Pinna nobilis is vital to the Mediterranean ecosystem, but since 2016 numbers have plummeted by 99.9% – and saving it from extinction is no easy task
The fan mussel, seen in Spain’s Ebro delta. The species can live for 15 years and grow to a metre in length.is unusually lethal. Prado believes that this may be because it is working in conjunction with bacteria that the mussels may already be carrying. She says the origin of the parasite is unknown but suspects it is related to human activity, whether global heating, shipping or agriculture. Spores of the parasite live in the water, not just in the fan mussels.
, an invasive species thought to have arrived from the United States via shipping, and whose voracious appetite has virtually wiped out native crab species.Photograph: Courtesy of Insitituto de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria “We are trying to maintain the surviving population and exchange individuals between groups to avoid inbreeding, otherwise they’ll die out through lack of genetic diversity,” she says.
Mike Elliott, professor of marine sciences at Hull University, adds: “All countries, and especially those in the EU, have plans and projects to halt the decline in biodiversity and to restore habitats, the number of species and the size of their populations, such asThe invasive Atlantic blue crab, pictured in a river in Spain, is also a threat to young fan mussels.
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