Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Population structure and dynamics of the invasive crab Charybdis longicollis parasitised by the rhizocephalan Heterosaccus dollfusi along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Biologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The invasive crab Charybdis longicollis was first reported in Mersin Bay (Mediterranean Sea/Turkey) in 1954, and since the early 1990s, its populations have been heavily parasitised by the alien rhizocephalan Heterosaccus dollfusi. In Antalya Bay, 46.6% of the trawled catch is constituted by C. longicollis. Monthly biomass values fluctuated between 67 kg km−2 (June) and 704 kg km−2 (October), with a mean of 260 kg km−2. The percentage of change in females ranged from 29% in October to 53% in January. The mean carapace width of uninfected crabs was significantly larger in males (35.1 mm) than females (30.6 mm). Male crabs (34.3%) were more heavily parasitised than females (12.1%). The reduction in size of the chela and broadening of the abdomen are two characteristic modifications of infected males. The size at first maturity was estimated at CW = 24.7 mm. Ovigerous females were found all year-round but were more abundant in spring. Male and female individuals of C. longicollis displayed a maximum of three and one modal groups per year, respectively. Natural mortality (M) was estimated as 1.1 year−1 for male crabs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Boone E, Boettcher AA, Sherman TD, O'Brien JJ (2004) What constrains the geographic and host range of the rhizocephalan Loxothylacus texanus in the wild? J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 309(2):129–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2004.03.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Çiçek E, Karataş M, Avşar D, Moradi M (2014) Catch composition of the bottom trawl fishery along the coasts of Karataş-Adana (North-Eastern Mediterranean Sea). Int J Aquat Biol 2(5):229–237

    Google Scholar 

  • ConStat (1995) CC selectivity, Granspaettevej 10, DK-9800 Hjjlarring, Denmark

  • Dash G, Dash SS, Koya M, Sreenath K, Thangavelu R, Mojjada SK, Zala M (2014) Analysis of fishery and stock of the portunid crab, Charybdis feriata (Linnaeus, 1758) from Veraval waters, north-west coast of India. Indian J Fish 61(4):1–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Doi W, Yokota M, Strüssmann CA, Watanabe S (2008) Growth and reproduction of the portunid crab Charybdis bimaculata (Decapoda: Brachyura) in Tokyo Bay. J Crustacean Biol 28(4):641–651. https://doi.org/10.1651/07-2964.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froglia C (2012) First record of Charybdis japonica (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae) in the Mediterranean Sea. Mar Biodivers Rec 5:E33. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755267212000140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galil BS (1986) Red Sea decapods along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, ecology and distribution. In: Dubinsky Z, Steinberger Y (eds) Environmental quality and ecosystem stability, Vol. III/a. Bar Ilan Univ Press, Israel, pp 179-183

  • Galil BS, Innocenti G (1999) Notes on the population structure of the portunid crab Charybdis longicollis Leene, parasitized by the rhizocephalan Heterosaccus dollfusi Boschma, off the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Bull Mar Sci 64(3):451–463

  • Galil BS, Lützen J (1995) Biological observations on Heterosaccus dollfusi Boschma (Cirripedia: Rhizocephala), a parasite of Charybdis longicollis Leene (Decapoda: Brachyura), a lessepsian migrant to the Mediterranean. J Crustacean Biol 15(4):659–670. https://doi.org/10.1163/193724095X00064

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gayalino FC, Sparre O, Pauly D (2002) The FAO-ICLARM stock assessment tools (FiSAT II) program package. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Gökçe G, Saygu İ, Eryaşar AR (2016) Catch composition of trawl fisheries in Mersin Bay with emphasis on catch biodiversity. Turk J Zool 40:522–533. https://doi.org/10.3906/zoo-1505-35

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoddle MS (2004) Restoring balance: using exotic species to control invasive exotic species. Conserv Biol 18(1):38–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2004.00249.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holthuis LB (1961) Report on a collection of Crustacea Decapoda and Stomatopoda from Turkey and the Balkans. Zoologische Verhandelingen  47(1):1-67

  • Innocenti G, Galil BS (2007) Modus vivendi: invasive host/parasite relations—Charybdis longicollis Leene, 1938 (Brachyura: Portunidae) and Heterosaccus dollfusi Boschma, 1960 (Rhizocephala: Sacculinidae). Hydrobiologia 590(1):95–101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-0761-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Innocenti G, Galil BS (2011) Live and let live: invasive host, Charybdis longicollis (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae), and invasive parasite, Heterosaccus dollfusi (Cirripedia: Rhizocephala: Sacculinidae). In: Galil B, Clark PF,Carlton JT (eds) In the wrong place - alien marine crustaceans: distribution, biology and impacts. Invading Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 583–605. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0591-3_20

