Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) and crayfish plague as new threats for biodiversity in Indonesia

Abstract

Numerous freshwater crayfish species are known to become successful invaders when introduced to new territories. One of the most invasive species in this group is the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852). In addition to other characteristics facilitating its invasiveness, it is also a vector of crayfish plague, a disease mostly lethal to crayfish of non‐North American origin. Procambarus clarkii, at present the most widespread crayfish species globally, is popular in many countries both for human consumption and as an ornamental animal. An established population of this species was documented for the first time within Indonesia, representing the first record for maritime Southeast Asia. The species is also common in the local ornamental pet trade. Infection by the crayfish plague pathogen Aphanomyces astaci Schikora was confirmed both in the outdoor population of P. clarkii and in one of the surveyed pet shops. Furthermore, A. astaci was detected in specimens of freshwater crab and shrimp species coexisting with P. clarkii. Local climatic conditions and the species temperature requirements suggest a high probability of the establishment of P. clarkii in Indonesia. Its further spread could irreversibly damage populations of many native endemic crustaceans in the country (as well as elsewhere in the region), and the thriving local aquacultures of the redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus (von Martens, 1868) may also be threatened. The total ban of P. clarkii and other crayfish species of North American origin in Indonesia is strongly recommended, especially considering that aquaculture and trade with Australasian species is a viable alternative option.

Enigmatic hotspot of crayfish diversity at risk: Invasive potential of non‐indigenous crayfish if introduced to New Guinea

“…We suggest that New Guinea should be acknowledged as an important crayfish hotspot; therefore, in line with Putra et al, (), we strongly recommend a total ban on culture and transport of P. clarkii in particular, and other North American NICS in general, in Indonesia and also in Papua New Guinea. Even if P. alleni has a low probability of being established there, it can transmit the crayfish plague pathogen to the island.…”

“…Mitigation or eradication of established non‐indigenous crayfish species (NICS) is mostly impossible, and no strategy is widely effective in this regard (Gherardi, Aquiloni, Diéguez‐Uribeondo, & Tricarico, ; Manfrin, Souty‐Grosset, Anastácio, Reynolds, & Giulianini, ). Recently, a new threat to Cherax crayfish was found in Java, Indonesia: the crayfish plague pathogen Aphanomyces astaci (Putra et al, ). In general, North American crayfish species are resistant to this oomycete and are able to inhibit the pathogen growth in their cuticle, whereas in crayfish of non‐North American origin the mycelia of the pathogen grow through the cuticle, penetrate the internal body cavity and organs, and rapid mortality and population collapses usually follow the infection (Mrugała, Kawai, Kozubíková‐Balcarová, & Petrusek, ; Svoboda, Mrugała, Kozubíková‐Balcarová, & Petrusek, and citations therein).…”

“…This assumption was verified in one New Guinean species: Cherax papuanus (Unestam, ). The North American species Procambarus clarkii has been confirmed as the carrier and vector of the pathogen in Indonesia (Putra et al, ). The introduction of this species is alarming from the native fauna perspective, not only because of crayfish plague transmission but also as P. clarkii is known to be a successful invader capable of directly outcompeting indigenous crayfish and other biota and is also able to alter food webs and habitat structure as a whole (Souty‐Grosset et al, ).…”

Experimental evaluation of the potential for crayfish plague transmission through the digestive system of warm‐blooded predators

“…Although latent infections with the crayfish plague pathogen have been recently reported from various populations of several European indigenous crayfish species (see review in Svoboda, Mrugała, Kozubíková‐Balcarová, & Petrusek, ), mass mortalities caused by the pathogen are still widespread across Europe (e.g., Caprioli et al, , ; Filipová, Petrusek, Matasová, Delaunay, & Grandjean, ; Kozubíková‐Balcarová et al, ; Strand et al, ; Viljamaa‐Dirks et al, ), and crayfish plague is considered responsible for recent steep declines of native crayfish in various countries (Holdich, Reynolds, Souty‐Grosset, & Sibley, ). Furthermore, the presence of A. astaci has also been recently reported from crayfish populations introduced to Japan, Brazil, Indonesia and Madagascar (Andriantsoa et al, ; Martín‐Torrijos et al, ; Mrugała, Kawai, Kozubíková‐Balcarová, & Petrusek, ; Peiró et al, ; Putra et al, ), indicating a potential threat to crayfish species native to those regions. Since no effective treatments to enhance resistance or cure infected crayfish have been discovered, the only known way to protect susceptible crayfish from A. astaci is to prevent this pathogen's spread (OIE, ).…”

Impacts of climate change on the global potential distribution of two notorious invasive crayfishes

“…Recently, an established population of P. clarkii was reported from Indonesia(Putra et al, 2018), a region where our SDMs suggest the absence of suitable climates. Therefore, niche modelling may underestimate the actual predicted distributions of the two species as these models generally show suitable habitats rather than tolerant habitats.…”