Diet of the Invasive Atlantic Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Decapoda, Portunidae) in the Guadalquivir Estuary (Spain)

Abstract

The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Decapoda, Portunidae) Rathbun, 1896 is native to the east coasts of North and South America and has recently expanded its distribution in the non-native range into the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Iberian Peninsula, Europe). Considering the impacts caused by this invasive species in numerous estuarine ecosystems and its generalist feeding behavior, this study aims to provide the first account of the Atlantic blue crab diet on the East Atlantic coast. We studied the species’ feeding habits using stomach content analyses to predict food web interactions and putative impacts. Samples were obtained in the Guadalquivir estuary (SW Spain, Europe), which was colonized in 2017. The main food items identified on their stomach were, fish (49.9%), mollusks (44.4%) and crabs (32.3%). They also consumed plant material (27.2%), and the sediment (32.3%) in their digestive tract was likely the result of secondary ingestion. The Atlantic blue crab exhibited the same omnivorous behavior as in the native area. There was no sexual variation in diet composition or feeding activity in general, but there was a seasonal variation in the diet composition of females. The decrease of the caramote prawn Penaeus kerathurus (Forskål 1775) observed in the Guadalquivir estuary since 2021 is likely not due to the Atlantic blue crab because they seldomly eat this prey. Overall, our study provides clear baseline information to expand the knowledge about the ecological roles of the Atlantic blue crab in non-native ecosystems.