Invasive portunid crabs in Libyan waters: first record of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 and range expansion of the swimming blue crab Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775)

Abdulrraziq Abdulrraziq,Bruno Zava,Alan Deidun,Sami Ibrahim,Abdulghani Abdulghan,Paola Gianguzza,Maria Corsini-Foka,Sara Al Mabruk,Danilo Scannella

doi:10.3391/bir.2021.10.4.13

Abstract

Invasive portunid crabs in Libyan waters: first record of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 and range expansion of the swimming blue crab Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775)

Highlights

The invasion by non-indigenous species (NIS, known as non-native, alien, allochthonous or exotic organisms) in the Mediterranean Sea is often listed among the components of a deleterious cocktail to biodiversity, ecosystem services and public health (Coll et al 2010; Katsanevakis et al 2014)
The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 and the lessepsian blue swimming crab Portunus segnis (Forskål, 1775) are listed among the worst invasive species introduced into the Mediterranean (Streftaris and Zenetos 2006)
Data on the portunid C. sapidus and P. segnis were obtained through direct liaison by the authors with professional and recreational fishers and through photos submitted to the citizen science platform for Libyan waters called “Marine Biology in Libya”

Summary

Introduction

The invasion by non-indigenous species (NIS, known as non-native, alien, allochthonous or exotic organisms) in the Mediterranean Sea is often listed among the components of a deleterious cocktail to biodiversity, ecosystem services and public health (Coll et al 2010; Katsanevakis et al 2014). The Atlantic blue crab was first detected in the north Adriatic Sea at the end of the 1940s, introduced probably via ballast waters and/or for aquaculture purposes (Galil 2011; Nehring 2011; Mancinelli et al 2017a; Kampouris et al 2020). To date, this crab has been recorded from almost the entire Mediterranean basin, except for a few regions, including the coast of Libya (Falsone et al 2020; Shaiek et al 2021; Mancinelli et al 2021)

Methods

Results

Conclusion