Freshwater pearl mussels are a protected species that live in rivers with very low concentrations of nitrate, phosphate and fine sediment. Numbers of mussels are declining throughout Europe and this has been attributed to increases in diffuse pollution of waterways. Such pollution is caused by a combination of land use and the impact of rainfall events. Before decisions about land management can be taken to improve aquatic habitats it is important to determine exactly which aspect of diffuse pollution is causing the decline: increased deposition of sediment on the river bed or increased nutrient enrichment of river water.
This article presents data on water quality and fine sediment transfer in the River Esk in North Yorkshire to illustrate the difficulties of establishing which aspect of diffuse pollution is damaging freshwater pearl mussels.
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