Can morphological characters be used to identify the pond-reared offspring of wild Chinese mitten crabs, Eriocheir sinensis, from different basins?

Abstract Although morphology is always used to distinguish wild Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) populations, whether morphology could be used to identify the pond-reared offspring of wild E. sinensis populations has remained unclear. This study was undertaken to examine the morphological difference of wild E. sinensis (G0) from the Yangtze River (YR), Huang River (HR) and Liao River (LR) as well as their pond-reared offspring (G1). The results showed that: (1) The amount of significantly different parameters of three G1 populations was evidently less than that of three G0 populations; (2) G0 and G1 individuals of each population were clearly separated by principal component analysis, furthermore, three G0 populations were clearly separated while three G1 populations were not well distinguished from each other; (3) discrimination accuracy of G1 individuals in stepwise discriminant analysis was obviously lower than that of G1 populations; (4) G0 and G1 populations were clustered into two separate clusters in the cluster analysis. In conclusion, morphological differences between wild E. sinensis populations had disappeared after one generation of artificial culture, and morphology thus probably cannot be used to distinguish the pond-reared offspring originated from three wild E. sinensis populations.

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Mechanics of Locomotion Energetics in Chinese Mitten Crab Eriocheir sinensis Milne-Edwards

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.461.247 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 461 ◽

pp. 247-253

Author(s):

Xiao Dong Zhang ◽

Jian Qiao Li ◽

Han Huang ◽

Meng Zou

Keyword(s):

Energy Recovery ◽

High Speed ◽

Mechanical Energy ◽

Video Recording ◽

Gait Pattern ◽

Eriocheir Sinensis ◽

Chinese Mitten Crab ◽

Flat Terrain ◽

Mitten Crab ◽

Mitten Crabs

The study on the locomotion mechanism in laboratory has defined performance limits for animals presently. But it is more significant for investigating mechanics of animals in their free state. In order to study the locomotion properties of Chinese mitten crabs Eriocheir sinensis Milne-Edwards on one flat terrain and four kinds of rough terrains, a high speed 3-D video recording system was used to record motion video images of crabs. The gait pattern, average speeds, the mechanical energy of the mass center and percentage energy recovery were investigated with motion analysis system. The results showed that Chinese mitten crabs used alternating tetrapod gait on flat terrain and with increasing of terrain roughness, the regularity of gait tend to be less conspicuous. Crabs used two fundamental models of energy exchanging patterns: the inverted pendulum gait and the bouncing gait and the bouncing gait was the main energy saving and conserving pattern. Keywords-biomechanics, Chinese mitten crab, rough terrain, gait, mechanical energy, percentage energy recovery

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Changes in condition and in carapace length and width of the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis H. Milne Edwards, 1853) harvested in the Odra River estuary in 1999-2007

Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies ◽

10.2478/v10009-010-0017-5 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Przemysław Czerniejewski

Keyword(s):

Carapace Length ◽

River Estuary ◽

Eriocheir Sinensis ◽

Chinese Mitten Crab ◽

Mitten Crab ◽

Mitten Crabs ◽

Odra River

Changes in condition and in carapace length and width of the Chinese mitten crab (Carapace length and width as well as condition were analysed in 2336 Chinese mitten crabs,

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First indication of Japanese mitten crabs in Europe and cryptic genetic diversity of invasive Chinese mitten crabs

NeoBiota ◽

10.3897/neobiota.50.34881 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 ◽

pp. 1-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sarah Hayer ◽

Dirk Brandis ◽

Günther B. Hartl ◽

Christine Ewers-Saucedo

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Sequence Data ◽

Eriocheir Sinensis ◽

Source Population ◽

Rapid Adaptation ◽

Chinese Mitten Crab ◽

Introduced Range ◽

Mitten Crab ◽

Mitten Crabs ◽

Coi Sequences

The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is a prominent aquatic invader with substantial negative economic and environmental impacts. The aim of the present study was to re-evaluate the genetic diversity of mitten crabs throughout their native and invaded ranges based on publicly available sequence data, and assess if multiple introductions or rapid adaptation could be responsible for biologically divergent mitten crabs in Northern Europe. We assembled available genetic data of a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit one gene (COI) for all species of the genus Eriocheir. We applied phylogenetic and population genetic analyses to compare native and invasive populations, and to identify possible source populations. The phylogenetic reconstruction revealed that five COI sequences from Europe, morphologically identified as Chinese mitten crab, actually belong to the Japanese mitten crab (Eriocheir japonica), representing the first indication of its presence in European waters. All other COI sequences from Europe could unambiguously be assigned to the Chinese mitten crab. In some Northern German populations of Chinese mitten crabs, genetic diversity was surprisingly high, due to seven unique haplotypes encoding several amino acid substitutions. This diversity may reflect a cryptic introduction from an unsampled native location, or rapid adaptation in the invaded range. Based on the genetic diversity shared between native and introduced range, Feiyunjiang, a tributary of the Yangtze River, emerges as a plausible source population for the original introduction of Chinese mitten crabs to Europe. This study highlights the complex and dynamic invasion processes of mitten crabs in Europe. We urge to further monitor mitten crab invasions using genetic tools.

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