Rapid expansion of the Asian clam Corbicula fluminea (O. F. Müller, 1774): a new alien species in the mollusk community of the Vistula

Abstract

Abstract A new large population of the Asian clam Corbicula fluminea (O. F. Müller, 1774) was found within a reach (ca 210 km long) of one of the largest European rivers, the Vistula. The largest population and the largest individuals were found at the outlet of a channel collecting heated water from the cooling process at the Połaniec power station and adjacent parts of the river. In the northern part of the study area, bivalves occurred at the channel margins, in groyne fields, and in the shallows of sand banks or sandbars. The clams were less numerous in places where the river was regulated with straightened banks and stone ripraps. Twenty-five other taxa of mollusks were found altogether at the sampling stations where Corbicula was observed, including other non-indigenous mollusk species.