Faulkes, 2015

Faulkes Z. 2015. A bomb set to drop: parthenogenetic Marmorkrebs for sale in Ireland, a European location without non-indigenous crayfish. Management of Biological Invasions 6(1): 111-114. http://dx.doi.org/10.3391/mbi.2015.6.1.09

Abstract

Ireland is one of the few locations in Europe where non-indigenous North American crayfish species have not been introduced, and is a refuge for endangered white-clawed crayfish, Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet, 1858). The parthenogenetic crayfish species Marmorkrebs, Procambarus fallax f. virginalis (Hagen, 1870), is sold in the pet trade in Ireland within the recorded range of A. pallipes. Marmorkrebs risk being introduced into Irish waters, where they could threaten A. pallipes populations, particularly as a vector for crayfish plague.

Keywords: Marmorkrebs • Procambarus fallax f. virginalis • Austropotamobius pallipes • pet trade • Ireland • non-indigenous crayfish species

The Crustacean Society / International Association of Astacology meeting in Australia, 2015

Oooh, this conference is like a superhero team-up!

Abstract submission is open for a joint meeting of The Crustacean Society (TCS) and the International Association of Astacology. They are looking for presentations from all fields of crustacean research worldwide and invite themed sessions and symposia.

Symposia suggestions should be on the symposium proposal form, and submitted by 14 March 2015.

Abstracts are to be according to the format outlined abstracts page of the conference web site, using the template. People are invited to submit abstracts on any aspect of crustacean research. Abstracts sunbmission deadline is 27 March 2015, and people will be notified of acceptance by 12 April 2015.

The meeting will be held at the Australian Museum. This museum, established in 1827, is the oldest museum in the country, with a long history of crustacean research and the most extensive crustacean collection in the Southern Hemisphere. The Museum is centrally located in the heart of Sydney City and is close to famous landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Art Gallery of New South Wales, the harbour, and hosts numerous tourist attractions, fine dining, and recreational activities.

External links

Conference webpage 

Velisek and colleagues, 2014

Velisek J, Stara A, Koutnik D, Zuskova E, Kouba A. 2014. Effect of prometryne on early life stages of marbled crayfish (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis). Neuro Endocrinology Letters 35(Suppl 2): 93-98. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25638372, http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/25638372

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to assess the toxicity of prometryne in early life stages of marbled crayfish (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis) on the basis of mortality, early ontogeny, growth rate, and histopathology during and at the end of the test.

DESIGN: The early life stages of marbled crayfish were exposed to prometryne at four concentrations, 0.51, (reported concentration in Czech rivers), 144, 1440, and 4320 µg.l-1 for 53 days and compared to crayfish in a non-treated control group.

RESULTS: Prometryne in concentration 144, 1444 and 4320 µg.l-1 caused decrease of weight and specific growth rates of crayfish. Crayfish exposed the highest concentration 4320 µg.l-1 showed delay in ontogeny development. All crayfish groups exposed to prometryne showed histopathological changes in gill. On the basis of histopathological changes the values of LOEC=0.51 µg.l-1 and NOEC=for 0.10 µg.l-1 of prometryne for marbled crayfish juveniles was estimated.

CONCLUSIONS: Chronic exposure of prometryne on early life stages of crayfish has affected their mortality, growth rate, and histology. Some of the changes were observed only at higher exposures (144, 1444 and 4320 µg.l-1), but histopathological changes in gills were observed also in crayfish exposed to the real environmental concentration in Czech rivers (i.e. 0.51 µg.l-1), which is about 9 times lower than maximal concentration (4.40 µg.l-1) reported in surface waters of Greece. Concentrations of prometryne in World rivers have been reported to generally vary in the range of 0.1-4.40 µg.l-1.

Keywords: None provided.

Note: As of 3 February 2015, the journal website has no papers past 2013. It is listed now because the full citation information is included in the PubMed entry. This entry will be updated when the PDF from the journal website becomes available.

