Abstract

Information is presented on the life cycle characteristics of Austropotamobius pallipes in the Wye river system, Wales. Such information is particularly valuable (and becomes unobtainable) after the mass extinctions of many populations of A. pallipes in Europe due to crayfish plague, caused by Aphanomyces astaci. Life cycle characteristics of endemic A. pallipes populations may be different from populations built up by restocking after crayfish plague has passed, as such restocked A. pallipes populations may differ genetically from endemic populations. Knowledge of life cycle characteristics may be an aid to conservation efforts to restore A. pallipes to water bodies and it is also useful for comparing populations and influences on populations. Assessed life cycle characteristics include size at onset of sexual maturation, dates of copulation, minimum size of berried females, fecundity relationships, dates of eggs hatching and biometrical relationships between hatchlings and mothers. Life cycle characteristics of A. pallipes within the Wye river system, Wales, are compared with published work within A. pallipes’s European range. Environmental temperature seems to be a major but probably not the only influence on A. pallipes’s life cycle characteristics across its range.

Supplemental Documents

• There are no supplementary documents for this article

Cited By

Citations: