Distribution and spread of spiny-cheek crayfish Orconectes limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) in Belarus

Anatoly Aklehnovich,Vladimir Razlutskij

doi:10.3391/bir.2013.2.3.08

Abstract

The spiny-cheek crayfish Orconectes limosus was registered for the first time in the Neman River and its tributaries, in the Grodno region, Belarus in 1997. The crayfish spread upstream from Grodno over the next 14 years, migrating 177 km along the course of the Neman River. Today spiny-cheek crayfish are recorded in 8 rivers including the Neman, Narew and Western Bug basins. We never found native crayfish species together with spiny-cheek crayfish during our surveys, which may indicate replacement of native species by invasive O. limosus in the studied area.

Highlights

The spiny-cheek crayfish, Orconectes limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) is native to North America, and widely distributed throughout Atlantic watersheds (Hamr 2002)
O. limosus was introduced to Europe in 1890 and is recorded from 21 countries, including countries neighboring Belarus, such as Poland and Lithuania (Holdich et al 2006; Holdich and Black 2007)
There are two native species of crayfish in the waters of Belarus, namely the noble crayfish A. astacus, which has been a protected species for more than 30 years in the Republic of Belarus and listed as a “Vulnerable Species” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened species, and the more prolific and widespread, narrow-clawed crayfish Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823), which is listed as a species of “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List

Summary

Introduction

The spiny-cheek crayfish, Orconectes limosus (Rafinesque, 1817) is native to North America, and widely distributed throughout Atlantic watersheds (Hamr 2002). Orconectes limosus was first recorded in Belarus in 1997, most likely as a canal-mediated invasion from Poland (Alekhnovich et al 1999). The distribution and spread of Orconectes limosus in the Neman River, Narew River and the Western Bug River was analyzed during the period 1997–2011 using both unpublished and published data (Appendix 1).

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Conclusion