Environmental drivers of size-based population structure, sexual maturity and fecundity: A study of the invasive blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

The blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) is one of the most invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea. Understand how the populations are maintained and how the environment is driving the populations in the areas invaded is the key to an effective future management. This current study is presenting a monthly long-term monitoring of the blue crabs’ population structure, body size, sexual maturity, reproduction periods and fecundity, and their relationships with environmental factors in a saltmarshes system in Italy. During winter, high densities (15 ± 8 ind m-2) of early juveniles (< 2 cm) were observed, and their numbers decreased due the population growth until summer. The size-spectra showed that across different temperature (18–26°C) and salinity (24–40 psu) gradients, the growth period for males is faster than for females. Based on abdominal analysis, sexual maturity was defined at ∼12 cm for males and females but the population was in favor of males that were more than 66% of the time mature throughout the year. Copulations periods were identified between spring and autumn when more than 50% of females were matures, and ovigerous females’ migrations were observed in late summer. Our study expand our understanding of how the environment interacts to effect physiological and biological processes of alien species and improve our ability to make predictions of how environmental change the distribution of the alien species in the future. Based on our results, we also discuss which population control strategy would be most effective based on the data available in the literature.

The expansion of the Atlantic–Mediterranean ghost crab Ocypode cursor (Linnaeus, 1758): Distribution, environmental niches and future perspectives

“…To increase our understanding of how, when and where local biodiversity will be more threatened (e.g. sea turtle eggs and hatchlings), we should increase data collection in further research to investigate: (i) the variation in crab abundance across different areas of preferential habitats and (ii) the effect of environmental and climate factors on the population dynamics and primary growth parameters such as length-weight relationships (Barros, 2001;de Carvalho-Souza et al, 2023;Marchessaux et al, 2023) (Figure 5). Such information is necessary to assess the well-being of the populations and to contribute to predicting potential future expansion and establishing a risk-planning action to manage the likelihood of local biodiversity interactions.…”

Raman Technology for Process Control: Waste Shell Demineralization for Producing Transparent Polymer Foils Reinforced with Natural Antioxidants and Calcium Acetate By-Products

“…Among these, the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) and whelk Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846) are ranked as some of the most invasive species in the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins. There are many studies related to the increased awareness regarding the most invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea, such as the one conducted by Marchessaux et al, who advocate the resilient idea of turning the threat into new opportunities [2][3][4].…”