Freshwater Mussel Biodiversity and Conservation
A special issue of Fishes (ISSN 2410-3888). This special issue belongs to the section "Aquatic Invertebrates".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 5
Special Issue Editor
2. Department of Landscape and Environment, School of Sciences and Technology, University of Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
Interests: ecology of freshwater fauna; environmental sustainability; climate change; invasive species; habitat modeling
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Freshwater mussels are key components of lotic and lentic ecosystems, providing critical ecosystem services—filtration, nutrient cycling, and habitat structuring—yet their diversity and populations are declining worldwide. This Special Issue of Fishes calls for original research, reviews, and perspectives that consolidate recent advances in mussel biology, monitoring, and conservation. We particularly welcome studies that (1) quantify population status and trends and identify primary drivers of decline (habitat loss, pollution, flow alteration, invasive species, climate change, disease ecology (parasites and pathogens), and host fish dynamics, (2) develop or apply novel monitoring and analytical approaches (eDNA, occupancy and population modelling, remote sensing), (3) use genomics, phylogeography, and trait-based approaches to inform conservation planning, (4) evaluate restoration, translocation, and ex-situ conservation strategies, and (5) translate science into actionable management and policy frameworks. Case studies across geographic regions, methodological papers, and socio-ecological analyses that link ecological outcomes to stakeholder engagement are encouraged. Contributions addressing all freshwater mussel families and from all biogeographic regions are welcome. With accelerating climate extremes and increasing pressure on freshwater systems, a timely synthesis is urgently needed to inform conservation and management decisions. By assembling interdisciplinary contributions, this Special Issue aims to deliver an evidence-based synthesis to guide prioritization, adaptive management, and policy interventions that halt declines and restore freshwater mussel biodiversity across freshwater systems.
Dr. Mafalda Gama
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fishes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- freshwater mussel biodiversity
- conservation biology
- population monitoring
- climate change impacts
- invasive species
- restoration and management
- ecosystem services
- habitat degradation
- conservation genomics
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