In the Search of the Lost Pearl: Rediscovery of Southern Populations of Margaritifera margaritifera (L.) in Russia as a Model of Conservation Research

The monograph focuses on the European freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera, which is an endangered bivalve species. Most of its populations in the Russian section of the Baltic Sea basin had never been studied, although they were known in the past to the pearl fishers. “Rediscovery” included search for the previously unknown populations, revealing the facts of population extinctions, analysis of negative impacts, elaboration of conservation measures, and revealing of regulari...