Researchers assess the potential recovery of the endangered fan mussels

11/30/2020

The endemic Mediterranean Fan Mussel (Pinna nobilis) has been pushed to near extinction due to a still ongoing mass mortality event first detected in 2016 and the fact that the causing parasite–the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae, which is found in the digestive glands of infected individuals– is still present in the environment. To address this problem, researchers at the Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (SOCIB)’s MEDCLIC Project have participated in a collaborative study on its potential recovery showing the importance of unaffected populations as larval exporting sources and the role of oceanographic currents in larval transport in the area.

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