Ecological plasticity and commercial impact of invasive marbled crayfish populations in Madagascar.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a monoclonal, parthenogenetically reproducing freshwater crayfish species that has formed multiple stable populations worldwide. Madagascar hosts a particularly large and rapidly expanding colony of marbled crayfish in a unique environment characterized by a very high degree of ecological diversity.

Results

Here we provide a detailed characterization of five marbled crayfish populations in Madagascar and their habitats. Our data show that the animals can tolerate a wide range of ecological parameters, consistent with their invasive potential. While we detected marbled crayfish in sympatry with endemic crayfish species, we found no evidence for the transmission of the crayfish plague pathogen, a potentially devastati

SUBMITTER: Andriantsoa R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6366054 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature