The aim: Artificial breeding is more and more common method of population restoration. However to be successful at restoration of mussels one have to be skilled in right functional habitat choice of juveniles and how to introduce them technically and to finally assess efficiency, to monitor the new population. The workshop also will show the techniques of application of e-DNA methods for detection and monitoring of mussels.
Dates: 11-13th September 2023
Location: Passau, Germany
Registration: 15th May 2023,
marco.denic@landkreis-passau.de
Agenda: click here
The aim: The main aim of this workshop is to provide an introduction to collection and identification of Sphaeriid bivalve molluscs using traditional and eDNA techniques. The course will cover taxonomy, distribution conservation, ecology and habitats, collection and preservation, but will primarily focus on tuition to allow participants to acquire the skill and confidence to identify species of this so called difficult group.
Dates: 6th – 7th September 2023
Location: Montpellier (France)
Registration: 15th May 2023,
Agenda: click here
The aim: Understanding of the animal decisions and preferences can be done only if an individual will be individually tracked and his life history traits or behaviour estimated directly in the field. This can be done only by means of telemetry. Mussels live in freshwater, usually fluvial, his habitat is dynamic flows around him, not only water, but also sediments and vegetation. To understand this, you must at least roughly understand how water moves, what numbers characterize this movement in relation to sediment and impediments to flow and how all of that influences mussels decisions. Last but not least is to measure the individual performance and reproduction.
Dates: 11th – 12th July 2023
Location: Umianowice near Pińczów, Poland
Registration: 15th May 2023,
Agenda: click here
The aim: Artificial breeding is more and more common method of population restoration. The course is directed towards not experienced persons who would like to learn how to collect fish and mussels for infestation, how to care about them, how to collect juveniles and feed them during their initial development.
Dates: 20th – 22th June 2023
Location: Clervaux, Luxembourg
Registration: 15th May 2023,
f.thielen@naturemwelt.lu
The aim: The MoU of our Action assumes development of efficient methodology of freshwater mussels surveying, management, conservation and monitoring, which will become and pan-European standard. The best way to achieve this goal is to issue an European CEN standard for development of these methods. The standard cannot be elaborated without intensive discussion and review of various materials, which is impossible without face-to-face meetings, the next one will be held in Vila Real, Portugal.
Dates: 24 – 25 February 2023
Location: Vila Real, Portugal
Registration: closed
Agenda: click here
The aim: One of the most important deliverables of our Action is action plan for protection of freshwater mussels. We have the opportunity to cooperate with specialists from the IUCN, which has developed the new methodology of constructing the action plans (A2P) for the whole ecologically uniform groups of organisms, like ecological guild. This approach is perfectly tailored to protection of freshwater mussels and the meeting will be devoted to use CONFREMUS experts to elaborate the draft plan.
Dates: 27-28 January 2023
Location: Laufen (Bavaria). Kapuzinerhof Hotel & Restaurant, Schloßplatz 4, 83410 Laufen – find out more
Hosted by: Kathie Stockl-Bauer (Katharina.Stoeckl-Bauer@anl.bayern.de)
Registration: lipinska@iop.krakow.pl
Registration deadline: closed
Agenda: click here
The aim: As every year we want to organise the general meeting of the Action devoted to overview of the scientific results achieved so far and progress in deliverables and publications. The 2023 will be, as a matter of fact, the last full year of our activities within this action. This is important to meet face to face to finalize the tasks, because our final evaluation by COST will depend on the tasks we will manage to complete till the next April (2024). The Management Committee meeting will be held there too.
Dates: 26-27 January 2023
Location: Laufen (Bavaria). Kapuzinerhof Hotel & Restaurant, Schloßplatz 4, 83410 Laufen
Hosted by: Kathie Stockl-Bauer (Katharina.Stoeckl-Bauer@anl.bayern.de)
Registration: lipinska@iop.krakow.pl
Registration deadline: 31 Dec. 2022
Agenda: click here
The aim: The Red List edited by the IUCN is an important publication influencing conservation polices of many countries. One of aims of our Action is to update the IUCN list with the latest information, considering the very fast rate of decline of many species, including “forgotten” species in Mediterranean, recent revolution in taxonomy and overestimated status of some species. The evaluation of the species should be adjusted to the methodology used by IUCN to be compatible and ready to implement in the Red List.
