Sandra Ludwig

• Phd in Zoology
• Researcher at Federal University of Paraná

The escalating pace of dam construction in Brazil poses a significant threat to migratory fish. This study uses data from previous research to predict the impacts of new dams on the life cycle of the migratory fish Prochilodus costatus. The species was studied for five reproductive seasons in a 500-km free-flowing stretch of the São Francisco River...

the populations of the loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, present four main D-loop mitochondrialhaplogroups that are distributed across the indo-Pacific, Mediterranean, and atlantic oceans. thesouthwestern atlantic (sWa) is one of the Regional Management Units (RMUs) of loggerheads,characterized by unique haplotypes, high nest density, and distin...

The Southwest Atlantic (SWA) is an important region for the Caretta caretta characterized by unique genetic lineages; however, their demographic evolution is still misunderstood. In this study, we evaluated the demographic patterns of four SWA rookeries using D-loop and microsatellites data looking for expansion and bottlenecks signals. Then, we si...

Among species of Corbicula, only the hermaphroditic androgenetic lineages are invasive while sexual species are restricted to the native range (mainly Asia). Four androgenetic lineages of Corbicula spp. have been identified in American and European freshwater systems, with the Corbicula sp. form A/R lineage being abundant on both continents. This l...

Recent studies have argued that changes in fire regimes in the 21st century are posing a major threat to global biodiversity. In this scenario, incorporating species' physiological, ecological, and evolutionary traits with their local fire exposure might facilitate accurate identification of species most at risk from fire. Here, we developed a fram...

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is a cosmopolitan sea turtle species and is listed by IUCN as Vulnerable globally. The Southwest Atlantic is an important regional management unit of C. caretta worldwide due to the distinctive mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineage promoted by recent radiation within the Atlantic-Mediterranean region. Howev...

The human activities impact on wild animal populations is indicated by eco‐evolutionary and demographic processes, along with their survival and capacity to evolve; consequently, such data can contribute towards enhancing genetic‐based conservation programs. In this context, knowledge on the life‐history and the eco‐evolutionary processes is requir...

The impacts of biological invasions remain poorly known for some habitats, regions and taxa. To date, there has been no comprehensive effort to review and synthesize the impacts of invasive mollusc species in South America. In this paper, we provide a synoptic view on what is known on documented socio-ecological impacts of aquatic no-native mollusc...

Descripción y actividad del eMIAS (especialistas sobre Moluscos Introducidos en América del Sur)

The movement of species is among the most serious environmental threats of the new millennium, as the transplantation of species beyond their native or historical range has intensified in the last five decades. Traditionally, studies on bioinvasions have focused on species that have been introduced, deliberately or accidentally, to biogeographic re...

Veintinueve especialistas en Moluscos Introducidos de América del Sur (eMIAS), de siete países, trabajan en forma cooperativa desde el año 2016, con el objetivo incrementar y fortalecer el conocimiento de la malacofauna no-nativa y trasplantada, con la cual se busca prevenir y controlar los impactos que provocan estas especies. Cada uno de los inte...

Although leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are highly migratory and have a wide oceanic distribution, the South West Atlantic (SWA) subpopulation comprises few reproductive females and is listed as Critically Endangered. Herein, we present temporal genetic assessment of the poorly known subpopulation of the D. coriacea from SWA subpopulati...

Contribution to an interview with journalist Sofia Coutinho for Science magazine about the expansion of the invasive mollusk, Limnoperna fortunei, in South America. https://www.science.org/content/article/golden-mussels-devastating-south-american-rivers-amazon-may-be-next

Even after almost 30 years of Limnoperna fortunei introduction into South America, it is still unclear how the source and propagules are connected. Here, we present genetic evidence of population connectivity and gene flow of L. fortunei propagules from Asia into South America, proposing the main invasion routes into South America. To achieve that...

Abstract Fish stocking programs have been implemented to mitigate the blockage of original riverbeds by the construction of hydropower dams, which affects the natural migration of fish populations. However, this method raises concerns regarding the genetic rescue of the original populations of migratory fish species. We investigated the spatial dis...