  • Innocenti G, Galil BS, Yokes MB, Diamant A, Goren M (2009) Here and there: a preliminary note on the prevalence of an alien rhizocephalan parasite at the southern and northern limits of its introduced range. J Parasitol 95(6):1387–1390. https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-2026.1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Innocenti G, Stasolla G, Goren M, Stern N, Levitt-Barmats Y, Diamant A, Galil BS (2017) Going down together: invasive host, Charybdis longicollis (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae) and invasive parasite, Heterosaccus dollfusi (Cirripedia: Rhizocephala: Sacculinidae) on the upper slope off the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Mar Biol Res 13(2):229–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/17451000.2016.1240873

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Innocenti G, Vannini M, Galil B (1998) Notes on the behaviour of the portunid crab Charybdis longicollis Leene parasitized by the rhizocephalan Heterosaccus dollfusi Boschma. J Nat Hist 32(10–11):1577–1585. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222939800771111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim K (2001) Growth and reproduction of Charybdis japonica (Milne-Edwards) (Decapoda: Portunidae) in Korean waters. (unpublished doctoral dissertation). Department of Marine Biology, Graduate School, Pukyong National University

  • Kondylatos G, Kampouris T, Kouloumperis V, Foka MC (2017) The indo-Pacific brachyuran Charybdis paucidentatus (Milne-Edwards, 1861) (Brachyura, Portunidae) in the Cyclades. Aegean Sea Turk J Zool 41(6):1118–1120. https://doi.org/10.3906/zoo-1612-48

  • Kristensen T, Nielsen AI, Jørgensen AI, Mouritsen KN, Glenner H, Christensen JT, Høeg JT (2012) The selective advantage of host feminization: a case study of the green crab Carcinus maenas and the parasitic barnacle Sacculina carcini. Mar Biol 159(9):2015–2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1988-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuris A M (1997) Conceptual framework for biocontrol of introduced marine pests. In: Ronald ET (ed) Proceedings of the first international workshop on the demography, Impacts and management of introduced populations of the European crab Carcinus maenas, CSIRO Marine Laboratories, Hobart/Tasmania, pp 66–68

  • Lafferty KD, Holt RD (2003) How should environmental stress affect the population dynamics of disease? Ecol Lett 6:654–664

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogawa Y (1997) Population biology of Charybdis japonica in the area beyond Tajiri of Hiroshima prefecture. Reports of Seto-Inland Sea Stocks and Ocean Research Association 3:31–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Øksnebjerg B, Enzenross R, Enzenross L (1997) First record of Rhizocephala (Crustacea: Cirripedia) from Turkish waters with notes on Lessepsian migration. Stuttg Beitr Naturkd A 557:1–7

  • Özcan T, Katağan T (2016) Prevalence of Heterosaccus dollfusi Boschma, 1960 (Rhizocephala: Sacculinidae) on Charybdis longicollis Leene, 1938 (Brachyura: Portunidae) from Iskenderun Bay, Turkey. J Black Sea/Medit Environ 22(2):128–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Pauly D (1980) On the interrelationship between natural mortality, growth parameters, and mean environmental temperature in 175 fish stocks. J Conseil 39(2):175–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stasolla G, Innocenti G, Galil BS (2015) On the diet of the invasive crab Charybdis longicollis Leene, 1938 (Brachyura: Portunidae) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Isr J Ecol Evol 61(3–4):130–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/15659801.2015.1123362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Couwelaar M, Angel MV, Madin LP (1997) The distribution and biology of the swimming crab Charybdis smithii McLeay, 1838 (Crustacea; Brachyura; Portunidae) in the NW Indian Ocean. Deep-Sea Res Pt II 44(6–7):1251–1280. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(97)00017-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Werner M (2011) Prevalence of the parasite Sacculina carcini Thompson 1836 (Crustacea, Rhizocephala) on its host crab Carcinus maenas (L.) on the west coast of Sweden. Ophelia 55(2):101–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/00785236.2001.10409477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamaguchi T, Aratake H (1997) Morphological modifications caused by Sacculina polygenea in Hemigrapsus sanguineus (De Haan) (Brachyura: grapsidae). Crustac Res 26:125–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeldan H, Avşar D, Manaşırlı M (2009) Age, growth and feeding of the common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca, L., 1758) in the Cilician coastal basin, northeastern Mediterranean Sea. J Appl Ichthyol 25:98–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0426.2008.01075.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge graduate students Gökçe Özgen and İsmet Saygu for laboratory support, and the captain and crew of the R/V “Akdeniz Su” for professional and diligent work at sea. This study was partially presented orally at the 4th International Symposium on EuroAsian Biodiversity (SEAB2018) in Kyiv (Ukraine), and I would like to thank the Akdeniz University Scientific Research Fund (FYS-2017-1959) for financial support to attend symposia.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Fisheries, Akdeniz University, Dumlupınar Bulvarı 07058 Kampüs, Antalya, Türkiye

    Mehmet Cengiz Deval

Authors
  1. Mehmet Cengiz Deval
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mehmet Cengiz Deval.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

No ethical approvals are required.

Conflict of interest

The author declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Deval, M.C. Population structure and dynamics of the invasive crab Charybdis longicollis parasitised by the rhizocephalan Heterosaccus dollfusi along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Biologia 75, 2239–2249 (2020). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-020-00479-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-020-00479-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation