Control and Prevention of Invasive Bivalves

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE GOLDEN MUSSEL (Limnoperna fortunei) IN THE PLATA BASIN

1991	Introduction of the golden mussel, Limnoperna fortunei, to America through the ballast water of transoceanic ships. First record: Río de la Plata shore, Bagliardi Beach, Pdo. Berisso, Provincia de Buenos Aires.
End of 1993	From Punta Piedras to Punta Lara (Río de la Plata, Bs.As.). Not recorded further north, nor in any other river of the The Plata basin, nor in any other country.
1994	First case of macrofouling (settlement inside piping) in South American freshwater, at the water intakes of La Plata city (OSBA) - Punta Lara, Río de la Plata. This case was treated by our work group, Facultad Ciencias Naturales y Museo (UNLP), La Plata.
End of 1994 Beginning of 1995	Drinking water intakes at Bernal and Buenos Aires City. First record at Colonia, Uruguay.
End of 1995	First collection on the Paraná river. New macrofouling cases.
During 1996	Numerous collections on the Paraná and adjacent rivers and streams.
End of 1996 Beginning of 1997	Macrofouling has become common in the water intakes of the industrial zone of the Paraná river.
During 1998	First record on the Paraguay river, at Puerto de Asunción, República del Paraguay. On the Paraná river, it is distributed up to Posadas Harbour, Misiones (Argentina).
Beginning of 1999	First record in Brazil. Gauíba Basin, Puerto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.
During 2000/2001.	Start of macrofouling in Brazil and Uruguay . On the Paraguay river, the ecological sanctuary "El Pantanal" (Bolivia-Brazil) was invaded. First record of invasion on the Uruguay river , reaching up to Salto Grande Hydroelectric Power Plant. At the beginning of the 2001 the first appointment is made in the Hydroelectric Power Plant Itaipú (Brazil-Paraguay) and the presence of the golden mussel in these years is considered in the Atomic Power Plant, Embalse Córdoba. (Argentina)

For more information contact us by e-mail:
invasion@museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar
gdarrigran@malacologia.com.ar

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