- 1Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Ecogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques, LECOB, F-66650, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
- 2Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Biologie Intégrative des Organismes Marins, BIOM, F-66650, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
- 3Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls-sur-Mer, OOB, F-66650, Banyuls-sur-Mer, France
- 4Department of Biology, Zaporizhzhia National University, Zhukovskogo 66, Zhaporizhzhia 69063, Ukraine
The American blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), a species that has been reported sporadically in Europe for over a century, began proliferating in the Mediterranean in 2016, first in Spain (Ebro Delta), then in 2017 in France in the Canet-en-Roussillon lagoon (Pyrénées-Orientales) before spreading to a large part of the Mediterranean. Several areas in France (Etang de Berre, Corsica, etc.) and abroad (Italy, Croatia, etc.) are now under pressure from this species, which is destabilising coastal ecosystems and affecting fisheries.
To gain a better understanding of the reasons for this proliferation, in 2023 and 2024 we conducted a multifactorial study of the biology of this species, funded by the French government, the Occitanie Region and the Syndicat Mixte du Bassin Versant du Réart. The various factors studied were:
- characterisation of the life cycle of the blue crab by studying its larval development, determining its period of reproduction and recruitment of juveniles;
- estimating the blue crab's physiological tolerance to variations in temperature, salinity and oxygen concentration;
- characterisation of the food web using an isotopic approach and the analysis of digestive contents;
- inventory and potential impact of parasites and comparison with the native species (Carcinus aestuarii);
- assessment of the impact of the blue crab on the benthic communities of the étang de Canet.
The results presented will enable us to better anticipate the impact of the blue crab on the benthic communities of the pond.
How to cite: Hourdez, S., Desdevises, Y., Romans, P., Magnanou, E., Charles, F., Sarabeev, V., and Labrune, C.: Multifactorial study of the invasive blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) in the Canet-Saint-Nazaire lagoon (Pyrénées-Orientales), One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-514, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-514, 2025.
