ROUNDTABLE SESSION 3: PHYLOGENY OF EUROPEAN CRAYFISH – IMPROVING THE TAXONOMY OF EUROPEAN CRAYFISH FOR A BETTER CONSERVATION

Abstract

This paper summarizes the various themes discussed in a roundtable session on the uses and usefulness of genetics for conservation of our European crayfish heritage. After reviewing the importance of characterizing the different genetic stocks (ESU: Evolutionary Significant Units) of a species, where morphological criteria used for taxonomy, are utilizable with caution, the present state of knowledge of the phylogeny of European species was determined, in particular for the genus Austropotamobius which occupies most studies. There was a lively debate on the elevation to species rank of A. italicus. The status of knowledge of the taxonomy of Astacus astacus has been presented. Finally, given a major increase in works describing the genetic variability of natural populations of European crayfish, it was evident that an up to date inventory of the different research teams in this field should be developed, for several reasons – (i) to describe these teams and their managers (thus facilitating contact) (ii) to list the species studied and the markers used (iii) to give some recommendations on standardizing the use of certain markers or genes so as to allow comparison between the results collected by the various teams, and to apply them on a broader geographic scale.

Keywords

• conservation genetics
• taxonomy
• Austropotamobius pallipes
• Astacus astacus