Simone Varandas

Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro | utad · Departamento de Ciências Florestais e Arquitetura Paisagista

Heavily modified water bodies (HMWB) have been seriously affected by human activities and natural processes promoting their imbalance, and impacting their functioning and biodiversity. This study explores a new approach of monitoring and assessing water quality in Mediterranean reservoirs using phytoplankton communities across a disturbance gradien...

Throughout the last decades, the increasing pressure of anthropogenic (climate and land-use) changes has been a major impact on biodiversity in several regions and habitat types. These drivers have disturbed the timing of reproduction in animals and plants as well as the migration of animals resulting in changes in population size and species distr...

1. Pseudunio marocanus (Pallary, 1918) is an endemic species of Morocco and is considered one of the world's 100 most threatened species. The life cycle of this critically endangered freshwater mussel remains unknown. However, knowledge about the discharge period of its larvae and its ecological fish hosts is crucial to adopt more effective conserv...

Theidentification of key biodiversity areas (KBA) was initiated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2004 to overcome taxonomic biases in the selection of important areas for conservation, including freshwater ecosystems. Since then, several KBAs have been identified mainly based on the presence of trigger species (i.e., species...

Droughts can change the distribution and alter the behaviour, phenology and physiology of many species, leading in extreme cases to high mortalities or even extirpation. In this study, a before/after comparison was performed in two Portuguese river basins (Rabaçal and Tuela) to assess the possible effects of an extreme drought on the abundance and...

The Paiva River is considered one of the least polluted rivers in Europe and its watershed has a high conservation value. However, the Paiva River basin suffers pressures related with recurrent disturbances in land use, such as forest fires, agricultural activities, urbanization and pressures that affect the natural hydromorphological conditions an...

Projetos apresentados à Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, de conclusão das Bolsas de Inicio à Investigação atribuídas aos formandos da Escola de Verão “EcoCampus Living Lab - Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável”

• Freshwater mussels (Order Unionida) are highly threatened. Interspecific competition for food sources with invasive alien species is considered to be one of the factors responsible for their decline because successful invaders are expected to have wider trophic niches and more flexible feeding strategies than their native counterparts. • In this...

Anthropogenic freshwater habitats may provide undervalued prospects for long‐term conservation as part of species conservation planning. This fundamental, but overlooked, issue requires attention considering the pace that humans have been altering natural freshwater ecosystems and the accelerated levels of biodiversity decline in recent decades. We...

The inappropriate use of antibiotics, one of the causes of the high incidence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria isolated from aquatic ecosystems, represents a risk for aquatic organisms and the welfare of humans. This study aimed to determine the antimicrobial resistance rates among riverine Aeromonas spp., taken as representative of the autochth...

One of the most widespread aquatic organisms in the rivers and estuarine ecosystems, in the world, is Asian clam Corbiculafluminea. This clam, that can adapt to environmental changes, is an invasive species in several areas and it was adopted as a model for toxicity tests. This study evaluated the effects of the exposure to cadmium (Cd), to micropl...

• Freshwater ecosystems are essential to human well‐being and most have high biodiversity. However, this biodiversity has been suffering severe declines owing to the expansion of human activities. Protected areas (PAs) are essential for biodiversity conservation and have proved to be successful in stopping species extirpation if managed properly. U...

Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered groups of fauna anywhere in world. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of resistant strains. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria play a key role in increasing the risk allied with the use of surface water and in spread of resistance genes. Two endangered freshwater mussel s...

Although biodiversity is considered a value to be protected to avoid the degradation of ecosystem functions, conservation practices ignore the role of many species. Species are not protected according to their degree of risk, but according to their degree of attractiveness. The so-called iconic species are used as flag species to convince the publi...

The Unionidae represent an excellent model taxon for unravelling the drivers of freshwater diversity, but, phylogeographic studies on Southeast Asian taxa are hampered by lack of a comprehensive phylogeny and mutation rates for this fauna. We present complete female- (F) and male-type (M) mitogenomes of four genera of the Southeast Asian clade Cont...

Water management is a crucial tool for addressing the increasing uncertainties caused by climate change, biodiversity loss and the conditions of socioeconomic limits. The multiple factors affecting water resources need to be successfully managed to achieve optimal governance and thus move towards water security. This study seeks to obtain a holisti...

The Paiva River catchment, located in Portugal, integrates the Natura 2000 network of European Union nature protection areas. Resorting to topography, climate and land-use data, a semi-distributed hydrological model (Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN) was run in order to simulate the hydrological cycle of the river and its tributaries. The mo...

The number of non-native freshwater fishes in the Iberian Peninsula has been greatly increasing. In this study, individuals of the genus Phoxinus were detected in 18 out of 138 stream sites sampled across the Douro Basin in 2017 and 2018. A total of 26 individuals were barcoded using partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome b (cy...

Freshwater mussels are a critically imperiled group of mollusks that play key ecological roles and provide important services to humans. The Ambleminae is the only subfamily of these mussels, endemic to North America. Complete mitogenomes have only been sequenced for two of five tribes of the subfamily. Pleurobema oviforme, Amblema plicata, and Pop...

