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Predatory Efficiency of Crayfish: Comparison Between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Species

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Abstract

The invasive crayfish Procambarus clarkii is highly dispersed within lentic waters in northern and central Italy. It is a polytrophic predator, exerting a strong influence on animal communities, including amphibians, fish, gastropods, and insect larvae. The indigenous species Austropotamobius italicus, inhabiting lotic waters, behaves as a generalist – but not opportunistic – species. The object of this study was to compare the predatory pressure exercised by the two species on potential prey, i.e., anuran tadpoles, urodelan larvae, fish fry, larvae of insects, and gastropods. Three main conclusions were drawn: (1) both species are skilled predators, adopting a sit-and-wait strategy, (2) the two crayfish seemed to form a `search image' of familiar prey, as the result of either visual or chemical perceptual changes, and (3) at least in the laboratory, P. clarkii readily switched to naive prey for it (tadpoles of Rana italica and larvae of Limnephilidae), unlike the less opportunistic A. italicus. These results furnish suggestions on the trophic preferences of the two crayfish species and provide a partial understanding of the effects that the invasive species have on the community dynamics.

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  1. Department of Animal Biology and Genetics 'Leo Pardi', University of Florence, Via Romana 17, 50125, Florence, Italy

    Barbara Renai & Francesca Gherardi

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  1. Barbara Renai
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  2. Francesca Gherardi
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Correspondence to Barbara Renai.

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Renai, B., Gherardi, F. Predatory Efficiency of Crayfish: Comparison Between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Species. Biological Invasions 6, 89–99 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BINV.0000010126.94675.50

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