Abstract：
The crayfish plague, a severe disease caused by the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci, is responsible for most population declines of susceptible crayfish in Europe. This pathogen has been devastating native populations of Austropotamobius pallipes since the 1970s in the Iberian Peninsula. In this study, we report a massive mortality event in one of the most important Spanish populations of A. pallipes. We aimed to: (i) identify the cause of the mortality, and (ii) evaluate the reintroduction viability of the species. Over the course of six months, we used environmental DNA (eDNA) and traditional trap-based methods to detect the presence of A. astaci or of native or invasive crayfish in order to evaluate the reintroduction viability of A. pallipes to the affected population. We did not capture any live crayfish or detect the presence of A. astaci in the reservoir water during the six months following the mass mortality event. Our analyses indicated that it was feasible to initiate a reintroduction program at the site, which will continue to be monitored for three to five years and will help improve the conservation status of A. pallipes.
摘要：
小龙虾瘟疫,一种由卵菌Aphanomycesastaci引起的严重疾病，是欧洲大多数易感小龙虾数量下降的原因。自1970年代以来，这种病原体一直在破坏伊比利亚半岛的Astropamobiuspallipes的本地种群。在这项研究中,我们报告了西班牙最重要的A.pallipes种群之一的大规模死亡事件。我们的目标是：（i）确定死亡的原因，和（ii）评估物种的重新引入生存能力。在六个月的时间里，我们使用环境DNA（eDNA）和传统的基于陷阱的方法来检测A.astaci或天然或侵入性小龙虾的存在，以评估A.palipes重新引入受影响的种群的生存能力。在大规模死亡事件发生后的六个月内，我们没有捕获任何活的小龙虾或在水库水中检测到A.astaci的存在。我们的分析表明，在现场启动重新引入计划是可行的，这将继续监测三到五年，并将有助于改善A.palipes的保护状况。
