Ecology and biology of Callinectes sapidus in the Northern Adriatic Sea: could the small spatial scale explain its outbreak?

The Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is among the 100 worst invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea, causing significant ecological and economic impacts. The aim of this study is to investigate key aspects of the species’ biology and ecology during its demographic outbreak in a Northern Adriatic area significantly affected by the species’ invasion. Year-round sampling was carried out across a short spatial gradient encompassing lagoon, estuarine, and marine habitats. This comprehensive approach aimed to elucidate the invasive success of the blue crab. Our findings shows that the species resulted widely distributed across all habitat types, with significant differences among stations, seasons, and sexes, with females being prevalent in higher salinity marine and outer lagoon waters during spawning season. These findings, along with the spatiotemporal analyses of the condition factor and the presence in the lagoon of various cohorts of juveniles over the year, highlight the completion of the complex life cycle of the blue crab on an extremely small spatial scale. Moreover, with an average of over 2 million eggs laid per female and a prolonged spawning season, the species reveals a robust reproductive potential, likely favoured by the short distance between mating and spawning habitats. In conclusion, the results of this study underscore the critical role of the short spatial environmental mosaic in facilitating the invasive success of C. sapidus, providing relevant data for managing this unprecedented demographic explosion.