0000000000494663
AUTHOR
Mudīte Rudzīte
New research at Riņņukalns, a Neolithic freshwater shell midden in northern Latvia
The prehistoric shell middens of Atlantic Europe consist of marine molluscs, but the eastern Baltic did not have exploitable marine species. Here the sole recorded shell midden, at Riņņukalns in Latvia, is on an inland lake and is formed of massive dumps of freshwater shells. Recent excavations indicate that they are the product of a small number of seasonal events during the later fourth millennium BC. The thickness of the shell deposits suggests that this was a special multi-purpose residential site visited for seasonal aggregations by pottery-using hunter-gatherer communities on the northern margin of Neolithic Europe.
Climate Warming as a Possible Trigger of Keystone Mussel Population Decline in Oligotrophic Rivers at the Continental Scale
AbstractThe effects of climate change on oligotrophic rivers and their communities are almost unknown, albeit these ecosystems are the primary habitat of the critically endangered freshwater pearl mussel and its host fishes, salmonids. The distribution and abundance of pearl mussels have drastically decreased throughout Europe over the last century, particularly within the southern part of the range, but causes of this wide-scale extinction process are unclear. Here we estimate the effects of climate change on pearl mussels based on historical and recent samples from 50 rivers and 6 countries across Europe. We found that the shell convexity may be considered an indicator of the thermal effe…
Gliemeži un gliemenes
Buklets "Gliemeži un gliemenes" iepazīstina ar Latvijas Univeraitātes Muzeja Zooloģijas kolekcijās apskatāmajiem gliemežiem un gliemenēm, to veidiem, formām, un personām, kas šādas kolekcijas ir vākuši un dāvinājuši Latvijas Univeraitātes Muzejam. Bukletu ilustrē Latvijas Universitātes Muzeja kolekciju paraugu fotogrāfijas.
Hans Šlešs un viņa kolekcija
Virtuālajā izstādē, kas veltīta malakologam Hansam Šlešam, Latvijas Universitātes Muzeja Zooloģijas kolekcijas piedāvā iespēju uzzināt par pētnieka biogrāfiju, publikācijām, zinātniskajiem sasniegumiem un Zooloģijas muzejam dāvināto gliemju čaulu paraugu kolekciju.
Research priorities for freshwater mussel conservation assessment
Freshwater mussels are declining globally, and effective conservation requires prioritizing research and actions to identify and mitigate threats impacting mussel species. Conservation priorities vary widely, ranging from preventing imminent extinction to maintaining abundant populations. Here, we develop a portfolio of priority research topics for freshwater mussel conservation assessment. To address these topics, we group research priorities into two categories: intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are indicators of organismal or population status, while extrinsic factors encompass environmental variables and threats. An understanding of intrinsic factors is useful in monitor…
Upespērlenes Latvijā
Virtuālajā izstādē "Upespērlenes Latvijā" stāstīts par 2022. gada gliemeni - ziemeļu upespērleni Margaritifera margaritifera, tās populāciju Latvijā, attīstības ciklu, ekoloģiskajiem apdraudējumiem un aizsardzības iespējām.
Recurrent Mesolithic–Neolithic occupation at Sise (western Latvia) and shoreline displacement in the Baltic Sea Basin
A major assemblage of Mesolithic and Neolithic wooden artefacts has been recovered from the bed of the River Užava at Sise, in the coastal belt of western Latvia. New archaeological investigation has also produced wooden remains and other evidence of occupation on the riverbank. On the basis of multi-proxy environmental data and radiocarbon dating, this article offers a first attempt to place the human activity in a palaeolandscape context. The earliest evidence of human presence is provided by wooden artefacts dated to c. 10,500–9700 cal. BP, during the Ancylus Lake transgression. These remains are thought to reflect fishing activities in the shallows of the Ventspils Bay, which existed d…
Conservation status of freshwater mussels in Europe: state of the art and future challenges
Freshwater mussels of the Order Unionida provide important ecosystem functions and services, yet many of their populations are in decline. We comprehensively review the status of the 16 currently recognized species in Europe, collating for the first time their life-history traits, distribution, conservation status, habitat preferences, and main threats in order to suggest future management actions. In northern, central, and eastern Europe, a relatively homogeneous species composition is found in most basins. In southern Europe, despite the lower species richness, spatially restricted species make these basins a high conservation priority. Information on freshwater mussels in Europe is uneve…
Ziemeļu upespērlene Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) Latvijā: izplatība, populāciju ekoloģija upju baseinu kontekstā un sugas izdzīvošanas iespēju novērtējums
Elektroniskā versija nesatur pielikumus