Freshwater bivalves are highly threatened and globally declining due to multiple anthropogenic impacts, making them important conservation targets. Because conservation policies and actions generally occur at the species level, accurate species identification and delimitation is critical. A recent phylogenetic study of Italian mussel populations re...

1. Coextinction is the simplest form of secondary extinction and freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) may be particularly prone to this phenomenon as their life cycle includes an obligatory parasitic larval stage on fish hosts. 2. The main aims of this study were to determine the possible ecological fish hosts of Anodonta anatina (Linnaeus, 175...

Using a new fossil-calibrated mitogenome-based approach, we identified macroevolutionary shifts in mitochondrial gene order among the freshwater mussels (Unionoidea). We show that the early Mesozoic divergence of the two Unionoidea clades, Margaritiferidae and Unionidae, was accompanied by a synchronous split in the gene arrangement in the female m...

Freshwater mussels are undergoing rapid global declines due to habitat loss and fragmentation, but little is known about the effects of small hydropower plants. Here we assessed the impact of small hydropower plants on the abundance and size structure of the imperilled pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera. For this, we sampled 66 sites in three...

We report for the first time that the freshwater mussel Microcondylaea bonellii (Férussac, 1827) functions as a suitable host for the European bitterling Rhodeus amarus (Bloch, 1782). Given the recent expansion of R. amarus in Europe, the possible physiological cost (e.g. competition for oxygen, reduction in water circulation, and consequent impair...

Freshwater bivalves are highly threatened and globally declining due to multiple anthropogenic impacts, making them important conservation targets. Because conservation policies and actions generally occur at the species level, accurate species identification and delimitation is critical. A recent phylogenetic study of Italian mussel populations re...

Due to their sensitivity and dramatic declines, freshwater mussels are prime targets for conservation and environmental monitoring. For this, however, information is needed on life history and ecological traits, which is lacking in many taxa, including threatened species. Species recently described or recognized as valid are of particular concern,...

1. The life cycle of Unio foucauldianus Pallary, 1936, a critically endangered freshwater mussel species (Bivalvia: Unionida), includes a parasitic phase using fish as hosts. Therefore, to develop more efficient conservation strategies it is essential to know which are the suitable fish hosts of U. foucauldianus. 2. In this study, two approaches we...

Over a decade after the publication of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment an increasing number of ES modeling applications from local to global scales have been created. ALICE, Improving the management of Atlantic Landscapes: aCcounting for bIodiversity and eCosystem sErvices,is a project that will develop a comprehensive package of new methods, t...

Over a decade after the publication of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment an increasing number of ES modeling applications from local to global scales have been created. ALICE, Improving the management of Atlantic Landscapes: aCcounting for bIodiversity and eCosystem sErvices,is a project that will develop a comprehensive package of new methods, t...

Engaging communities into ecosystem services – Valuing Blue and Green Infrastructures in Atlantic landscapes Vanessa Queirós1, João Cabral1,2, André Fonseca1,2, Martinho Lourenço1, Simone Varandas1,2, João Santos1,2, José Aranha1,2, Mário Santos1,2, Sandra M. Monteiro1,2, Rui Cortes1,2, Luis F. Fernandes1,2, Fernando Pacheco1, João Paulo Moura1,2,...

Anthropogenic habitats may function as a refuge for some species, including freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida). In this study we assessed possible differences in density, size and condition index of the Moroccan freshwater pearl mussel Pseudunio marocanus (Pallary, 1918), formerly Margaritifera marocana, colonizing an-thropogenic (sāqya = irri...

Anthropogenic habitats may serve as a refuge for aquatic species, including freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida). Evaluating the role of anthropogenic habitats is a fundamental, but still ignored, conservation issue given the pace that humans have been converting natural ecosystems. In this study, possible differences in abundance, size and cond...

The complete mitogenomes of one (M-)ale (North America), one Hermaphroditic (Europe), and two (F-)emale (North America and Europe) individuals of the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera were sequenced. The M-type and F-type (Female and Hermaphroditic) mitogenomes have 17,421 and 16,122 nucleotides, respectively. All with the same co...

Gill histopathology is a valuable tool to evaluate ecosystems health, because the gill is a key site of waterborne pollutant uptake and the first target organ to their toxicity. Consequently, this makes it important in biomonitoring programs. This study aims to evaluate gill histopathological differences in Douro basin native fish species and deter...

The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera is a highly threatened species in Europe. Several mechanisms may be responsible for the decline in distribution and abundance of European pearl mussel populations, but almost no quantitative data exists about the possible negative impacts of invasive alien species (IAS). In this study, we clea...

Freshwater mussels are declining globally, and effective conservation requires prioritizing research and actions to identify and mitigate threats impacting mussel species. Conservation priorities vary widely, ranging from preventing imminent extinction to maintaining abundant populations. Here, we develop a portfolio of priority research topics for...

ALICE, Improving the management of Atlantic Landscapes: accouting for bIodiversity and eCosystem sErvices,will develop a comprehensive package of new methods, tools and procedures to identify barriers to the delivery of benefits from Blue and Green Infrastructures (BGI) implementation and to improve the characterization of biodiversity and the valu...

• Droughts may be responsible for important ecological impacts in freshwater ecosystems, including the death of rare species. • This study assessed the mortality of the endangered pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Mente, Rabaçal and Tuela rivers (north west of the Iberian Peninsula) during the extreme summer drought o...

Freshwater bivalves have suffered major global declines, being the introduction of invasive alien species (IAS) an important, but not well studied, mechanism of threat. This study assessed the predator-prey relationship between two non-native crayfish species (Procambarus clarkii and Pacifastacus leniusculus) and three native (Anodonta anatina, Pot...

This study focused on the use of sound playbacks as acoustic deterrents to direct native potamodromous migratory species away from all kind of traps. The effects of two acoustic treatments, a repeated sine sweep up to 2 kHz (sweep‐up stimulus) and an intermittent 140 Hz tone, were tested in three fish species native to Iberia: Salmo trutta, Pseudoc...

Historical biogeography of the Margaritiferidae inferred from three different statistical modeling approaches

Systematic review of the Gibbosulinae

List of fossil calibrations that were used in BEAST analyses

Gene map of the F-type mitochondrial genome of Gibbosula crass

Specimens examined for conchological and anatomical features

Best-fit models of nucleotide substitution for each partition

List of characteristic examples of fossil records supporting the primary phylogenetic clades

Margaritiferidae generic names, authorities, and type species

Diversification rate statistics for the Margaritiferidae and Unionidae clades

Two Unionida (freshwater mussel) families are present in the Northern Hemisphere; the Margaritiferidae, representing the most threatened of unionid families, and the Unionidae, which include several genera of unresolved taxonomic placement. The recent reassignment of the poorly studied Lamprotula rochechouartii from the Unionidae to the Margaritife...

The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera marocana (Pallary, ) is an endemic species of Morocco being listed as critically endangered and it stands among the world's 100 most threatened species. An extensive survey was performed in the Sebou basin (total area of approximately 40,000 km ² ), covering 26 different sites. Margaritifera marocana was fo...

The impacts of river damming on aquatic fauna are assessed and then integrated across hierarchical scales, portrayed as nested circles. The outer circles characterize the studied site for habitat disturbance and hydrologic regime during the construction and filling phases. The inner circles characterize the construction and filling phase zones for...

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...

Blooms of cyanobacteria (Microcystis aeruginosa) are becoming increasingly recurrent in the A Baxe dam reservoir (Galícia, Northern Spain) as a result of increasing levels of different anthropogenic pressues in the Umia catchment. The aim of this study is to develop a model that allows us to detect the spatial level where the main problems that tri...

The unionid family Margaritiferidae, comprising 12 extant species, is widely distributed across the northern hemisphere in North America, Europe and Asia (Bolotov et al., 2016). Most species in this family have dramatically declined over the last century, with nine out of the 12 species assessed as threatened in the most recent IUCN Red List (IUCN,...

The unionid family Margaritiferidae, comprising 12 extant species, is widely distributed across the northern hemisphere in North America, Europe and Asia (Bolotov et al., 2016). Most species in this family have dramatically declined over the last century, with nine of the 12 species assessed as threatened in the most recent IUCN Red List (IUCN, 201...

The natural variation of environmental factors in freshwater basins determines their biodiversity. Among them, calcium is a key physiological compound for freshwater invertebrates. It is required for shell formation, muscle contraction, it mediates gene expression and allows counteracting acidosis during stress periods, among other functions. Altho...

Freshwater mussels of the Order Unionida provide important ecosystem functions and services, yet many of their populations are in decline. We comprehensively review the status of the 16 currently recognized species in Europe, collating for the first time their life-history traits, distribution, conservation status, habitat preferences, and main thr...

Freshwater mussels of the order Unionida are key elements of freshwater habitats and are responsible for important ecological functions and services. Unfortunately, these bivalves are among the most threatened freshwater taxa in the world. However, conservation planning and management are hindered by taxonomic problems and a lack of detailed ecolog...

Many doubts still exist about which freshwater mussel Unio species inhabit Northwest Africa. While some authors refer to the presence of Unio delphinus in the Atlantic North African basins of Morocco, a recent IUCN assessment performed on Moroccan Unio species, recognized the existence of a distinct species, U. foucauldianus, with a Critically Enda...

The Potomida genus (Bivalvia, Unionida) has a Circum-Mediterranean distribution and like other freshwater mussel species, its populations have suffered dramatic declines. Although this genus is currently considered monotypic, it has a long history of taxonomic revisions and presently many aspects of its systematics and evolutionary history are uncl...

Unionoid freshwater mussels have a unique life cycle with a form of parental care where the larvae are developed and kept inside the gills until release, followed by an obligate parasitic stage on fish. The size and location of the marsupium have been used as important phylogenetic characters in unionoids and in Anodontini its location was describe...