An individual-based dataset of carbon and nitrogen isotopic data of Callinectessapidus in invaded Mediterranean waters.

Cristina Di Muri,George Katselis,Silvia Falco,Luka Glamuzina,Kosmas Kevrekidis,Salvatrice Vizzini,Daniel Li Veli,Ilaria Rosati,Lucrezia Cilenti,Giorgio Mancinelli,Roberta Bardelli

doi:10.3897/bdj.10.e77516

Abstract

BackgroundThe characterisation of functional traits of non-indigenous and invasive species is crucial to assess their impact within invaded habitats. Successful biological invasions are often facilitated by the generalist diet of the invaders which can modify their trophic position and adapt to new ecosystems determining changes in their structure and functioning. Invasive crustaceans are an illustrative example of such mechanisms since their trophic habits can determine important ecological impacts on aquatic food webs. The Atlantic blue crab Callinectessapidus is currently established and considered invasive in the Mediterranean Sea where it has been recorded for the first time between 1947 and 1949. In the last decade, the blue crab colonised most of the eastern and central Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea and it is currently widening its distribution towards the western region of the basin.New informationStable isotope analysis is increasingly used to investigate the trophic habits of invasive marine species. Here, we collated individual measures of the blue crab δ13C and δ15N values and of its potential invertebrate prey into a geo-referenced dataset. The dataset includes 360 records with 236 isotopic values of the blue crab and 224 isotopic data of potential prey collected from five countries and 12 locations between 2014 and 2019. This dataset allows the estimation of the trophic position of the blue crab within a variety of invaded ecosystems, as well as advanced quantitative comparisons of the main features of its isotopic niche.

Highlights

The dataset includes 360 records with 236 isotopic values of the blue crab and 224 isotopic data of potential prey collected from five countries and 12 locations between 2014 and 2019. This dataset allows the estimation of the trophic position of the blue crab within a variety of invaded ecosystems, as well as advanced quantitative comparisons of the main features of its isotopic niche
The concern about the impacts of non-indigenous species (NIS) has grown steeply over the past half-century (David et al 2017), and a large amount of evidence suggests that NIS can alter the structure of natural communities and the integrity of ecosystems causing substantial ecological, economic, and cultural losses, especially in case they become invasive (Invasive Alien Species, IAS hereafter; Anton et al 2019, see Thomsen 2020)
The Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896) is considered one of the worst invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea owing to its impact on local biodiversity, fisheries, and aquaculture (Streftaris and Zenetos 2006)

Summary

Background

The characterisation of functional traits of non-indigenous and invasive species is crucial to assess their impact within invaded habitats. The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus is currently established and considered invasive in the Mediterranean Sea where it has been recorded for the first time between 1947 and 1949. The dataset includes 360 records with 236 isotopic values of the blue crab and 224 isotopic data of potential prey collected from five countries and 12 locations between 2014 and 2019. This dataset allows the estimation of the trophic position of the blue crab within a variety of invaded ecosystems, as well as advanced quantitative comparisons of the main features of its isotopic niche. Atlantic blue crab, transitional water, stable isotope, trophic position, isotopic niche

Introduction

Sampling methods