Recruitment Disruption and the Role of Unaffected Populations for Potential Recovery After the Pinna nobilis Mass Mortality Event

A devastating mass mortality event (MME) very likely caused by the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae first detected in 2016 in the Western Mediterranean Sea, is pushing the endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis to near extinction. Populations recovery, if possible, will rely on larval dispersal from unaffecte...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Kersting, Diego, Vázquez-Luis, Maite, Mourre, Baptiste, Belkhamssa, Fátima Zohra, Álvarez, Elvira, Bakran-Petricioli, Tatjana, Barberá, Carmen, Barrajón, Agustín, Cortés, Emilio, Deudero, Salud, García-March, José Rafael, Giacobbe, Salvatore, Giménez-Casalduero, Francisca, González, Luis, Hendriks, I.E.
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2020
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::9ce64d5d05fc6160a86800e1735bd770
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/317782
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:critically endangered
Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares
Medio Marino
recovery
Lagrangian trajectories
hydrodynamic model
Mediterranean Sea
larval connectivity
recruitment
mass mortality
petroleum
minerals
ecology
research
marine invertebrates
Description
Summary:A devastating mass mortality event (MME) very likely caused by the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae first detected in 2016 in the Western Mediterranean Sea, is pushing the endemic bivalve Pinna nobilis to near extinction. Populations recovery, if possible, will rely on larval dispersal from unaffected sites and potential recolonization through recruitment of resistant juveniles. To assess the impact of the MME on the species’ larval recruitment, an unprecedented network of larval collector stations was implemented over several thousands of kilometers along the Western Mediterranean coasts during the 3 years after the onset of the MME. The findings of this network showed a generalized disruption in recruitment with dramatic consequences for the recovery of the species. However, there were exceptions to this pattern and recruits were recorded in a few sites where the resident population had been decimated. This hints to the importance of unaffected populations as larval exporting sources and the role of oceanographic currents in larval transport in the area, representing a beacon of hope in the current extremely worrying scenario for this emblematic species.

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