Additional, 6 February 2015: The abstract is also listed in Europe PubMed Central.

Additional, 24 February 2015: The PDF of this paper is available on ResearchGate.

Patoka and colleagues, 2015

Patoka J, Kalous L, Kopecký O. 2015. Imports of ornamental crayfish: the first decade from the Czech Republic’s perspective. Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems 416: 04. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2014040

Abstract

The import of aquarium animals has been increasing worldwide in recent years. Despite its contribution to world trade and the economy, this trade also comprises one of the main pathways for the introduction of non-indigenous animals. In the past decade, crayfish has become a popular pet as well as a potential threat to the environment upon its escape or release. Since the Czech Republic is one of the world’s leading importer, exporter, and producer of aquatic ornamental animals, we prepared a detailed analysis of crayfish imports. The present paper provides a complete list of countries supplying ornamental crayfish and examines trends of their prices and imported quantities during the past decade (2003–2012). Indonesia has been identified as the leading supplier in recent years. The annual average price of imported crayfish has varied over the evaluated period within the range of €0.76–4.72 per individual and it is rising annually by €0.15. The quantity of live crayfish imported for aquarium purposes has not been affected significantly by the price per individual and it has grown rapidly. Therefore a constant monitoring of this pet trade sector is strongly recommended for the future.

Keywords: pet trade • aquarium • crustaceans • non-indigenous species • price

Kaldre and colleagues, 2015

Kaldre K, Haugjärv K, Liiva M, Gross R. 2015. The effect of two different feeds on growth, carapace colour, maturation and mortality in marbled crayfish (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis). Aquaculture International 23(1): 185-194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10499-014-9807-1

Abstract

The effect of two different feeds (30 % protein common carp feed without astaxanthin and astaxanthin-rich discus feed with 20 % shrimps and 46 % protein) on growth, carapace colour, maturation and mortality in marbled crayfish (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis) was examined under laboratory conditions. Feeding trials were carried out during 123 days at room temperature in triplicate per treatment (45 crayfish per treatment, 15 crayfish per aquarium). At the end of the trial, crayfish fed with discus feed exhibited uniformly the same dark blue carapace colouration, while crayfish fed with carp feed exhibited significantly lighter and more variable colouration in shades of grey. Growth was significantly faster (P < 0.001) among crayfish fed with higher protein content discus feed than among crayfish fed with lower protein content carp feed. Neither the effect of aquaria on growth nor the effect of feed on maturation and mortality were found to be significant (P > 0.05). Thus, our study showed that the type of feed had a significant impact on the growth and carapace colouration, but not on the maturation and mortality in the marbled crayfish.

Keywords: marbled crayfish • Procambarus fallax f. virginalis • feed • astaxanthin • carapace colour • growth rate

Call for crustacean papers

Crustacean Research is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that covers all fields of biology of crustaceans and their related taxa. This journal has been running for some time, but it is new to me. The former president of The Crustacean Society, Akira Asakura, is editor-in-chief.

The publication costs are quite reasonable for an open access journal. People who are not members of the Carcinological Society of Japan pay about US$30 per page if there is no colour on the page. $300 for a ten page paper compares very favourably to, say, PLOS ONE ($1,350).

 

It might be a good venue to submit research on Marmorkrebs!

European Crayfish Conference: Research and Management

European Crayfish Conference: Research and Management will be held in Landau, Germany from 9 to 12 April, 2015.

This conference will bring together experts on crayfish research and management to discuss the future of crayfish in Europe. Of particular note to readers of this blog is that one of the keynotes is by Frank Lyko, on “Marbled crayfish as a novel model system for epigenetics research.”

The social dinner will take place in the restaurant of the lovely Zoo in Landau and there will be an excursion in Rhineland-Palatinate with the opportunity to see some crayfish.

Information about the program and registration is available at: http://crayfishconference-uni-landau.com/

The deadline for abstracts is 31 January, 2015.