Abstract
Margaritifera margaritifera Linn., the freshwater pearl mussel, is distributed from the arctic and temperate regions of western Russia, westwards through Europe to the northeastern seaboard of North America (Fig. 19.1; Jungbluth et al. 1985). Throughout most of its range it has become scarce or threatened, and is listed as “vulnerable” by IUCN (Wells et al. 1983). It is widely believed that it has now become even more threatened (Chesney and Oliver 1998; Young 1991) and the purpose of this chapter is to review evidence for its current status and to identify the causes of its decline.
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Young, M.R., Cosgrove, P.J., Hastie, L.C. (2001). The Extent of, and Causes for, the Decline of a Highly Threatened Naiad: Margaritifera margaritifera . In: Bauer, G., Wächtler, K. (eds) Ecology and Evolution of the Freshwater Mussels Unionoida. Ecological Studies, vol 145. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56869-5_19
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