The conservation of endangered freshwater pearl mussels will be discussed by Dr Peter Cosgrove, ecologist and Countryside Officer, Cairngorms National Park Authority, at this week’s Macaulay Institute seminar.

Entitled ‘Freshwater Pearl Mussels: Scotland’s most important invertebrate’, the seminar takes place at 2pm on Wednesday 26 January at The Macaulay Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen. Anyone wishing to attend should contact Jane Lund on tel: 01224 498200, email:j.lund@macaulay.ac.uk.

Commenting on the topic of the seminar, Dr Cosgrove said: “Freshwater pearl mussels have a fascinating lifecycle that originally played a significant role in the ecology of Scotland’s rivers and British human history. Scotland now holds about half of the world’s known viable populations of this endangered species.

“This presentation examines these roles and relationships, focusing on the perilous state of the remaining populations, the threats they face along with conservation action and research being undertaken to understand and protect this keystone species.”

The Macaulay Institute is the premier land use research institute in the UK. Two hundred and seventy staff are based at the Macaulay Institute at Craigiebuckler in Aberdeen. The Macaulay Institute aims to be an international leader in research on the use of rural land resources for the benefit of people and the environment and is involved in research across the globe; from Scotland to Chile and China. More about the Macaulay Institute can be found at http://www.macaulay.ac.uk/.

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