Abstract

The stone crayfish (Austropotamobius torrentium) is the smallest species in the family Astacidae, indigenous to central and southeastern Europe. It is threatened mainly due to various anthropogenic impacts on its habitat, and since little is known about its ecology, biology and life cycle, one of the aims of the collaborative Austro-Croatian project was to gather information about this species reproductive cycle. Research was conducted during spring and summer 2006 and 2007 at two localities in Austria and four localities in Croatia. Each female’s reproductive status was recorded (development of glair glands, number and diameter of external eggs, presence of hatched juveniles), as well as her morphometric characteristics (total length, weight, abdomen size). Twenty nine A. torrentium females were captured from two Austrian populations (of which 10.3% had activated glair glands and 34.5% were berried), and 112 from four Croatian populations (of which 12.5% had activated glair glands and 17.9% were berried). Positive significant correlations between measured female morphological characters were found, but no significant correlation between the latter and egg number was evident. A weak positive correlation between female total length and egg diameter was uncovered in Croatian populations, whilst in Austrian populations a significant negative correlation was evident between egg number and egg size. Croatian females were larger than Austrian ones, and they carry more eggs of a smaller size.

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