Preprint Article Version 1 This version is not peer-reviewed

Abundance, Size Structure, and Growth of the Invasive Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus in the Lesina Lagoon, Southern Adriatic Sea

Giorgio Mancinelli
,
Nicola Lago
,
Tommaso Scirocco
,
Oscar Antonio Lillo
,
Raffaele De Giorgi
,
Lorenzo Doria
,
Emanuele Mancini
,
Francesco Mancini
,
Luigi Potenza
,
and Lucrezia Cilenti
*
Version 1 : Received: 30 September 2024 / Approved: 1 October 2024 / Online: 1 October 2024 (05:11:59 CEST)

How to cite: Mancinelli, G.; Lago, N.; Scirocco, T.; Lillo, O. A.; Giorgi, R. D.; Doria, L.; Mancini, E.; Mancini, F.; Potenza, L.; Cilenti, A. L. Abundance, Size Structure, and Growth of the Invasive Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus in the Lesina Lagoon, Southern Adriatic Sea. Preprints 2024, 2024100018. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0018.v1 Mancinelli, G.; Lago, N.; Scirocco, T.; Lillo, O. A.; Giorgi, R. D.; Doria, L.; Mancini, E.; Mancini, F.; Potenza, L.; Cilenti, A. L. Abundance, Size Structure, and Growth of the Invasive Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus in the Lesina Lagoon, Southern Adriatic Sea. Preprints 2024, 2024100018. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.0018.v1

Abstract

The fishery biology of the invasive Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus in the Mediterranean Sea outside the eastern sectors of the basin has been only recently investigated. Here we studied the population of C. sapidus in the Lesina Lagoon (Adriatic Sea, SE Italy). In total, 838 crabs were captured monthly between February 2021 and January 2022 using fyke nets. Abundances varied seasonally with catches per unit effort ranging between 0 and 1.76 crabs fyke nets-1 d-1 in winter and summer. Spatial abundances estimated in summer by a Carle-Strub procedure ranged between 0.06 and 0.64 crabs m-2. Sex ratio (♂/♀) was close to 1:1; males prevailed only in August and September; ovigerous females occurred from April to August. Males’ size at morphological maturity was smaller than females (110.6-112.3 mm vs. 122.1-123.1 mm). Seasonal von Bertalanffy growth parameters indicated that, compared with males, females showed a shorter maximum lifespan (5 vs. 8 years), a higher growth coefficient K (0.6 vs. 0.4 y-1) and growth performance index ' (4.6 vs. 4.3), while maximum sizes CW∞ (237.8 vs. 232.6 mm) and seasonality indices C (0.62 vs. 0.57) were similar. Furthermore, females showed higher natural and fishing mortalities and exploitation rate. We discussed the results of the present study in the context of the available literature to provide a valuable basis for the implementation of standardised Mediterranean-scale management plans, matching exploitation of C. sapidus with sustainable conservation of coastal ecosystems.

Keywords

invasive species; fishery biology; CPUE; sex ratio; size structure; morphological maturity; growth dynamics; Mediterranean Sea

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Aquatic Science

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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