AFROBIV

Project
Effects of the parasitic pea crab Afropinnotheres monodi Manning, 1993, on commercial bivalve species of the Iberian Peninsula
(AFROBIV)(CGL2014-53557).
Main Researcher: Pilar Drake
Funding: Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad - Plan Nacional I+D+i & FEDER
Duration: 2015 - 2018

Objectives

About 300 species of small marine decapoda brachyurans (pea crabs) belong to the Pinnotheridae family. They live as symbionts of other invertebrates, frequently in the mantle cavity of bivalve molluscs. Together with the negative effects that these crabs cause to their bivalve hosts, their presence in the shell cavity of molluscs may cause the consumer rejection when shellfish are commercialized in fresh. These parasitic guests can also be intermediate hosts of pathogen organisms for the bivalves that they parasitize. The pinnotherid Afropinnotheres monodi is an African species described in 1993 based on eleven free-living specimens collected in Mauritania and Morocco. The specie has been recently collected in the Gulf of Cádiz (Subida et al. 2011) and the only available information on their distribution, biology and behaviour is from this area (Drake et al. 2014). Namely, the species has been collected in several locations of Cádiz and Huelva (Spain), and of the South of Portugal, inhabiting in different bivalve species (Cerastoderma glaucum/edule, Chamelea gallina, Crassostrea angulata, Donax trunculus, Mactra stultorum, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Scrobicularia plana, Spisula solida, and Venerupis decussata). Although their prevalence is variable, until a 70% of infestation has been found in the cockle (C. glaucum/edule) and mussel (M. galloprovincialis). The scarce available information suggests that the presence of this pea crab in the mantle cavity of the bivalves affects to their hosts negatively. Taken into account the limited knowledge of A. monodi biology, its negative impact on its hosts, as well as its quick and successful expansion, high number of host species and high prevalence in the Gulf of Cádiz, the main objective of the project is to ascertain the effect of A. monodi on commercial bivalve species from the Iberian Penninsula. The study will be mainly focused on mussel and cockle, because they are the two species with the highest infestation level, and, in the case of the first, with a remarkable aquaculture production. The project was integrated for two different approaches: (1) histo-pathologic studies of bivalve hosts to ascertain the pea crab effects on their hosts: a zoo-sanitary map of the main pathologies of M. galloprovincialis and C. edule/glaucum, with special attention to the presence of Marteilia spp., will be built for the gulf of Cadiz (characterization, distribution and prevalence of each pathology) and the association between bivalve pathologies and the presence of the pea crab analysed. (2) The distribution of A. monodi in the gulf of Cádiz, as well as outside their currently known boundaries (South of Portugal and Strait of Gibraltar), will be studied in order to monitoring its expansion process and to ascertain the environmental conditions of the habitats which are successfully colonised by the species. Additionally, it will be carry out experimental essays of those aspects of the pea crab biology that contribute to its reproductive success and dispersive capacity (life cycle, fecundity, optima of temperature and salinity) in order to forecast the future pattern of expansion of this species in the Iberian Peninsula.

Project outputs and related papers

GONZÁLEZ-ORTEGÓN E, PEREZ-MIGUEL M, NAVAS JI, DRAKE P & CUESTA JA (2021-Corrected Proofs) Isotopic niche provides an insight into the ecology of a symbiont during its geographic expansion. Current Zoology, zoab013

PEREZ-MIGUEL M, DRAKE P & CUESTA JA  (2020) Temperature effect on the African pea crab Afropinnotheres monodi: Embryonic and larval developments, fecundity and adult survival. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 527: 151380.

CUESTA JA, PEREZ-MIGUEL M, GONZÁLEZ-ORTEGÓN E, ROQUE D & DRAKE P (2020) The prevalence of the pea crab Afropinnotheres monodi in mussels depending on the degree of habitat exposure: implications for mussel culture. Aquaculture, 520: 734772.

PEREZ-MIGUEL M, GONZÁLEZ-ORTEGÓN E, DRAKE P, NAVAS JI & CUESTA JA (2019) Temperature and salinity tolerance of the larval stages of the African pea crab Afropinnotheres monodi Manning, 1993: implications for its dispersal along European waters.  Aquatic Invasions,14(2): 397-411.

CUESTA JA, GARCÍA RASO JE, ABELLÓ P, MARCO-HERRERO E, SILVA L & DRAKE P (2019) A new species of pea crab from south-western Europe (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura): species description, geographical distribution and population structure with an identification key to European Pinnotheridae. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 99(5): 1141-1152

PEREZ-MIGUEL M, DRAKE P, GARCIA RASO JE, MAMAN MENÉNDEZ L, NAVAS JI & CUESTA JA (2019) European Pinnotheridae (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura): Species, Distribution, Host use and DNA barcodes. Marine Biodiversity,  49(1): 57-68.

TRIAY-PORTELLA R, PEREZ-MIGUEL M, GONZÁLEZ JA & CUESTA JA (2018) On the presence of Pinnotheres pisum (Brachyura, Pinnotheridae) in the Canary Islands (NE Atlantic), its southernmost distribution limit. Crustaceana, 91(11): 1397-1402.

PEREZ-MIGUEL M, CUESTA JA, NAVAS JI, GARCÍA RASO JE & DRAKE P (2018) The prevalence and eﬀects of the African pea crab Afropinnotheres monodi on the condition of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the cockle Cerastoderma edule. Aquaculture, 491(1): 1-9.

MARCO-HERRERO E, DRAKE P & CUESTA JA (2018) Larval morphology and DNA barcodes as valuable tools in early detection of marine invaders: a new pea crab found in European waters. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom,  98(7): 1675-1683.

MARCO-HERRERO E, DRAKE P, GONZALEZ-GORDILLO JI & CUESTA JA  (2016) Larval development of the pea crab Afropinnotheres monodi Manning, 1993 (Decapoda, Pinnotheridae) using plankton-collected and laboratory-reared specimens: Effects of temperature. Marine Biology Research, 12(1): 43-55.

DRAKE P, MARCO-HERRERO E, SUBIDA MD, ARIAS AM & CUESTA JA (2014) Host use pattern of the pea crab Afropinnotheres monodi: potential effects on its reproductive success and geographical expansion. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 498: 203-215.

SUBIDA MD, ARIAS AM, DRAKE P, GARCIA RASO JE, RODRÍGUEZ A & CUESTA JA (2011) On the occurrence of Afropinnotheres monodi Manning, 1993 (Decapoda: Pinnotheridae) in European waters. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 31: 371-373.