The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus spreading in the Tyrrhenian sea: evidence of an established population in the Stagnone di Marsala (Sicily, southern Italy)

Abstract

The blue crab Callinectes sapidus is a portunid brachyuran native of the Atlantic coasts of America. In the last decades, the species has greatly expanded its range in invaded areas, currently including the Atlantic coasts of Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea as well as the eastern Atlantic coasts of Europe from Portugal to France, Belgium, and Germany. In the present study, several specimens of C. sapidus were collected in May, June and July 2021 in the Stagnone di Marsala, a semi-enclosed basin located in the north-western coast of Sicily (southern Italy, Mediterranean Sea) characterized by low hydrodynamics and water exchange with the adjacent open sea and high salinity conditions. Juveniles at different instar stages and ovigerous females were repeatedly captured, suggesting the presence of an established population of the blue crab, despite the peculiar environmental conditions characterizing the basin. These findings are discussed in the context of the current expansion of the species along the African coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.