Does Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) represent a threat for estuarine and lagoonal ecosystems of northeastern adiatic coast (Italy)

The ongoing expansion of P. clarkii in the aquatic environments of northern Italy, where it is very common and abundant in most of the streams, lakes and reservoirs, led us to worry about the possibility of invasion into the estuarine and lagoonal brackish environments of the Adriatic coast, which is important not only for their peculiar fauna and flora and high biodiversity, but also for fishing and aquaculture. We carried out laboratory tests to investigate whether this species could live, moult and breed in water with different salinity levels. Several stocks of adult individuals, acclimated before the laboratory experiments, were maintained and monitored daily for a long period (100 days) in glass aquaria with water salinity varying from 5 to 33 ppt. They not only survived during the whole experiment period in levels up to 25 ppt, but also they regularly moulted and mated. These results confirmed that the species could invade the estuarine and brackish environments of the Adriatic coast, with all the implied consequences for the native species of both vertebrates and invertebrates and for human livelihoods.