some rare species. For example, European freshwater mussels, including a unique U. tumidus haplotype of a relict origin, has been found in East Kazakhstan in samples from the Black Irtysh River and the Bukhtarma Reservoir (Bolotov et al., 2020;Babushkin et al., 2021). New species of Calanoida: Diaptomus (Chaetodiaptomus) mirus and Gigantodiaptomus irtyshensis have also been discovered in East Kazakhstani waters of Irtysh (Krupa and Aubakirova, 2021). ...
Study region
Irtysh River Basin, a transboundary river laying in the North hemisphere and serving as a home for around 15 million people in China, Kazakhstan, and Russia.
Study focus
Considering existing pressures of climate change and anthropogenic activities on water resources, this research aims to evaluate recent (2010–2022) trends in research about a state-of-the-art of the river in a matter of relationships between hydrological budget, water quality, biodiversity, and policy issues. A literature review was carried out in English, Chinese, and Russian languages for defining key issues in the river management.
New hydrological insights for the region
Melting of permafrost, glaciers, and snow in the upstream mountains of the River should be considered as one of the key processes in the hydrological budget. However, the high impact of evapotranspiration rate could offset the effect of the increased melting rate along the basin. Efficient operating of existing large dams and reservoirs and the planning of future installations deserves special attention in assurance of the respective water level for restoration of the ecological diversity of the basin. Implementation of water-saving techniques and restoration of tributaries of Irtysh also play a significant role in keeping the resilience of the river. Handling historical and existing contamination will also guarantee restoration of the river health. The basin management still lacks tripartite agreement, however the principles of hydrosolidarity and no-harm effect are followed by involved countries.
... Invasions of aquatic biota from the Volga-Kama basin into the Ob-Irtysh basin are still not uncommon (Korlyakov and Nokhrin, 2014). The available papers provide the information about the dispersal of fish (Makhrov et al., 2020) and bivalve mollusks of genus Unio (Andreyeva et al., 2009;Babushkin et al., 2021) across the Ural Range. However, in the case of Unio mussels, we observed a gradual spread of mollusks from the eastern macroslope of the Urals to the West Siberian Plain (Babushkin et al., 2021), which was not observed during the invasion of D. polymorpha. ...
... The available papers provide the information about the dispersal of fish (Makhrov et al., 2020) and bivalve mollusks of genus Unio (Andreyeva et al., 2009;Babushkin et al., 2021) across the Ural Range. However, in the case of Unio mussels, we observed a gradual spread of mollusks from the eastern macroslope of the Urals to the West Siberian Plain (Babushkin et al., 2021), which was not observed during the invasion of D. polymorpha. ...
In August–October 2021, specimens of one of the most effective and widespread alien mollusk species on a global scale, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771), were found for the first time in the Pyshma River on the territory of the West Siberian Plain. The first finding in Siberia was made in a watercourse with a natural thermal regime; the found mollusk individuals were of different size and age groups, which could indirectly indicate successful naturalization of the species.
