Proposal for a simple hydromorphological habitat survey method for freshwater bivalve (Unionidae) inventories

Abstract

Numerous species of Unionidae are presently threatened by anthropogenic impacts on freshwater ecosystems. Field inventories, based on reliable presence/absence observations, are urgently needed to improve their protection. Such observations should be comparable between sites and collected with minimal surveying effort. Here, we demonstrate a strategy that minimises sampling effort while maximising inventory efficiency, formulated using hydromorphological data from 26 river sites sampled in north-eastern France between 2009 and 2010. Our findings indicate that a comprehensive visual survey of seven x river width with a bathyscope confirmed unionid presence in 96 % of cases, and presence of all unionid species in 88 % of cases. A further seven x width search increased this latter figure to 96 %, while a third (=21 × width) ensured that all species were registered in all rivers surveyed. Based on these results, we recommend that surveyors first undertake an initial seven x river width visual survey to confirm unionid presence. If no Unionidae are observed over this distance, sampling ceases and the site is marked negative. If at least one Unionidae is observed over this distance, an additional upstream stretch of the same length is surveyed with identical sampling effort. If at least one new species is observed within this second stretch, then a third and final stretch can be surveyed. This method is discussed in the light of representativeness of hydromorphological habitats (e.g. pool spacing and meander wavelength).