A Review of the Effects of Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857): Invasion on Hydraulic Structures and Ecosystems and Their Control

We review the research on L. fortunei over the past 22 years, systematically elucidating its impacts on ecological environments and water engineering structures. We explored the effects of external factors on the invasion and spread of L. fortunei, as well as the internal factors that impact the ecological environment and water engineering structures. We also provide new perspectives and directions for L. fortunei control. The major research findings include the following: (1) L. fortunei negatively impacts hydraulic structures, being hard to remove and capable of damaging them, disrupting normal operations. (2) L. fortunei’s ecological impact is multifaceted: it reduces water cloudiness and organic matter by filtering suspended particles and depositing feces, but its decay after death consumes dissolved oxygen, increasing chemical oxygen demand and lowering water quality. (3) L. fortunei control techniques are effective for localized use in small bodies of water and aqueducts, but their control in large open reservoirs is difficult to achieve with one method. Existing control methodologies for L. fortunei were systematically evaluated across multiple dimensions, including engineering applicability and feasibility, technical advantages and limitations, and economic cost-effectiveness. This comprehensive analysis establishes a decision-support framework for optimizing control strategy selection in diverse engineering scenarios and application contexts.