Socio-economic drivers and non-indigenous freshwater crayfish species in Europe

Abstract

Non-indigenous freshwater crayfish species (NICS) outnumber the indigenous ones in many European countries, representing a major threat to biodiversity via the spread of crayfish 'plague' and aggressive invasion and antagonism performance. Although the biological basis of this situation is well studied, the possible role of social, economic and demographic factors on this situation has been ignored. In an attempt to explore such relationships, we suggest that human population density and economic growth (measured as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita) are positively related to the increased number of NICS in the EU area. Moreover, this pattern is evident in countries with higher overall footprint (i.e. the human demand of biologically productive land and sea in global hectares required to provide resources and services on waste assimilation) compared to biocapacity. Within the above context, actions are urgently needed to restore/balance existing and projected metabolic rifts (i.e. ruptures in the normal metabolic processes in natural systems) created by the presence of NICS. RÉSUMÉ Facteurs socio-économiques et espèces non indigènes d'écrevisses d'eau douce en EuropeLes espèces non indigènes d'écrevisses d'eau douce (NICS) sont plus nombreuses que les autochtones dans de nombreux pays européens, ce qui représente une menace majeure pour la biodiversité à travers la propagation de la « peste » des écrevisses, l'invasion et la compétition. Bien que le fondement biologique de cette situation soit bien étudié, le rôle possible de facteurs sociaux, économiques et démographiques sur cette situation a été ignoré. Dans une tentative d'explorer ces relations, nous suggérons que la densité de population humaine et la croissance économique (mesurée par le produit intérieur brut (PIB) par habitant) sont liées positivement à l'augmentation du nombre de NICS dans la zone UE. Par ailleurs, cette tendance est évidente dans les pays avec une empreinte globale plus élevée

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

“…The keeping of aquatic animals in aquaria is one of the most popular hobbies worldwide (Perdikaris et al, 2012;Turkmen and Karadal, 2012), and there is no surprise that the international aquarium pet trade has been growing rapidly in recent decades (Miller-Morgan, 2010). Four of the world's top five exporting countries are from Asia (Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand) and one is from Europe (the Czech Republic) (Ploeg, 2013).…”

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

“…Several socio economic and demographic factors (e.g. human population density and gross domestic product) have been found to be drivers of NICS spread among European territories (Chucholl et al, 2012;Perdikaris et al, 2012;Chucholl, 2015). General patterns of pet market-traded crayfish species suggest that more species are available in industrialized Western European countries (particularly if their trading is not banned).…”

“…General patterns of pet market-traded crayfish species suggest that more species are available in industrialized Western European countries (particularly if their trading is not banned). Generally lower economic spending power and to some degree a related delay in the development of internet-based commerce have in the past helped at least in part to save Eastern Europe from NICS establishment (Perdikaris et al, 2012). Nevertheless, that situation is apparently changing very quickly in the case of the crayfish pet trade.…”

“…Marbled crayfish has become established particularly in Germany (Chucholl et al, 2012), but the species also is reported from Croatia (Samardžić et al, 2014), Italy (Nonnis Marzano et al, 2009;Vojkovská et al, 2014), Hungary (Weiperth et al, 2015;Lőkkös et al, 2016), the Netherlands (Koese, 2008), Slovakia (Jansky and Mutkovič, 2010;Lipták et al, 2016), and Sweden (Bohman et al, 2013). Species availability in the pet market, environmental requirements, and socio-economic predictors such as gross domestic product and human population density have been recognized as key drivers behind the occurrence of marbled crayfish (Perdikaris et al, 2012;Chucholl, 2014Chucholl, , 2015. Inasmuch as fewer NICS have become established in Eastern Europe and problems with NICS in this region (and with New NICS in particular) have generally been fewer, these have been much less investigated in this region (Feria and Faulkes, 2011;Perdikaris et al, 2012;Kouba et al, 2014;Faulkes, 2015c).…”

“…Species availability in the pet market, environmental requirements, and socio-economic predictors such as gross domestic product and human population density have been recognized as key drivers behind the occurrence of marbled crayfish (Perdikaris et al, 2012;Chucholl, 2014Chucholl, , 2015. Inasmuch as fewer NICS have become established in Eastern Europe and problems with NICS in this region (and with New NICS in particular) have generally been fewer, these have been much less investigated in this region (Feria and Faulkes, 2011;Perdikaris et al, 2012;Kouba et al, 2014;Faulkes, 2015c). Nevertheless, recent confirmation of two distant marbled crayfish populations in Ukraine and indications of more North American cambarids occurring in the local pet market are particularly alarming (Novitsky and Son, 2016), because hitherto East European crayfish stocks have been considered relatively safe from adverse impacts of NICS and the closely related crayfish plague.…”