Complete mitochondrial sequences can be rapidly obtained and are widely available, providing a great source of species information and allowing for the discovery of new specific molecular markers. However, for some taxonomic groups, traditional approaches for species delimitation are impaired by the low genetic distance values. In these cases, othe...

Complete mitochondrial sequences can be rapidly obtained and are widely available, providing a great source of species information and allowing for the discovery of new specific molecular markers. However, for some taxonomic groups, traditional approaches for species delimitation are impaired by the low genetic distance values. In these cases, othe...

Non-native species have been introduced at escalating rates during the last decades, mainly due to the dispersion generated by the increasing trade and transport worldwide. Mollusks, the second largest metazoan phylum in terms of species richness, are no exception to this pattern, but, to date, a comprehensive synthesis of non-native mollusk specie...

The Thraupidae family is one of the most wanted by bird breeders in Brazil because it is represented by its diverse, color- ful and melodious singers. The Great-billed Seed-finch, Sporophila maximiliani, is the only representative of the genus Sporophila considered critically endangered in Brazil. Due to the demands of environmental agencies and of...

Non-native species have been introduced at escalating rates during the last decades, mainly due to the dispersion generated by the increasing trade and transport worldwide. Mollusks, the second largest metazoan phylum in terms of species richness, are no exception to this pattern, but, to date, a comprehensive synthesis of non-native mollusk specie...

Genetic diversity and population studies are essential for conservation and wildlife management programs. However, monitoring requires the analysis of multiple loci from many samples. These processes can be laborious and expensive. The choice of microsatellites and PCR calibration for genotyping are particularly daunting. Here we optimized a low-co...

dispositivo capaz de coletar organismos invasores em sistemas aquáticos, inclusive nos estágios larvais destes organismos de forma simultânea e seletiva.

Device capable of assessing the scale density caused by aquatic organisms on a surface chosen for evaluation. THE assessment of scale density may be countless values of flow or velocity of the fluid in which they are aquatic organisms. The device has numerous tubes in which the velocity of the fluid passing therethrough may be each tube houses a pl...

Sporophila maximiliani, commonly known as Great-billed Seed-Finch or ‘bicudo’, is a trafficked bird in Brazil due to the species’ beauty and singing, which is appreciated by breeders and collectors. Generally, the Environmental Military Police and IBAMA maintain enforcement actions, rescue work, and seizure of illegally traded of ‘bicudo’ specimens...

The invasive bivalve Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker 1857) was introduced in South America in 1991, with the first occurrence in Brazil in 1998. In the Iguassu River, the species was recorded in 2001; however, it is unknown how it was introduced and spread. Adults and larvae were sampled in Iguassu and Paraná Rivers, and the genetic profiles were compa...

The genus Corbicula (Bivalvia, Corbiculidae) Megerle von Mühlfeld, 1811 has sexual and hermaphroditic androgenetic lineages which habitat estuarine and freshwater domains around the world. The sexual lineages of Corbicula are restricted to natural range (Asia, Australia, Middle East and Africa), while the invasive lineages are found in American and...

The invasive bivalves Corbicula spp. and Limnoperna fortunei predominate in South American rivers. They can be sympatric in distribution, and because their larval stages are morphologically similar, monitoring them in zooplankton using microscopy protocols is often inefficient, producing ambiguous results. We designed a pair of primers to amplify a...

The production of oysters in Guaratuba Bay, in the state of Paraná, Brazil, is still a mixed activity of mariculture and extractivism. The sustainable development of this production requires the monitoring of environmental, genetic, reproductive, and zootechnical variables. This study evaluated the importance of these variables on Crassostrea oyste...

Among oysters, species of Crassostrea (Sacco, 1897) are the most attractive to aquaculture. In Brazil, the genus is represented by C. rhizophorae (Guilding, 1828) and C. brasiliana (Lamarck, 1819). Because the maturation and breeding technology is not well developed for these species, aquaculturists need a reliable method to decide the correct time...