Martin, 2016

Martin P. 2016. Parthenogenesis: mechanisms, evolution, and its relevance to the role of marbled crayfish as model organism and potential invader. In: T Kawai, Z Faulkes, G Scholtz, eds. Freshwater Crayfish: A Global Overview, pp. 63-82. Boca Raton: CRC Press. https://www.crcpress.com/Freshwater-Crayfish-A-Global-Overview/Kawai-Faulkes-Scholtz/9781466586390

Excerpt

This chapter deals with the question of what is behind the often misinterpreted term parthenogenesis and what effect it has on marbled crayfish. It starts with a general overview about the mechanisms and genetic consequences of sexual reproductive systems and several different asexual ones. This is followed by a section on the origin of parthenogenesis in animals, its short-term benefits and long-term disadvantages, from the perspective of the evolutionary theory of sex. Then, the current state of knowledge on the extraordinary reproduction mode of marbled crayfish and the presumed cause for its emergence is described. Finally, the possibilities for this crustacean as laboratory animal and its ecological impacts resulting from parthenogenesis are discussed.

Keywords: None provided.

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Kawai and colleagues (editors), 2016

Vogt and colleagues, 2015

Vogt G, Falckenhayn C, Schrimpf A, Schmid K, Hanna K, Panteleit J, Helm M, Schulz R, Lyko F. 2015. The marbled crayfish as a paradigm for saltational speciation by autopolyploidy and parthenogenesis in animals. BioRxiv: 23 August 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/025254

Abstract

The parthenogenetic all-female marbled crayfish is a novel research model and potent invader of freshwater ecosystems. It is a triploid descendant of the sexually reproducing slough crayfish, Procambarus fallax, but its taxonomic status has remained unsettled. By cross-breeding experiments and parentage analysis we show here that marbled crayfish and P. fallax are reproductively separated. Both crayfish copulate readily, suggesting that the reproductive barrier is set at the cytogenetic rather than the behavioural level. Analysis of complete mitochondrial genomes of marbled crayfish from laboratory lineages and wild populations demonstrates genetic identity and indicates a single origin. Flow cytometric comparison of DNA contents of haemocytes and analysis of nuclear microsatellite loci confirm triploidy and suggest autopolyploidization as its cause. Global DNA methylation is significantly reduced in marbled crayfish implying the involvement of molecular epigenetic mechanisms in its origination. Morphologically, both crayfish are very similar but growth and fecundity are considerably larger in marbled crayfish, making it a different animal with superior fitness. These data and the high probability of a divergent future evolution of the marbled crayfish and P. fallax clusters suggest that marbled crayfish should be considered as an independent asexual species. Our findings also establish the P. fallax-marbled crayfish pair as a novel paradigm for rare chromosomal speciation by autopolyploidy and parthenogenesis in animals and for saltational evolution in general.

Keywords: None provided.

Kenning and colleagues, 2015

Kenning M, Lehmann P, Lindstrom M, Harzsch S. 2015. Heading which way? Y-maze chemical assays: not all crustaceans are alike. Helgoland Marine Research 69(3): 305-311. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10152-015-0435-6

Abstract

In a world full of chemicals, many crustaceans rely on elaborate olfactory systems to guide behaviors related to finding food or to assess the presence of conspecifics and predators. We analyzed the responses of the isopod Saduria entomon to a range of stimuli by which the animal is likely to encounter in its natural habitat using a Y-maze bioassay. In order to document the efficiency of the experimental design, the same bioassay was used to test the behavior of the crayfish Procambarus fallax whose ability to track odors is well documented. The crayfish performed well in the Y-maze and were able to locate the source of a food-related odor with high fidelity. The isopod S. entomon reacted indifferently or with aversion to most of the stimuli applied. In 1800 trials, only four out of 15 different stimuli yielded statistically significant results, and only one odorant was found to be significantly attractive. The findings raise several questions whether the stimuli presented and/or the experimental setup used represents an ecologically relevant situation for S. entomon. In each instance, our experiments illustrate that established methods cannot be readily transferred from one species to another.

Keywords: Isopoda • Saduria entomon • Decapoda • crayfish • olfaction • behavior • flow channel

Harzsch and colleagues, 2015

Harzsch S, Krieger J, Faulkes Z. 2015. “Crustacea”: Decapoda – Astacida. In: A Wanninger (ed.), Evolutionary Developmental Biology of Invertebrates 4: Ecdysozoa II: Crustacea, pp. 101-151. Springer: New York. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1853-5_4

Abstract

Thomas Henry Huxley, now often remembered as “Darwin’s bulldog”, wrote an entire book dedicated to crayfish, with no less a goal than showing how the study of crayfish could teach the reader all of zoology: “how the careful study of one of the commonest and most insignificant of animals, leads us, step by step, from every-day knowledge to the widest generalizations and the most difficult problems”. In retrospect, Huxley laid out the argument for model organisms several decades before another Thomas, namely, Thomas Hunt Morgan, started using fruit flies as model organisms, which became a wellspring of biological information in the twentieth century. While biology in the nineteenth century emphasised work on diverse species in the field, biology in the twentieth century was driven by a few model organisms in the lab, whether they were rats or fruit flies or Arabidopsis thaliana.

Keywords: None provided.