Dates: 5.-9. Dec. 2022
Location: Verbania, Italy.
Registration: Manuel Lima <lopeslima.ciimar@gmail.com> (Red List team was established in Prague meeting).
Agenda: available soon
The aim: The MoU of our Action assumes development of efficient methodology of freshwater mussels surveying, management, conservation and monitoring, which will become and pan-European standard. The best way to achieve this goal is to issue an European CEN standard for development of these methods. The standard cannot be elaborated without intensive discussion and review of various materials, which is impossible without face-to-face meetings, like the one in Lisboa.
Dates: 24 – 25. Sept. 2022
Location: Lisboa, Portugal
Registration: completed.
Registration deadline: 10.06.2022
Agenda: available here
The aim: Biomarkers, including the expression of specific proteins and certain behavioural patterns, have proven effective in providing information on the condition of natural populations of freshwater bivalves and can be used as early warning tools for e.g. environmental pollution events. The objective of this training school is to provide training in the biomarkers approach at different levels of biological complexity, from proteins to entire organism.
Dates: 5 – 7th July and 21 – 23rd July 2022
Location: Milano, Italy
Registration: camilla.dellatorre@unimi.it
Registration deadline: 20th May 2022
Agenda: available here
The aim: due to Covid we have not met in-person since the general meeting in Brussels in 2020, which impedes our activities. To overcome that we would like to announce the joined meeting of Management Committee and Working Groups, devoted to PLAN ACTIVITIES during the two remaining years of our project (2022-23) and to brain storm on the possible scientific initiatives, methodologies, meetings, training schools and planned papers.
Dates: 6 – 7 May 2022
Location: Prague, Univ. of Life Sciences
Registration: lipinska@iop.krakow.pl
Registration deadline: 10 April 2022
Agenda: available here
The aim: The two-day activity will include introduction to parasite fauna of freshwater mussels, practical examination of mussels for parasites in the laboratory, identification of parasite species and groups, and trematode cercariae release monitoring.
Dates: 17.-18. August 2021
Location: Poznań, Poland
Registration: jouni.k.taskinen@jyu.fi
Registration deadline: 17th July 2021
Agenda: available here
The aim: The four-day activity will provide training and launch a coordinated research network on spatial, temporal and methodological sources of variability in basic freshwater mussels ecosystem function estimates with the focus on mass to clearance rate equations.
Dates: 14.-17. September 2021
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Registration: k.douda@gmail.com
Registration deadline: 31st July 2021
Agenda: available here
The aim: A CEN standard has been published for survey and monitoring of Margaritifera. It would be good to see if the same approach could be used for other important bivalve species. This should include standardisation of approach to promote comparability, and also the best use of the parameters already being collected, such as for the Water Framework Directive.
Dates: 29. April 2020
Location: Dublin
Registration: Cancelled due to COVID-19
Agenda:
The aim: The two-day activity will include introduction to parasite fauna of freshwater mussels, practical examination of mussels for parasites in the laboratory, updates of current and planned mussel parasite research of participants, as well as mapping of research needs, potential collaborative research projects and review papers.
Dates: 30-31. January 2020
Location: Poznań
Registration: Cancelled due to COVID-19
Agenda:
The aim: The WG identify gaps in the knowledge and set up organisational structure: identify leaders to particular sub-tasks, who will recruit participants to conduct the concre activities. The task groups will elaborate schemes for data collection and project or papers preparation (horizon scans, review papers). The meeting will also discuss a schedule and topic for training schools planned for next grant period, as well as schedule for STSMs.
Dates: 30-31. January 2020
Location – Thursday: Manos Conference Centre, Chaussée de Charleroi 135, 1060 Brussels.
Location – Friday: COST Association, Avenue Louise 149, 1050 Brussels
Registration: closed
Agenda: click here