Search results for "Astacus"

Introduced alien signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) in Finland : uncontrollable expansion despite numerous crayfisheries strategies

2018

In Finland, massive signal crayfish introductions started towards the end of 1980s, with an estimated total of 2.2 million signal crayfish been stocked before year 2016. During that period, Finnish fisheries authorities have implemented three national management strategies setting guidelines for the crayfish introductions. The main aims of the strategies have been conservation of native noble crayfish stocks and a controlled spreading of the alien signal crayfish within a designated region. In this study, we report the current distribution of signal crayfish in Finland in comparison to the guidelines set in these three national strategies. The present distribution area of the signal crayfis…

Diet and trophic niche of the invasive signal crayfish in the first invaded Italian stream ecosystem.

2021

The occurrence of the signal crayfsh Pacifastacus leniusculus in the Valla Stream was the frst established population of this invasive species recorded in an Italian stream ecosystem. We evaluated the seasonality of diet and trophic niche of invasive signal crayfsh in order to estimate the ecological role and efects on native communities of the stream ecosystem. We studied the diferences in food source use between sexes, life stages and seasons using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses. To supplement stable isotope analyses, we evaluated food source usage using traditional stomach content analysis. We tested the hypothesis that juveniles have a diferent diet, showing diferent trophi…

Are the effects of an invasive crayfish on lake littoral macroinvertebrate communities consistent over time?

2016

Management of invasive species requires assessment of their effects on recipient ecosystems. However, impact assessment of invasive species commonly lacks a long-term perspective which can potentially lead to false conclusions. We examined the effects of the invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus Dana) on the stony littoral macroinvertebrate communities of a large boreal lake and assessed the extent to which the patterns observed in previous short-term studies were stable over time. We used temporal macroinvertebrate data collected in five consecutive years from a site with a well-established crayfish population, a site with no crayfish and a site where crayfish had been recentl…

Insight into the noble crayfish morphological diversity: a geometric morphometric approach.

2022

The noble crayfish (Astacus astacus), a keystone species of high ecological, economic, and cultural importance in Europe, is threatened due to a long-term population decline caused by anthropogenic pressure on its habitats, the presence of non-indigenous invasive crayfish species and climate change. Since the effective protection of the remaining populations requires conservation measures based on the comprehensive knowledge of the species, including good understanding of its genetic and morphological variability, our aim was to study morphological features of the noble crayfish in Croatia using geometric morphometrics for the first time. We applied two-dimensional geometric morphometrics t…

Comparing the effects of introduced signal crayfish and native noble crayfish on the littoral invertebrate assemblages of boreal lakes

2015

The introduced North American signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana) has replaced the native noble crayfish (Astacus astacus) in many European freshwaters and can be considered a new component of these ecosystems. The 2 species are apparently similar in many respects, but their ecological equivalence is uncertain and has been little investigated, especially at the whole-lake scale. We compared the effects of the 2 species on the abundance, species richness, and composition of littoral macroinvertebrate assemblages in a set of small- and mediumsized boreal lakes, which included 8 lakes with noble crayfish, 8 lakes with signal crayfish, and 8 lakes without crayfish. We collected semi…

Invasion biology in non‐free‐living species: interactions between abiotic (climatic) and biotic (host availability) factors in geographical space in …

2013

In invasion processes, both abiotic and biotic factors are considered essential, but the latter are usually disregarded when modeling the potential spread of exotic species. In the framework of set theory, interactions between biotic (B), abiotic (A), and movement-related (M) factors in the geographical space can be hypothesized with BAM diagrams and tested using ecological niche models (ENMs) to estimate A and B areas. The main aim of our survey was to evaluate the interactions between abiotic (climatic) and biotic (host availability) factors in geographical space for exotic symbionts (i.e., non-free-living species), using ENM techniques combined with a BAM framework and using exotic Entoc…

The success of crayfish stocking in a dredged river with and without artificial shelter increase

1997

Abstract The success of crayfish ( Astacus astacus L.) stocking in a heavily dredged river in Finland was compared between sections with and without artificial shelter. The materials used for creating shelter were a) broken rock and, b) ceramic drain pipes and perforated bricks. Group-marked crayfish (mean carapace length 42.6 mm) were released into the sections and test trappings conducted one year later. The highest crayfish densities were found in the broken rock sections. The reasons for the observed crayfish densities are discussed. No significant differences in growth between groups were detected. Migrations in the range of 2.5 km in one year were recorded.

An invasive species may be better than none: invasive signal and native noble crayfish have similar community effects

2014

14 pages; International audience; Human activities have resulted in the decline of native crayfish and promoted the spread of invasive crayfish species in European fresh waters, threatening ecosystem structure and functioning. We compared effects of native noble crayfish (Astacus astacus), invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and of the absence of crayfish on leaf litter breakdown and invertebrate prey density and biomass in stream ecosystems. In microcosm experiments, invertebrate shredder density was significantly reduced by crayfish presence but similarly affected by the two crayfish species. While crayfish did not directly influence leaf litter breakdown, their presence r…

Täpläravun (Pacifastacus leniusculus) ja jokiravun (Astacus astacus) syvyyssuuntainen esiintyminen Lammin Ormajärvellä ja Laukaan Pyhtääjärvellä vuos…

2006

Tyrosinases from crustaceans form hexamers

2002

Tyrosinases, which are widely distributed among animals, plants and fungi, are involved in many biologically essential functions, including pigmentation, sclerotization, primary immune response and host defence. In the present study, we present a structural and physicochemical characterization of two new tyrosinases from the crustaceans Palinurus elephas (European spiny lobster) and Astacus leptodactylus (freshwater crayfish). In vivo, the purified crustacean tyrosinases occur as hexamers composed of one subunit type with a molecular mass of approx. 71kDa. The tyrosinase hexamers appear to be similar to the haemocyanins, based on electron microscopy. Thus a careful purification protocol was…