Kaldre and colleagues, 2016

Kaldre K, Meženin A, Paaver T, Kawai T. 2016. A preliminary study on the tolerance of marble crayfish Procambarus fallax f. virginalis to low temperature in Nordic climate. In: T Kawai, Z Faulkes, G Scholtz, eds. Freshwater Crayfish: A Global Overview, pp. 54-62. Boca Raton: CRC Press. https://www.crcpress.com/Freshwater-Crayfish-A-Global-Overview/Kawai-Faulkes-Scholtz/9781466586390

Excerpt

Temperatures in Nordic countries’ water bodies are much lower during winter, but there is no information about whether marble crayfish can survive temperatures as low as those experienced in Nordic countries, which is relevant to whether the marble crayfish can invade northern Europe. In this chapter we discuss the low temperature tolerance of marble crayfish as a factor in the potential invasion of marble crayfish in Nordic European countries.

Keywords: None provided.

Related posts

Kawai and colleagues (editors), 2016

Yazicioglu and Kozák, 2014

Yazicioglu B, Kozák P. 2014. What do we know about reproduction of crayfish? Poster presented at FABA 2014: International Symposium on Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Trabzon, Turkey, September 2014. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280620396_What_do_we_know_about_reproduction_of_crayfish

Abstract

Study of the reproductive strategy of indigenous and non-indigenous crayfish species is of a great importance in the current astacological world. Crayfish are the largest aquatic invertebrates, and as a keystone species, they are capable of controlling the structure of the benthic fauna in the lake and stream ecosystems, demonstrating different ecological strategy and life span varying from Astacus leptodactylus, Austropotamobius torrentium, Austropotamobius pallipes, Procambarus clarkii and Pacifastacus leniusculus. However, the most recent information has revealed a few species that may have different models of reproduction, such as hermaphroditism, intersex (Cherax quadricarinatus, Samastacus spinifrons) and parthenogenesis (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis). In addition, there are many studies devoted to investigation of reproduction biology under various lab conditions. Present contribution covers all mentioned above topics, illustrates known among crayfish reproduction patterns, and summarizes published research articles from the past 20 years and until now.

Keywords: None provided.

Faulkes, 2016

Faulkes Z. 2016. Marble crayfish as a new model organism and a new threat to native crayfish conservation. In: T Kawai, Z Faulkes, G Scholtz, eds. Freshwater Crayfish: A Global Overview, pp. 31-53. Boca Raton: CRC Press. https://www.crcpress.com/Freshwater-Crayfish-A-Global-Overview/Kawai-Faulkes-Scholtz/9781466586390

Excerpt

In less than two decades, Marble crayfish have gone from a species completely unknown to science to a promising model organism for laboratory research and an increasingly problematic non-indigenous crayfish species. This series of events has been fortuitous in that it has created a framework for Marble crayfish research that unites basic, curiosity driven bench science and applied, pragmatic field science.

Keywords: None provided.

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Kawai and colleagues (editors), 2016

Faulkes, 2015b

Faulkes Z. 2015. Marmorkrebs (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis) are the most popular crayfish in the North American pet trade. Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems 416: 20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2015016

Abstract

Introductions of non-native crayfish around the world are increasingly tied to the distribution, sale, and eventual release of pet crayfish. As part of risk assessment for the introduction of non-native crayfish in North America, I monitored the sale of crayfish on an auction website that specializes in aquatic pets and aquarium supplies for a year. Three species accounted for the majority of sales: the parthenogenetic crayfish, Marmorkrebs (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis), the Cajun dwarf crayfish (Cambarellus shufeldtii), and the orange morph of the endangered Mexican dwarf crayfish (Cambarellus patzcuarensis). Almost half of individual crayfish sold (48.5%) were Marmorkrebs, which is more than twice as many as C. shufeldtii, the second most commonly sold species. The Louisiana red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) was often offered for auction, but was bought much less often than the other three species. About 11% of P. clarkii auctions were successful, while more than 45% of auctions were successful for the other three. Four Cherax species were the only crayfish sold online whose native range was outside North America. Neither Marmorkrebs nor the orange morph of C. patzcuarensis can be collected regularly from natural habitats in North America, suggesting that most crayfish sold online in North America are obtained from existing stocks in the pet trade, rather than being collected from natural habitats.

Keywords: marbled crayfish • pet trade • Marmorkrebs • Cambarellus

Supplemental information: Faulkes Z. 2015. Crayfish pet trade in North America. figshare. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1478015

Feria and Faulkes, 2016

Feria TP, Faulkes Z. 2016. Predicting the distribution of crayfish species: a case study using marble crayfish. In: T Kawai, Z Faulkes, G Scholtz, eds. Freshwater Crayfish: A Global Overview, pp. 13-30. Boca Raton: CRC Press. https://www.crcpress.com/Freshwater-Crayfish-A-Global-Overview/Kawai-Faulkes-Scholtz/9781466586390

Excerpt

Species Distribution Models (SDM) have been used in a variety of studies (e.g., Thuiller et al. 2005) to predict suitable areas for future invasions, including crayfish and similar freshwater decapods (Table 2.1). The parthenogenetic crayfish, Marble crayfish, provides an excellent example of the need for such predictive tools. Because Marble crayfish are parthenogenetic, the release of just one individual could establish a new population and they can compete and spread disease to native species. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the process of creating species distribution models, with particular reference to the challenges faced in modelling the potential distribution of crayfish species, using Marble crayfish as a case study.

Keywords: None provided.

Related posts

Kawai and colleagues (editors), 2016