Imports of ornamental crayfish: the first decade from the Czech Republic’s perspective

Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst.

et al. 2016

-An increasing number of non-indigenous crayfish species (NICS) of apparently pet trade origin have become established particularly in Europe. Especially alarming are recent confirmation of two distantly separated marbled crayfish Procambarus fallax f. virginalis populations in Ukraine and indications of more North American cambarids present in the local pet market. The present study aimed to investigate crayfish species availability within the Ukrainian pet trade together with the climate match and risk they represent to the freshwater ecosystems generally and indigenous crayfish species in particular. Altogether, 15 NICS belonging to all three crayfish families were detected. Considering their origin, availability, probability of establishment, invasiveness and further aspects, marbled crayfish and red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii appear to be potentially the most troubling. Available information obtained from the pet trade in ornamental crayfish as a whole demonstrates that the broad availability of NICS most probably overlaps the vast majority of European indigenous crayfish species distribution, including the endemic thick-clawed crayfish Astacus pachypus, which occupies only a limited area that is situated critically close to established marbled crayfish populations. Negative effects of NICS on freshwater ecosystems as a whole can be also expected.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

East European crayfish stocks at risk: arrival of non-indigenous crayfish species

Kotovska

Khrystenko

Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst.

et al. 2016

“…Different situation exists in the pet trade with estimated annual domestic production around 60−100 thousands ornamental crayfish (Patoka et al, 2015a). Pet trade in crayfish began in the Czech Republic in 2003 (Patoka et al, 2015a).…”

Section: Contemporary Agementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pet trade in crayfish began in the Czech Republic in 2003 (Patoka et al, 2015a). The keeping of ornamental crayfish in aquaria has been accompanied by certain pet-breeder handbooks written in Czech (Patoka, 2008(Patoka, , 2013.…”

Section: Contemporary Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Crayfish in Czech cultural space: the longest documented relationship between humans and crayfish in Europe

Knowl. Manag. Aquat. Ecosyst.

Kocánová

Kalous

2016

Self Cite

-The crayfish is an interesting element of cultural history in many regions where this animal plays an important role through its exploitation by humans. The present study provides comprehensive insight into the relationship between humans and crayfish within the Central European regions of Bohemia and Moravia, collectively recognized as the Czech cultural space. The study combines data obtained from Czech and Latin historical literature; archival juristic documents and codes of law; old cooking and fishing journals, books, and textbooks; digitized materials available on the internet; and specialized and scientific publications. Human exploitation of crayfish within the evaluated region has been continuous from prehistory to the present and is thus the oldest in all of Europe. Important moments are displayed on timeline. Key-words:Freshwater invertebrate / exploitation / history / aquaculture / Czech Republic Résumé -L'écrevisse dans l'espace culturel tchèque : la relation la plus longue documentée entre les humains et les écrevisses en Europe. L'écrevisse est un élément intéressant de l'histoire culturelle dans de nombreuses régions où cet animal joue un rôle important grâce à son exploitation par les humains. La présente étude offre un aperçu complet de la relation entre les humains et les écrevisses dans les régions d'Europe centrale de Bohême et de Moravie, collectivement reconnues comme l'espace culturel tchèque. L'étude combine des données obtenues à partir de la litté-rature tchèque et historique latine ; de documents d'archives juridiques et de codes de la loi ; de vieux journaux, livres et manuels de cuisine et de pêche ; de documents numérisés disponibles sur l'Internet ; et de publications spécialisées et scientifiques. L'exploitation humaine des écrevisses dans la région étudiée a été continue depuis la préhistoire jusqu'à aujourd'hui et est ainsi la plus ancienne de toute l'Europe. Les moments importants sont affichés sur un tableau chronologique. Mots-clés :Invertébrés d'eau douce / exploitation / histoire / aquaculture / République Tchèque

Irresponsible vendors: Non‐native, invasive and threatened animals offered for garden pond stocking

Bláha

Kalous

et al. 2016

Aquatic Conservation

1. The pet trade has been responsible for many introductions of non-native species. Freshwater ornamental plants and animals originating from the pet trade are stocked to garden ponds.The present survey focused on awareness and responsible behaviour related to biological invasion risks of companies that designed, built, and stocked garden ponds. 2. A representative number (n = 124) of companies (commercial garden pond architects and builders) in the Czech Republic were surveyed regarding the offer of non-native, invasive and threatened native species. The survey was conducted over the entire warm period (from 1 May 2015 to 31 September 2015) while using personal visits, correspondence and interviews to list the species on offer.3. 'Traditional' ornamental species were offered by 39.1% of surveyed vendors, non-traditional 'marginal' species by 5.6%, common native species by 6.5% and threatened native species by 2.4%.4. The findings of this study support the hypothesis that 'garden pond' vendors offer non-native species with a risk of biological invasion; moreover, threatened native animals were also on sale. It is probable that a similar situation exists in other countries. It is important for the conservation of native aquatic biota to raise awareness of the need to reduce risk through responsible behaviour of those involved in the pet trade. It is also essential to prohibit stocking of potential invaders and to enforce the illegal capture and sale of native species.