Identification of ecosystem services, i.e. the contributions that ecosystems make to human well‐being, has proven instrumental in galvanising public and political support for safeguarding biodiversity and its benefits to people. Here we synthesise the global evidence on ecosystem services provided and disrupted by freshwater bivalves, a heterogenous group of >1200 species, including some of the most threatened (in Unionida) and invasive (e.g. Dreissena polymorpha) taxa globally. Our systematic literature review resulted in a data set of 904 records from 69 countries relating to 24 classes of provisioning (N = 189), cultural (N = 491) and regulating (N = 224) services following the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). Prominent ecosystem services included (i) the provisioning of food, materials and medicinal products, (ii) knowledge acquisition (e.g. on water quality, past environments and historical societies), ornamental and other cultural contributions, and (iii) the filtration, sequestration, storage and/or transformation of biological and physico‐chemical water properties. About 9% of records provided evidence for the disruption rather than provision of ecosystem services. Synergies and trade‐offs of ecosystem services were observed. For instance, water filtration by freshwater bivalves can be beneficial for the cultural service ‘biomonitoring’, while negatively or positively affecting food consumption or human recreation. Our evidence base spanned a total of 91 genera and 191 species, dominated by Unionida (55% of records, 76% of species), Veneroida (21 and 9%, respectively; mainly Corbicula spp.) and Myoida (20 and 4%, respectively; mainly Dreissena spp.). About one third of records, predominantly from Europe and the Americas, related to species that were non‐native to the country of study. The majority of records originated from Asia (35%), with available evidence for 23 CICES classes, as well as Europe (29%) and North America (23%), where research was largely focused on ‘biomonitoring’. Whilst the earliest record (from 1949) originated from North America, since 2000, annual output of records has increased rapidly in Asia and Europe. Future research should focus on filling gaps in knowledge in lesser‐studied regions, including Africa and South America, and should look to provide a quantitative valuation of the socio‐economic costs and benefits of ecosystem services shaped by freshwater bivalves.

Seafood products are perceived as healthy foods. However, several species of seafood are still not fully utilized for different reasons or can be valued outside the original locale, if issues with the short shelf-life and/or the preparation/presentation form are overcome, e.g., gray triggerfish, Balistes capriscus. Consumed mostly fresh, its flesh is of excellent quality. We studied the effect of different types of packaging (in air (AIR), vacuum (VP), and modified atmosphere (MAP)) on physicochemical (color and texture, pH, and total volatile basic nitrogen), microbiological (total viable count, psychrotrophic, sulphide-reducing bacteria, and acid-lactic bacteria), and sensory qualities, and shelf-life of gray triggerfish fillets stored at refrigeration temperature for 15 days. The samples were analyzed on days 0 (fresh fish), 5, 10 (8 and 12 for sensory analysis), and 15 after filleting and packaging. During the trial, fillets became lighter (increased L*) and yellower (b* >> 0) with time of storage. Distinct patterns were observed for pH among treatments. Unexpectedly, the increasing trend observed in the texturometer-derived hardness of VP and MAP fillets, contrasted with the sensory assessment, wherein panelists perceived a clear softening of fillets. VP delayed and MAP inhibited the increase in TVB-N contents of fillets compared to fillets packed in AIR. Total viable count and psychrothropic bacteria of fillets in AIR exceeded the conventional limit of 7 log(CFU/g) on day 10, while in fillets packed in VP and MAP, their abundance remained below that limit during the trial. The organoleptic attributes of fillets perceived by a sensory panel changed significantly in all treatments during the storage trial. Willingness to consume the fillets decreased constantly in AIR and MAP, but not in VP fillets. Considering primarily sensory, but also biochemical and microbiological parameters, namely panelists’ rejection, total volatile basic nitrogen content, and total viable count and psychrotrophic bacteria abundance, the shelf-life of fillets packed in air was eight days. Vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging extended the shelf-life to 15 and 12 days, and thus can add value to this product. Future research regarding the VP and MAP of gray triggerfish fillets could involve the optimization of mixtures of gases use and/or the application of combined processes.

The aims of this study were to monitor basic hydrological and ecological characteristics of the Guadiana Estuary (1996-1998) before the construction of the Alqueva dam. This work was carried out to determine how environmental factors affect seasonal and tidal variations of plankton populations in the estuary. The available information on the subcatchment of the estuary (e.g., urban, agricultural and forested areas) was integrated into a geographic information system-based software program. Mean monthly river flow varied markedly on a seasonal and yearly basis. River flow near Mértola (ca 50 km upstream from the mouth) reached 3400 2 10 6 m 3 in winter and decreased to 42 2 10 6 m 3 in summer. With respect to nutrients, nitrogen to phosphorus ratios indicated some limitation by phosphorus, except at the end of summer, when nitrogen limitation appeared. During this period, cyanobacterial blooms usually occurred in the upper/middle estuary. Estuarine Turbidity Maximum may significantly influence the retention of zooplankton in the estuary. The fish larval life cycle, especially sensitive to environmental alterations, showed high ratios of ribonucleic to desoxyribonucleic acids indicating good physiological condition. It was concluded that an ecohydrological approach, allowing integration of different elements from the cellular to the habitat level into a geographic information system, can contribute to a better understanding of the processes that influence the aquatic biota of the estuary. The approach will be a useful assessment tool for monitoring the estuary following dam completion.