Tolerance to desiccation of an invasive mussel, Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) (Bivalvia, Mytilidae), under experimental conditions

MONTALTO, L.; EZCURRA DE DRAGO, I.

HYDROBIOLOGIA

Kluwer Academic Publishers- ISSN: 0018-8158

Lugar: Netherlands; Año: 2003 vol. 498 p. 161 - 167

0018-8158

Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) (Bivalvia, Mytilidae) was first reported from Río de la Plata in 1991; soon thereafter, it spread widely throughout the basin, causing great damage to all sorts of water supply systems. The desiccation period that young and adults can tolerate was analized in laboratory and outdoor experiments. L. fortunei is tolerant to desiccation. The tolerance increases with size. About 72 h was required to kill small mussels (up to 6 mm), 192 h to kill medium-siced adults (>6-15 mm) and 276 h to kill maximum-siced mussels adults (>15-27 mm) in laboratory exposures, and 72 h, 96 h and 108 to kill small, madium-sized and maximum-sized mussels in outdoor exposures. The results have implications for using desiccation to combat the spread of L. fortunei.