engleski

FECUNDITY OF INDIGENOUS STONE CRAYFISH POPULATIONS: IMPLICATIONS FOR CRAYFISH CONSERVATION IN AUSTRIA AND CROATIA

The stone crayfish (Austropotamobius torrentium) is the smallest species in Astacidae family, indigenous to the Central and South-eastern Europe. It is threatened mainly due to various anthropogenic impacts onto its habitat, and as 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 reproduction cycle. The 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 morphometrical characteristics (total length, weight, abdomen size). A total of 29 Austropotamobius torrentium females were caught from two Austrian populations (from which 10.34 % were with activated glair glands and 34.48 % were berried), and 112 from four Croatian populations (from which 12.50 % were with activated glair glands and 17.86 % were berried). Correlation between female body size and egg number and size, as well as size at maturity and time of appearance of different reproductive functions for Croatian and Austrian populations are presented in details. Based on these results implications for conservation issues for the two countries will be discussed.

Austropotamobius torrentium; reproduction; external eggs; conservation biology.

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