A Review of the Current Distribution and Dispersal Trends of Two Invasive Crayfish Species in the Danube Basin
2014
Lipták, Boris | Vitázková, Barbora (Comenius University, Bratislava (Slovak Republic). Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Zoology)
The spiny-cheek crayfish, Orconectes limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) and the signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana, 1852) are fast spreading non-indigenous invasive North American crayfish species colonizing the European freshwater ecosystems. Both invasive species are the crayfish plague carriers and represent a serious threat to the native crayfish fauna. The non-indigenous invasive spiny-cheek crayfish has spread considerably throughout the Danube and the main tributaries. Through the deliberate introduction it occurs in the Tisa River (middle section) and in Sebes-Körös River in Hungary. The signal crayfish is known to be distributed in the upper section of the Danube River (Austria) extending its range down the river to its middle section. Currently, the signal crayfish occur in the vicinity of Bratislava (Slovakia) as well. The species is recorded in the Drava Basin (mainly in the Austrian tributaries of the Drava River) but recently, through the deliberate introduction, occurs in the Sava Basin (Danube tributary) also. Based on estimated colonisation rates we evaluated that in the next decades, both species will with high probability double their range of occurrence in the Danube Basin, accompanied with considerable negative impact not only on the native crayfish assemblages but the whole aquatic ecosystem. This paper summarizes all published data considering records of O. limosus and P. leniusculus in Central and South-Eastern Europe related to the Danube Basin and evaluates their dispersal trends in the region.
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