Assessing the trophic ecology of the invasive Atlantic Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Cadiz

Callinectes sapidus, the invasive blue crab from the west of the Atlantic Ocean, has extended its distribution along the Atlantic coast around the Gulf of Cadiz and increased massively since 2016. Food web studies are useful for understanding changes in ecosystems caused by exotic species. Stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) were used to assess the potential carbon sources and its trophic relationships among different ecosystems (estuaries and saltmarshes), sexes (male and females) and seasons (summer vs. autumn). Significant differences were found in the δ13C of blue crabs from the estuaries and salt-marshes (-21.2 ±2.6 vs -14.2 ±0.9, respectively). These differences may be explained by an increase in the 13C of the blue crabs from the salt-marshes, probably due to the enrichment of this isotope in the primary producers such as the salt marsh plants [1] and its preys inhabiting this ecosystem. Meanwhile, the more depleted 13C values in the estuary crabs seem to reflect a carbon source from mollusks and fish derived from decomposing detritus. Among the ecosystems analyzed, δ15N was only significantly enriched in the crabs of the Guadalquivir estuary and was higher in males than females. Also, seasonal differences were found in this estuary in both sexes, by a decrease in the 15N values between summer and autumn. Those differences, can be explained by the fact that the Guadalquivir estuary suffers nitrogen hyper-nitrification due to intensive agriculture and is more noticeable in the upper part of the estuary, to which the males are more associated due to their life cycle. Previous studies reported, the diet of C. sapidus seems to be opportunistic, dependent on the food availability in different habitats [2], with a divergence in sexes induced by different spatial distributions. Future studies analyzing the stomach content and trophic behavior should be conducted to clarify our results.