Decline of unique Pontocaspian biodiversity in the Black Sea Basin: A review.

The unique aquatic Pontocaspian (PC) biota of the Black Sea Basin (BSB) is in decline. The lack of detailed knowledge on the status and trends of species, populations, and communities hampers a thorough risk assessment and precludes effective conservation. This paper reviews PC biodiversity trends in the BSB (Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia) using endemic mollusks as a model group.

Native drivers of fish life history traits are lost during the invasion process.

Rapid adaptation to global change can counter vulnerability of species to population declines and extinction. Theoretically, under such circumstances both genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity can maintain population fitness, but empirical support for this is currently limited. Here, we aim to characterize the role of environmental and genetic diversity, and their prior evolutionary history (via haplogroup profiles) in shaping patterns of life history traits during biological invasion.

European distribution for metacercariae of the North American digenean Posthodiplostomum cf. minimum centrarchi (Strigeiformes: Diplostomidae).

Metacercariae of a North American digenean Posthodiplostomum cf. minimum centrarchi (Strigeiformes: Diplostomidae), have been reported from seven localities in Europe, with cysts recorded in the mesentery and internal organs of two invasive non-indigenous fishes (Lepomis gibbosus and Micropterus salmoides) from sites in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Portugal. Analysis of rDNA locus ITS1-ITS2-28S confirmed a closer relationship to the American Posthodiplostomum species than the common European species P.

The Lower Danube River-Danube Delta-North West Black Sea: A pivotal area of major interest for the past, present and future of its fish fauna--A short review.

The complex Danube-Black Sea geoecosystem, created by a unique combination of integrated biotopes and biocoenoses related forces and counter-forces in time and space, forms a rich "ichthyosystem". The equilibrium among the fish species captured in the Danube Delta reveals its structural and functional roles in the connectivity of the Danube and Black Sea. The key role of the delta is evidenced by the fact that 57.

Conservation status of freshwater mussels in Europe: state of the art and future challenges.

Freshwater mussels of the Order Unionida provide important ecosystem functions and services, yet many of their populations are in decline. We comprehensively review the status of the 16 currently recognized species in Europe, collating for the first time their life-history traits, distribution, conservation status, habitat preferences, and main threats in order to suggest future management actions. In northern, central, and eastern Europe, a relatively homogeneous species composition is found in most basins.