DOI

The Asian pond mussels (Sinanodonta spp.) are invasive species rapidly spreading throughout the world. In Russia, non-native populations of Sinanodonta woodiana and S. lauta were firstly discovered in an artificially heated section of the Yenisei River, Eastern Siberia. Here, we report that these mussels successfully colonized the downstream of the Volga River, where they established rather abundant populations (3–36% of the total samples of freshwater mussels). Furthermore, these species were recorded from the Belovo Reservoir, Ob River, Western Siberia. Based on our molecular data, we propose that the recent invasion of Sinanodonta woodiana and S. lauta in Russia was associated with fish stocks imported from Kazakhstan. The rapid expansion of these mussels throughout Russia was caused by a human-mediated dispersal of infested fishes from a site(s) of initial invasion to other freshwater systems, i.e. the Volga (at least since 2002), Yenisei (2004), and Ob (2007) rivers. Recent establishments of Sinanodonta woodiana and S. lauta in native environments of the Volga River appear to have major ecological consequences, as it is the largest river in European Russia and the entire Europe harboring species-rich native mussel and fish assemblages.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)504-518
Number of pages15
JournalBioInvasions Records
Volume9
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2020

    Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Ecology

    Research areas

  • China, European Russia, Hidden invasion, Invasive species, Sinanodonta lauta, Sinanodonta woodiana, Western Siberia, SINANODONTA-WOODIANA LEA, Sinanodonta Luta, HOST, BIVALVIA-UNIONIDAE, hidden invasion, invasive species, VARIABILITY, RECORDS, FISH, BASIN

ID: 62230405