Line of action:

Marine ecosystems

Status:

Finalizado

Execution date:

2021

End date:

2023

Total budget:

112.533,80 €

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

72.415,00 €

The nacre, Pinna nobilis, is a bivalve mollusk endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, classified as critically end angered due to parasitosis caused by a protozoan species, Haplosporidium pinnae, which produces mortalities close to 100%.

The last populations in Spanish waters are located in the Ebro Delta and in the Mar Menor. Both ecosystems are confined or semi-confined waters that are highly affected by agricultural water discharges and economic activities such as fishing and tourism and require immediate direct conservation actions to ensure their continuity and the genetic diversity of the species.

In addition, given the great accessibility of the populations, citizen science actions are required to raise awareness of the ecological importance of the nacra among members of the tourism sector, agriculture, and the general public to raise awareness of its ecological importance and instill respect for the users of the area.

The main objective is to increase knowledge to achieve the survival of the nacre(Pinna nobilis) through manipulation and monitoring of the population and the characteristics of the environment, aimed at preserving the genetic diversity of the species.

It has these specific goals:

• To make the general public and the scientific community aware of the problem of the conservation status of the nacre and the monitoring and recovery actions.
• To know the population status of Pinna nobilis in the two emblematic areas of the Spanish Mediterranean (Ebro Delta and Mar Menor) and to identify the environmental parameters that determine the optimal survival of the species in the two study areas of the project.
• To make proposals for the zoning of Pinna nobilis populations in the Ebro Delta and Mar Menor in the face of extreme weather events and/or anthropic pressures.
• Activate protocols for translocation of specimens in the two study areas of the project in accordance with the zoning proposals.
• To know the evolution of the status of the individuals subjected to the translocation protocols and to monitor the possible advance of the parasite in the two study areas.
• Transfer the main results of the project to the competent administrations.

• Population diagnosis of Pinna nobilis in two emblematic areas of the Spanish Mediterranean using a methodology of visual censuses with simultaneous monitoring of physicochemical variables to know the environmental conditions of the ecosystem.
• Elaboration of zoning proposals and potential refuge areas for the survival of Pinna nobilis individuals in the studied areas of the Ebro Delta and Mar Menor for their subsequent translocation.
• Translocation of individuals in the Ebro Delta and the Mar Menor as a management tool for the survival of individuals.
• Monitoring of translocated specimens and determining environmental conditions in the Ebro Delta and Mar Menor.
• Transfer of scientific knowledge to the competent administrations.
• Dissemination and communication of the project.

• Exhaustive population censuses and measurements of environmental conditions have been carried out on the nacre(Pinna nobilis) in the last two remaining populations in Spanish waters.
• As a result, their critical situation has become evident, but also the persistence of some populations.
• Both in the Ebro delta and in the Mar Menor, the sensitivity of the species to changes in the environment has been noted and, therefore, the need to take extreme care of its habitat to favor its survival.
• Dissemination actions have been carried out as a key element to raise awareness of the species and its importance in the environment, in order to reduce the direct impacts of sea users on the most accessible populations, since interaction with human activities and vandalism pose another major threat to the species that must be minimized.