Abstract
Ireland is one of the few locations in Europe where non-indigenous North American crayfish species have not been introduced, and is a refuge for endangered white-clawed crayfish, Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet, 1858). The parthenogenetic crayfish species Marmorkrebs, Procambarus fallax f. virginalis (Hagen, 1870), is sold in the pet trade in Ireland within the recorded range of A. pallipes. Marmorkrebs risk being introduced into Irish waters, where they could threaten A. pallipes populations, particularly as a vector for crayfish plague.
Highlights
The occurrence of problematic pest organisms is an increasing global phenomenon, adversely affecting a range of ecological and socio-economic values in terrestrial and aquatic environments (Ruiz et al 1997)
Most approaches to marine pest control rely on diver removal and physical or chemical treatments (Hewitt et al 2005), which may have limited efficacy, or are labour-intensive and impractical to apply at broad spatial scales (Piola et al 2009)
A recent study showed that high density inoculation of sea anemones prevented the settlement and accumulation of problematic biofouling, with space pre-emption considered one of the key controlling mechanisms (Atalah et al 2013a)
Summary
The occurrence of problematic pest organisms is an increasing global phenomenon, adversely affecting a range of ecological and socio-economic values in terrestrial and aquatic environments (Ruiz et al 1997). Human activities such as vessel movements, aquaculture, and fishing represent significant pathways for the spread and introduction of pests into new areas, with invasion rates being recorded at unprecedented levels (Mack et al 2000). Marine artificial structures, such as marinas, wharfs, ports and marine farms provide extensive novel habitats that enable many sessile organisms to proliferate, and provide stepping-stones for the spread of many pests (Ruiz et al 2009). There is a need for costefficient and acceptable alternatives
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