The 6th edition of the “Café con Sal” program ends with the conference entitled “Identification of Xenostrobus securis larvae using monoclonal antibodies”

November 21, 2016

Next Thursday, December 1st at 11:00 am we will end the 6th edition of the Café con Sal Program. Agar Montes, a doctoral student at the University of Vigo, will close this edition with the conference entitled “Identification of Xenostrobus securis larvae using monoclonal antibodies“.

Xenostrobus securis (Lamarck 1819) (photo), known as the pygmy mussel, is a species native to Australia and New Zealand, typical of brackish environments. It was first recorded as an invasive species in the lagoons of the Italian coast, where it continued its expansion across the Mediterranean until reaching the Iberian Peninsula, reaching the Ría de Vigo and later the Ría de Pontevedra. Although there are studies on the factors that affect the distribution and abundance of X. securis in the Rías Baixas of Galicia, there is no information on the pre-recruitment or post-recruitment processes, which would help to understand the invasion process of X. securis in the Rías Baixas of Galicia, as well as to estimate its dispersal potential and therefore its effects on the ecosystem.

Given these deficiencies, Agar Montes, directed by Elsa Vázquez and Celia Olabarria, is developing her doctoral thesis (Determination of the dispersal potential of the invasive mussel Xenostrobus securis (Lamarck, 1819) in the Rías Baixas de Galicia (NW Iberian Peninsula): pre- and post-settlement factors) with the main objective of determining the larval development of X. securis and the factors that affect it, especially temperature and salinity, as well as studying the larval distribution of the species in the Rías Baixas de Galicia.

During this conference Agar will focus on the methodology and results of several experiments that complement his thesis work, which were mainly the use of monoclonal antibodies for the identification of X. securis larvae.

For more information about the content of this conference, you can visit our blog.

See the complete program of the Café con Sal Scientific Presentations Program.

See Agar Montes presentation poster.

We are waiting for you at ECIMAT.