Map displays site-specific conservation objectives, which aim to define favourable conservation conditions for Habitats Directive Annex I habitats, Annex II species at a site level and the SPA special conservation interest “wetlands and waterbirds”. This service relates to Annex II species at specific SAC sites.
This mapping file (CO-1029) does not give FPM density/population data.
Consultation Document
July 2018
The document sets out a draft Plan for Forestry & Freshwater Pearl Mussel in Ireland, developed by the
Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine (DAFM) as part of the national strategy for the conservation of the species.
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/11a47-draft-plan-for-forests-freshwater-pearl-mussel-in-ireland/
Sept 2018
Dr Evelyn Moorkens, Ian Killeen and Dr Eugene Ross
This document is a submission through public consultation on the Draft Plan for Forests & Freshwater Pearl Mussel (FPM) in Ireland and the associated draft Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report and draft Natura Impact Statement on behalf of the 3 authors, who are acknowledged to be the 3 experts in the freshwater pearl mussel, having specialised in this species and work continuously on research, monitoring and advancement of knowledge in appropriate management for this species for a combined 88 years.
Sept 2011
The strategy prioritises eight of the 27 populations and encompasses approximately 9.6 million or 80% of the Irish freshwater pearl mussel population.
Summary perhaps explains why Ireland has limited FPM conservation measures to 8 sites, and why focus is on agricultural pressures (which is one of the pressures on FPM)
Ireland equates to approximately 37% of the EU freshwater pearl mussel population.
Strategy also proposes particular measures for the Nore pearl mussel population and a freshwater pearl mussel population in the South East.
The most significant pressures across the 27 catchments are:
(point sources)
o Quarries, sand and gravel pits
o Wastewater treatments plants (WwTP)
(diffuse sources)
o Agriculture (including overgrazing)
o Forestry
o On-site wastewater treatment systems (OSS)
Other more localised pressures include
–peat extraction,
–flow regulation,
–abstractions
–morphological changes to the river bed and banks
Prioritisation of the 27 Irish SAC populations of freshwater pearl mussel, following the application of five filters (Moorkens, 2010)
Note: within a priority class, populations are not listed in ranked order.
“With the exception of the Bundorragha, all of the Group 1 catchments have had significant increases in pressures recently, including increases in once-off houses, land reclamation and clearfelling of coniferous forestry. If measures are not now taken, habitat conditions are likely to deteriorate further such that minimal or no recruitment will take place and ultimately leading to increased adult mortality.”
This latest file is dated Feb 2016, are there NPWS commissioned reports from 2016 to 2021 ?
Mathias Kuemmerlen, Evelyn A. Moorkens, Jeremy J. Piggott
Trinity Centre for the Environment, School of Natural Sciences, Department of Zoology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
-Potential of remote sensing imagery to assess hydrological variables yet un-tapped.
-MSI is a suitable surrogate for soil moisture; NDVI for evapotranspiration.
-Indices show seasonal patterns for both land-cover types investigated.
-Reaction to severe drought diverges among indices and land-cover types.
-Open peat habitats’ regulating function is essential for functional FPM populations.
The West Coast of Ireland hosts many of the few populations of Freshwater Pearl Mussels (FPM) left in Europe. The decline of this keystone species is strongly related to deteriorating hydrological conditions, specifically to the threat of low flows during dry summers. Populations still capable of reproducing require a minimum discharge and flow velocity to support juvenile mussels, or else stress builds up and an entire generation may be lost.
Monitoring environmental and hydrological conditions in small and remote FPM catchments is difficult due to the lack of infrastructure. Indices derived from remote sensing imagery can be used to assess hydrological variables at the catchment scale. Here, five indices are tested as possible surrogates for soil moisture and evapotranspiration, based on two relevant land-cover types: open peat habitats (OPH) and forestry.
Selected indices are then assessed in their ability to reproduce seasonal patterns and in their response to a severe drought event. The moisture stress index (MSI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were found to be the best surrogates for soil moisture and evapotranspiration respectively. Both indices showed seasonality patterns in the two landcover types, although the variability of MSI was significantly higher.
During the 2018 drought, MSI visibly increased only in OPH, while NDVI rose only for forestry. The results suggest that OPH enhances the long-term hydrological resilience of a catchment by conserving water in the peat substrate, while industrial forestry plantations exacerbate the pressure on water during drier periods. This has consequences for river discharge, freshwater biodiversity and specifically for FPM. Implementing these surrogates have the potential to identify land-use management strategies that reduce and even avert the effects of drought on FPM.
Such strategies are increasingly necessary in a climate change context, as recurring summer droughts are expected in most of Europe.
LIFE13 NAT/IE/000144
An agri-environmental initiative that operated between 2014 and 2020.
KerryLIFE was co-funded by the EU’s LIFE Programme; Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine; Coillte; Teagasc; and the South Kerry Development Partnership.
Funding was over €5 million
The project covered two river systems which are home to almost half of Ireland’s population of freshwater pearl mussels – the Blackwater and Caragh River Catchments, in the Iveragh Peninsula, Co. Kerry.
KerryLIFE invested in on-farm works to enhance and protect water quality in the two catchments. Farmers fenced off river courses, installed drinking troughs and allowed nature to flourish.
For many, it was “counter-intuitive”, but working with the KerryLIFE team and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), they blocked drains in order to prevent sediment washing into the rivers.
Techniques to restructure forests were also trialed across 220ha of public and private land in the catchments.
Pilot blanket bog restoration site in the catchment to see what effects the removal of sheep grazing has on blanket bog.
Surface of the bog has mostly recovered and revegetated and bare peat areas significantly reduced in extent.
Bare peat areas are liable to erosion during wet weather which can result in peat silt being washed into the river where Freshwater Pearl Mussel occur.
Threat has been significantly reduced from this site thanks to the help from local farmers.
The Irish Pearl Mussel Project is looks agricultural impact and looks at 80% of the population.
To consider other (non-agricultural) threats, and 20% of Pearl Mussel populations outside the 8 Project catchments needs more consideration.
Summary on conservation status of Pearl Mussel species (Page 51):
Reports on the conservation status of habitats/species protected under the Habitats Directive, are made to the EU every six years, and all three summary and detailed background reports are available at:
https://www.npws.ie/publications/article-17-reports
These include some information on pressures and conservation measures.
A map identifying the water catchments within which populations of the Freshwater Pearl Mussel occur can be found on the following web page as both a GIS shapefile and as a pdf (entitled ‘Margaritifera Sensitive Areas map’)
https://www.npws.ie/maps-and-data/habitat-and-species-data
List of all Pearl Mussel Sensitive Areas
Map of all Pearl Mussel Sensitive Areas
General Information on NPWS
There is also information on the species on npws.ie, (may need to be updated)
See
https://www.npws.ie/research-projects/animal-species/invertebrates/freshwater-pearl-mussel
Which has links to a series of pages, including this page
That lists the 19 SACs designated for the protection of the species, and :
That gives some information on conservation measures, including Regulations made in 2009 to protect 27 mussel populations in those 19 SACs
Interested in local knowledge on Pearl Mussel population, non-agricultural threats and any local citizen science / research on populations within or outside the Pearl Mussel Project.
Please get in contact via website to post any relevant information
Freshwater Pearl Mussel Regulations:
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2009/si/296/made/en/print and http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2018/si/355/made/en/print
A PROTOCOL FOR THE TRANSLOCATION OF THE FRESHWATER PEARL MUSSEL MARGARITIFERA MARGARITIFERA IN THE RIVER SLANEY AT ENNISCORTHY, COUNTY WEXFORD
The Red List of Threatened Species (or conservation assessment) is an objective methodology to assess the conservation status of different taxonomic groups. Guidelines for the production of Red Lists at the regional level, applying consistent categories and criteria, have been developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), and are adopted in Ireland.
https://biodiversityireland.ie/publications-category/red-lists/
Amphibians, Reptiles & Freshwater Fish
Stoneflies
Click to access Ireland-Red-List-No.-13-Stoneflies-Plecoptera.pdf
Mayflies
Damselflies and Dragonflies
Click to access Dragonfly-Damselfly.pdf
Non Marine Molluscs
Water Beetles