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The endangered white-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes (Decapoda, Astacidae) east and west of the Maritime Alps: a result of human translocation?

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Abstract

The genetic variability among Italian populations of the white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) was examined to determine their phylogeography and to assess their conservation status as a management unit. A fragment of the mitochondrial DNA COI gene of 107 specimens from ten populations was sequenced, and the phylogenetic relationships were established. Two out of three haplotypes sampled in two French populations from the Rhône basin were shared with Italian populations. Despite a moderate level of genetic variability within the Italian populations of A. pallipes, no genetic structure was revealed. It has been suggested that there have been translocation events throughout the Alpine barrier between the North-Western Italian basins and the Rhône basin. Genetic exchangeability of the French and Italian populations was demonstrated in this study, and a shift of conservation efforts towards the native, congeneric Austropotamobius italicus is recommended.

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks are due to Catherine Souty-Grosset (Genetique et Biologie des Populations de Crustaces, Université de Poitiers, France) for providing samples from the French basins, to Paolo Galli (Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy), for his help in the laboratory and for fruitful advice. This study was funded, in part, by the University of Milano-Bicocca and by the University of Insubria. Finally, the authors wish to thanks an anonymous referee for helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecology Unit, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126, Milan, Italy

    Fabrizio Stefani & Michela Buscarino

  2. Ecology Unit, Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Sciences, University of Insubria, via Dunant 3, 21100, Varese, Italy

    Serena Zaccara

  3. Laboratorio di Ittiologia, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Cascina Vigna-Casella Postale 89, 10022, Carmagnola, TO, Italy

    Giovanni B. Delmastro

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  1. Fabrizio Stefani
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Correspondence to Fabrizio Stefani.

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Stefani, F., Zaccara, S., Delmastro, G.B. et al. The endangered white-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes (Decapoda, Astacidae) east and west of the Maritime Alps: a result of human translocation?. Conserv Genet 12, 51–60 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-009-9986-x

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