Editorial: Conservation of European Freshwater Crayfish

Theissinger, Kathrin; Edsman, Lennart; Maguire, Ivana; Diéguez‐Uribeondo, Javier; Jussila, Japo

doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.804629

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In summary, the combination of invasive species and invasive pathogens, as exemplified by crayfish plague, is a particularly difficult biodiversity threat to manage (Theissinger et al, 2021). Mitigation actions to curb an unfolding disease outbreak in the wild have limited success rates, especially in settings that include the introduction of novel diseases into habitats with naïve host species (Bozzuto et al, 2020, and references therein).…”

Section: Box 1 Illustrative Risk Rankingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards an eco-epidemiological framework for managing freshwater crayfish communities confronted with crayfish plague

Bozzuto,

Schmidt-Posthaus,

Adrian-Kalchhauser

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Wildlife diseases figure prominently among the main causes of biodiversity loss worldwide. Especially fungal and fungus-like pathogens are on the rise, wreaking havoc across the tree of life by threatening species persistence and destabilizing ecosystems. A worrisome example are freshwater crayfish species in Eurasia and Oceania, facing the dual challenge of introduced competitive crayfish species and an introduced water mold (Aphanomyces astaci) causing crayfish plague.A. astacilocally extinguishes susceptible native crayfish populations, while non-native individuals (mostly from North America) remain largely unaffected. Despite its significant impact and its ∼150 years of presence in Europe, studies and disease management recommendations for crayfish plague that are firmly rooted in epidemiological theory are scarce. Here, we present a practical eco-epidemiological framework to understand how multi-species crayfish communities react to crayfish plague introductions. The framework is based on the observation that the dynamics of crayfish communities are mainly determined by life-history characteristics, within- and among-species competition, effects of generalist predators (including fishing), and host-pathogen interactions. From this ecological and epidemiological context, we derive fundamental epidemiological metrics, single-host species and community-level basic reproduction numbers (R0). We investigate how host species densities affect the likelihood of a disease outbreak in a crayfish community, and we demonstrate that a community’sR0value is simply the sum of the community’s single-host speciesR0values, adjusted for competition and predation. We further demonstrate howR0can be used to guide preventative and mitigation actions for crayfish communities. For example, we show howR0expressions – even without a detailed parametrization – can be used to construct regional risk rankings for different crayfish communities, for an effective allocation of resources to local conservation plans. Our eco-epidemiological framework will also be of interest to the management of other aquatic host-pathogen systems with water-borne pathogen transmission as the main route of pathogen spread.

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Section: Box 1 Illustrative Risk Rankingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Management of crayfish plague in natural water bodies is difficult (Theissinger et al, 2021). Once an outbreak occurs, the pathogen cannot be eliminated without removing possible susceptible hosts or without harming other animal species, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an eco-epidemiological framework for managing freshwater crayfish communities confronted with crayfish plague

Bozzuto,

Schmidt-Posthaus,

Adrian-Kalchhauser

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…The American red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii , originally from southern U.S.A. and north‐eastern Mexico (Hobbs, 1989), has become established in 40 countries across the globe, following intentional introduction for food, as well as unintentional releases through the pet trade (Oficialdegui et al., 2020). This invasive crayfish species is of conservation concern because it eats native species and so impacts freshwater food webs (Twardochleb et al., 2013), and because it is an important vector for the crayfish plague Aphanomyces astaci (Souty‐Grosset et al., 2016), which has decimated native crayfish populations across Europe (Jussila et al., 2014; Theissinger et al., 2021). There is also recent evidence that the species can transmit the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis , a disease linked to the decline of 501 amphibian species and 90 presumed extinctions globally (Oficialdegui et al., 2019; Scheele et al., 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical excavation of wetland habitat failed to eradicate invasive American red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in Malta

Caruana,

Camilleri,

Farrugia

et al. 2024

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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Invasive crayfish are an important ecological concern in many freshwater ecosystems. Many efforts have been made to eradicate them, but there is very little documentation of the effectiveness of these efforts. Between 2019 and 2020, a restoration project funded by the European Regional Development Fund tried to eradicate invasive American red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii from the Fiddien valley system in Malta by mechanically excavating the valley's stream bed and exporting contaminated debris securely off‐site to a dry quarry. Three years post‐intervention, we systematically surveyed the valley system to explore the distribution and relative abundance of the invasive crayfish population. We placed traps in a stratified random sample of stream segments (both those that were included in the original restoration project and those that were not) and recorded catch per unit effort (crayfish caught per trap night) and the size/frequency distribution of crayfish caught. The invasive crayfish were still abundant in the upper reaches of the valley system, and, despite the excavation effort, crayfish were present at the highest relative abundance (4.3–14.8 CPUE, median = 12.3) within the restored area. Despite substantial effort and spending of more than 700,000 €, mechanical excavation did not eradicate invasive crayfish populations. We urge caution for future projects planning to attempt crayfish eradication using this approach and call for much greater impact evaluation, and at the very least post‐project monitoring, to ensure lessons can be learnt from such failures in future.

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“…In freshwater ecosystems, crayfish directly affect ecosystem structure and diversity (Dorn and Wojdak 2004). Many native crayfish, particularly in Europe, are on the brink of extinction due to introductions of invasive crayfish and their pathogens (Jussila et al 2021;Theissinger et al 2021). Invasive crayfish imported from North America into Europe introduced a novel and lethal disease, the crayfish plague, caused by the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci Schikora, 1906 (Jussila et al 2021;Theissinger et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many native crayfish, particularly in Europe, are on the brink of extinction due to introductions of invasive crayfish and their pathogens (Jussila et al 2021;Theissinger et al 2021). Invasive crayfish imported from North America into Europe introduced a novel and lethal disease, the crayfish plague, caused by the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci Schikora, 1906 (Jussila et al 2021;Theissinger et al 2021). The introduction and transmission of pathogen A. astaci is the main reason why native crayfish were displaced by invaders, and crayfish plague is solely responsible for decimation of numerous native European crayfish populations (Martín-Torrijos et al 2019;Jussila et al 2021;Theissinger et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recurring infection by crayfish plague pathogen only marginally affects survival and growth of marbled crayfish

Dobrović¹,

Geček²,

Klanjšček³

et al. 2022

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Invasive alien crayfish threaten the diversity of freshwater ecosystems and native crayfish fauna. In Europe, this is largely due to transmission of the crayfish plague to susceptible native crayfish. Many invasive species tolerate crayfish plague, but the infection still has the potential to reduce the fitness of a tolerant host due to energy trade-offs between immune response maintenance and life-history traits, such as growth and reproduction. In combination with other unfavourable conditions, such a response could alter further invasion success of an otherwise successful crayfish invader. We examined whether repeated infection with one of the most virulent haplogroups of crayfish plague agent (Aphanomyces astaci) affects growth or survival of the juvenile marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis). Juveniles were exposed to i) two levels of pathogen concentrations, and ii) two different feeding regimes under the higher pathogen concentration. In all performed trials, repeated infection reduced growth rates, while the combination of recurring infection and food limitation significantly increased mortality. The average energy cost of the immune response was estimated at 12.07 J/day for individuals weighing 0.3 grams. Since infections were frequent and pathogen concentrations high, results suggest that marbled crayfish is resistant to A. astaci pathogen and its survival is only affected by adding the stress of food limitation. The survival of almost half of the individuals exposed to high pathogen loads and extreme food limitation indicates that chronic infection by crayfish plague is unlikely to be an important factor impeding invasion success of the marbled crayfish, even under harsh conditions. Our results add to the growing body of evidence that marbled crayfish has potential to become one of the most successful freshwater invaders.

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Editorial: Conservation of European Freshwater Crayfish

Cited by 6 publications

References 17 publications

Towards an eco-epidemiological framework for managing freshwater crayfish communities confronted with crayfish plague

Towards an eco-epidemiological framework for managing freshwater crayfish communities confronted with crayfish plague

Mechanical excavation of wetland habitat failed to eradicate invasive American red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in Malta

Recurring infection by crayfish plague pathogen only marginally affects survival and growth of marbled crayfish

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Editorial: Conservation of European Freshwater Crayfish

Cited by 6 publications

References 17 publications

Towards an eco-epidemiological framework for managing freshwater crayfish communities confronted with crayfish plague

Towards an eco-epidemiological framework for managing freshwater crayfish communities confronted with crayfish plague

Mechanical excavation of wetland habitat failed to eradicate invasive American red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in Malta

﻿Recurring infection by crayfish plague pathogen only marginally affects survival and growth of marbled crayfish

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Recurring infection by crayfish plague pathogen only marginally affects survival and growth of marbled crayfish