Further expansion of the invasive mussel Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834) in Poland – establishment of a new locality and population features

The increasingly frequent appearance of invasive species of mussels is a common phenomenon nowadays. Their rapid expansion is a significant component of the global changes that pose a great ecological impact and a serious threat to the diversity of native fauna. This study documents new localities of occurrence of Sinanodonta woodiana in Poland. We also attempted to determine its density, biomass, morphometric features and age structure. We found that its presence is clearly related to temperature and that the current range of its occurrence in Poland mostly overlaps with the areas with the highest average annual temperatures. The study showed significant differences in mean density between the fishponds: on particular sites the density amounted to 9 individuals/m2 and their biomass exceeded 3000 g/m2. ANOVA revealed significant differences in the mean dimensions of the shells between the three fishponds related to their height and width. Seven-year-old individuals were the most numerous while one-, two-, five- and six-year-old specimens were the most numerous in pond 2. In our opinion, S. woodiana has created a permanent population that is probably able to breed. This is confirmed by the appearance of one-year-old individuals as well as the other younger age classes