Claw loss and the prey preferences of an invasive crayfish

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60076658%3A12520%2F25%3A43910024" target="_blank" >RIV/60076658:12520/25:43910024 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.100.149248" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.100.149248</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.100.149248" target="_blank" >10.3897/neobiota.100.149248</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Claw loss and the prey preferences of an invasive crayfish

Original language description

Predator-prey relationships underpin the stability of ecosystems but can be perturbed by numerous factors, such as biological invasions. Crayfish readily colonize new ecosystems and their impacts can modify food webs or ecosystem functioning. However, while crayfish exert high levels of predation pressure handling prey with their claws, claw loss is also common in their populations, which could mediate prey selection pressures. Here, we investigate how the number of claws in the marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis modulates its preferences for two different available prey: Chironomus plumosus and Gammarus fossarum. We showed that the food preference of P. virginalis was mainly for soft, less mobile prey, such as C. plumosus, with significantly fewer G. fossarum (harder, more mobile prey) being killed. This preference was largely independent of claw presence but depended on the availability of prey, with fewer G. fossarum being targeted as the number of claws decreased. Our results highlight the complexity of predator-prey ecological relationships in invaded freshwater ecosystems and show that some biotic factors, such as the quantity and type of prey available, need to be taken into account in order to better understand their role in ecosystem dynamics.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

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Continuities

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

NeoBiota

ISSN

1619-0033

e-ISSN

1314-2488

Volume of the periodical

100

Issue of the periodical within the volume

neuvedeno

Country of publishing house

BG - BULGARIA

Number of pages

18

Pages from-to

91-108

UT code for WoS article

001612435000005

EID of the result in the Scopus database

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