Ecological Impacts of Invasive Freshwater Bivalves

Invasive freshwater bivalves such as the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) and the golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) exert profound and multifaceted effects on aquatic ecosystems. By filtering large volumes of water, these organisms increase water clarity but deplete phytoplankton stocks, thereby altering primary production and shifting trophic dynamics. Their prolific colonisation of hard substrates constitutes biofouling that impairs industrial and municipal water infrastructure, while also modifying benthic habitats and enabling new assemblages of invertebrates. Nutrient cycling is transformed as bivalve biodeposits enrich sediments and promote benthic microbial activity, sometimes leading to hypoxic conditions. The rapid spread of planktonic larvae fosters high propagule pressure, displacing native mussels through competition for space and food. Cold‐tolerance and phenotypic plasticity have expanded the invaded range into temperate zones, threatening biodiversity from North America to Asia and South America. Collectively, these invaders function as ecosystem engineers that can trigger regime shifts in freshwater lakes and rivers, with implications for water quality, fisheries, and hydroelectric operations. Understanding their ecological impacts is imperative to inform management strategies aimed at mitigation, early detection and control.

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Ecological Impacts of Invasive Freshwater Bivalves publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in ecological impacts of invasive freshwater bivalves across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Biofouling: Encrustation of submerged surfaces by aquatic organisms, leading to functional impairment.

Filtration rate: Volume of water cleared of particulate matter by a bivalve per unit time.

Pseudofeces: Aggregates of non‐ingested particles expelled by filter feeders before digestion.

Ecological niche modelling: Computational prediction of a species’ potential distribution based on environmental variables.

References

1. Energy Efficiency Analysis of Pumping Systems Impacted by the Golden Mussel: A Case Study in the Brazilian Amazon. Energies (2023).
2. Impact of the invasive golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) on phytoplankton and nutrient cycling. Aquatic Invasions (2012).
3. Benthic communities on hard substrates covered by Limnoperna fortunei Dunker (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) at an estuarine beach (Río de la Plata, Argentina). Journal of Limnology (2012).
4. Grazing impacts of the invasive bivalve Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) on single-celled, colonial and filamentous cyanobacteria. Brazilian Journal of Biology (2012).
5. Golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) survival during winter at the northern invasion front implies a potential high‐latitude distribution. Diversity and Distributions (2021).