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Effect of Muskrat Predation on Naiads

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Ecology and Evolution of the Freshwater Mussels Unionoida

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 145))

Abstract

The freshwater mussel fauna in Europe is very different from that in North America. There are only ten species of freshwater mussels (Unionacea: Margaritiferidae and Unionidae) in Central Europe (Badino et al. 1991; Bogan 1993) whereas the North American fauna is very diverse, with about 290 recognized species and a high degree of endemism (Williams et al. 1993; Turgeon et al. 1998; Tyrrell and Hornbach 1998). While both freshwater mussel faunas are especially threatened by human activities, they face differing threats from introduced species due to marked differences in their evolutionary history. European naiads evolved in the absence of a large mammalian predator but, in some areas, evolved in the presence of an encrusting competitor (i.e., the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha). Conversely, the North American naiads evolved in the presence of a large mammalian predator (i.e. the muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus) but in the absence of the encrusting competitors.

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Authors
  1. Elke Zahner-Meike
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  2. J. Mark Hanson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Biologie I, Universität Freiburg, 79104, Hauptstr. 1, Freiburg, Germany

    Gerhard Bauer

  2. Institut für Zoologie, Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, 30559, Bünteweg 17, Hannover, Germany

    Klaus Wächtler

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Zahner-Meike, E., Hanson, J.M. (2001). Effect of Muskrat Predation on Naiads. In: Bauer, G., Wächtler, K. (eds) Ecology and Evolution of the Freshwater Mussels Unionoida. Ecological Studies, vol 145. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56869-5_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56869-5_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-63140-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-56869-5

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