2023-11-03 22:15:48
European crayfish species are a clear example of the drastic decline that freshwater species are suffering. Specifically, the Iberian crab is listed as “in danger of extinction” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and appears in Annex II of the Habitats Directive of the European Union as a species that requires special attention. .
A team of researchers at the Royal Botanical Garden (RJB) and the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN), both attached to the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), in Spain all of these entities, has analyzed the genetic diversity of the crab. native Iberian river (Austropotamobius pallipes).
The research, which represents the largest study of the species carried out to date in Europe, has not only allowed us to unravel and understand the evolutionary history of this crab, but also alerts us to the need to adopt conservation strategies.
The authors of the study have analyzed more than 1,200 samples from populations representative of the distribution of this species in southern and central Europe, including Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia.
“We have generated an extensive data set, focusing on two highly informative regions of mitochondrial DNA in selected crab populations within their geographic distribution range. The data collected has allowed us to carry out a detailed analysis of its genetic diversity and population structure, in addition to knowing the divergence times in three evolutionary scenarios,” says María Martínez-Ríos, researcher at the RJB.
Three specimens from different populations of Iberian crab. (Image: Javier Diéguez-Uribeondo / RJB / CSIC)
The results of the study highlight the existence of high levels of genetic diversity and reveal a complex and structured geographical structure in the populations of the native crayfish in the Iberian Peninsula. According to Martínez-Ríos, “the diversity discovered includes unique varieties (haplotypes) and reveals that most of the genetic variability of this species is concentrated in the northern and central-eastern regions of the Iberian Peninsula.”
The research relates the origin of the Iberian crab to paleogeographic events during the Pleistocene, and indicates that the hypothesis of an introduced origin of the Iberian crab is unlikely. In this regard, Annie Machordom, MNCN researcher, argues: “Although there had been a specific introduction of specimens from other regions, the genetic variants and their structured geographical distribution clearly point to a local origin.”
“The results obtained include populations of this species resistant to aphanomycosis or crab plague and allow us to better understand the genetic variety, structural patterns and evolutionary history of the crab in the Iberian Peninsula, which is crucial for management needs. and conservation of this endangered species,” indicates RJB researcher Javier Diéguez-Uribeondo.
The study is titled “On the conservation of white-clawed crayfish in the Iberian Peninsula: Unraveling its genetic diversity and structure, and origin. And it has been published in the academic journal PLoS ONE. (Source: RJB / MNCN / CSIC)
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