Agata Mrugala
The spread of the invasive crayfish plague pathogen, Aphanomyces astaci, in Europe: its facets and consequences
Native European crayfish species are threatened by habitat loss, deteriorating water quality, overfishing, and most importantly by non-native crayfish species and the crayfish plague, a disease caused by the oomycete Aphanomyces astaci. This pathogen is listed among 100 of the world’s worst invasive non-native species, and its accidental introduction to European freshwaters illustrates the devastating consequences that may be imposed on susceptible native fauna after pathogen emergence in formerly uninvaded regions. The spread of A. astaci is greatly facilitated by its natural hosts, North American crayfish that are equipped with efficient defence mechanisms against A. astaci, in contrast to European crayfish species. Different A. astaci vectors and introduction pathways will be introduced during the talk, including those connected with the aquarium trade. The trade of ornamental crayfish has recently increased in popularity, and its rapid growth coincides in Europe (and especially in Germany) with releases of non-native crayfish to open waters. Hence, it may also contribute to A. astaci spread to the natural environment. Furthermore, as A. astaci impact on European crayfish depends on its virulence, the underlying A. astaci diversity will also be presented. Lastly, I will briefly introduce my recently started postdoc project that aims to evaluate the impact of A. astaci infection on the performance of its crayfish hosts.
Thijs Frenken
Biological Control of Aquatic Zoosporic Diseases
Aquatic zoosporic diseases threaten global biodiversity, economic activities and act as so far neglected drivers of carbon cycling. Current means of controlling zoosporic diseases are restricted mainly to chemical treatments. However, their use in natural conditions is usually impracticable and/or harmful, or deemed ineffective in the long-term due to the development of resistance. As a result, there is a need for alternative methods capable of controlling zoosporic diseases with minimal effects on the rest of the environment. As a part of my IGB fellowship, I am currently writing a review paper, in which I am exploring potential methods of biologically controlling zoosporic diseases. To do so, I am going to integrate existing knowledge of three poorly-interconnected areas of zoosporic disease research: amphibian conservation, aquaculture and plankton ecology.
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