A single male individual of Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) was collected on 6 December 2014 in the Segura River mouth in southeastern Spain. Information on collection site, DNA barcoding, and its present distribution and dispersal strategies are provided

González-Wangüemert, Mercedes

Pujol, Juan Antonio

TURKISH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY

Universidade do Algarve

615
http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/
Turkish Journal of Zoology Turk J Zool
(2016) 40: 615-619
© TÜBİTAK
doi:10.3906/zoo-1511-23
First record of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea: Brachyura: 
Portunidae) in the Segura River mouth (Spain, southwestern Mediterranean Sea)
Mercedes GONZÁLEZ-WANGÜEMERT1,*, Juan Antonio PUJOL2
1Center of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, Gambelas, Faro, Portugal
2Torrevieja Municipality, Environmental Office, Torrevieja, Spain
* Correspondence: mwanguemert@ualg.pt
The blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 is a 
species native to the western Atlantic coasts. Its geographical 
distribution ranges from Nova Scotia in Canada down to 
northern Argentina, including Bermuda and the Antilles 
(Williams, 1974; Castriota et al., 2012). However, it started 
to spread to the Atlantic European coasts, being recorded 
in France in 1900 (Bouvier, 1901), and later northward in 
the Baltic Sea and southward along the Atlantic coasts of 
Spain and Portugal, including recent records in the Sado 
Estuary, western Portugal (Nehring, 2011; Ribeiro and 
Veríssimo, 2014). It has also been reported in the Pacific 
Ocean, colonizing Japan since 1975 and Hawaii since 1985 
(Eldredge, 1995). The first occurrence of the blue crab 
in the Mediterranean (Marina di Grado, Italy) was on 4 
October 1949 (Mizzan, 1993); later C. sapidus was reported 
in many localities from the Mediterranean and the Black 
Sea, including Israel (Holthuis and Gottlieb, 1955), Turkey 
(Holthuis, 1961; Tureli Bilen and Yesilyurt, 2014; Yağlıoğlu 
et al., 2014), Greece (Kinzelbach, 1965), northern Albania 
(Beqiraj and Kashta, 2010), southern Croatia (Onofri et 
al., 2008; Dulčić et al., 2011), northern Italy (Manfrin et al., 
2015), eastern Italy (Castriota et al., 2012), southern Italy 
(Florio et al., 2008; Mancinelli et al., 2013), northwestern 
Italy (Stasolla and Innocenti, 2014), and northeastern 
Spain (Ebro Delta) (Castejón and Guerao, 2013) (Figure 
1). Recently, a specimen of C. sapidus was found in the 
Albufera lagoon (eastern Spain, October 2014) and in 
close sites such as Gandía (May 2015), although these last 
sightings have not been confirmed formally yet (https://
cienciagandia.webs.upv.es/en/2015/07/). In Turkey, 
C. sapidus has been reported in 15 lagoonal systems, 
supporting important commercial fisheries with 46 t of 
catches in 2010 (TÜİK, 2010), although in 2013 the catches 
decreased to 3 t (TÜİK, 2013).
The species is euryhaline and inhabits estuaries and 
marine bays from 0 m to 90 m depth on muddy and 
sandy bottoms (Hill et al., 1989). In its native habitats, 
C. sapidus carries out several ecosystem functions, 
playing an important role in energy transfer within 
estuaries and lagoons (Johnson and Eggleston, 2010). 
Blue crabs are mainly omnivores, acting as dominant, 
opportunistic benthic predators and scavengers, although 
some cases of cannibalism have been also registered 
(Hill et al., 1989; Douglass et al., 2011). In addition to its 
ecological importance, the blue crab is a target species 
for commercial and recreational fisheries throughout 
its geographical distribution (Tureli Bilen and Yesilyurt, 
2014). Its settlement process in new geographical areas 
is probably favored by global climate change and/or ship 
traffic between seas; it is considered that C. sapidus was 
transferred from the Atlantic coasts of America to the 
European shores and the Mediterranean Sea by ballast 
waters of vessels (Nehring, 2011).
Considering the background of colonization of this 
invasive species, the aims of this paper are to record, for 
the first time, the occurrence C. sapidus in the Segura River 
mouth (southeastern Spain), and to discuss the potential 
geographical origin of the colonization in this area.
Abstract: A single male individual of Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) was collected on 6 December 2014 in the 
Segura River mouth in southeastern Spain. Information on collection site, DNA barcoding, and its present distribution and dispersal 
strategies are provided. 
Key words: Blue crab, invasive species, DNA barcoding, COI gene, Segura River, southeastern Spain
Received: 12.11.2015              Accepted/Published Online: 08.01.2016              Final Version: 09.06.2016
Short Communication
GONZÁLEZ-WANGÜEMERT and PUJOL / Turk J Zool
616
A single male individual of C. sapidus (Figure 2) was 
collected on 6 December 2014 in the Segura River mouth 
(38°6′37.137″N, 0°38′53.804″W) in southeastern Spain. 
Fishermen caught it by chance because it was tangled in 
a fishing line.
The Segura River covers a surface area of about 18,870 
km2. It flows through the driest region of the Iberian 
Peninsula from the northwest to the southeast over a 
distance of 325 km. At its terminal part, the mean annual 
temperature is around 18 °C and the mean annual rainfall 
is below 300 mm (Bazin et al., 2014). At the river mouth, 
the water is hyperhaline (36 psu at surface), and the area 
located 2–3 km upstream from the mouth is polyhaline 
(19–23 psu) (Bazin et al., 2014). 
The specimen was identified in situ as C. sapidus 
(Figure 2) based on its external morphology (carapace 
morphology and coloration pattern) according to 
Williams (1974). Subsequently this identification was 
confirmed using barcoding, amplifying the cytochrome c 
oxidase I (COI) gene according to the protocol of Folmer 
et al. (1994), comparing the result with the sequences 
recorded in the GenBank database using the Basic Local 
Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) available at http://www.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/. BLAST finds regions of local 
similarity between sequences. The program compares 
nucleotides to sequence databases and calculates the 
statistical significance of matches. BLAST can be used to 
infer functional and evolutionary relationships between 
sequences as well as help identify members of gene 
families. 
The individual was weighed with a digital scale with an 
accuracy of ±0.1 g, and the carapace width and length were 
measured using a caliper with ±0.1 cm of precision. The 
carapace length (distance between the tip of the frontal 
teeth and the posterior margin of the carapace) was 86 
mm, and carapace width (distance between the tips of the 
longest lateral carapace spines) was 200 mm. This size is 
close to the maximum carapace width registered for this 
species until now (225 mm), with a wet weight of 550 g 
(Mancinelli et al., 2013). The dorsal carapace surface 
was brownish-green, with small white spots scattered 
mainly on its anterior side; the ventral surface was whitish 
with blue walking legs and bright blue cheliped fingers 
(Williams, 1974).
The amplification of the COI mitochondrial gene, a 
sequence 634 bp in length, and the BLAST in GenBank 
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) identified the specimen 
from the Segura River mouth as Callinectes sapidus with 
a 99% maximum identity with JX123452 (specimen from 
São Paulo, Brazil), showing only one mutation at position 
Figure 1. Locations and years (black stars) of previous records of blue crab in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. (Marina di Grado 
1949: Mizzan, 1993; Hadera 1955: Holthuis and Gottlieb, 1955; Akyatan 1961: Holthuis, 1961; Porto Lagos 1965: Kinzelbach, 1965; 
Ston 2008: Onofri et al., 2008; Lesina 2008: Florio et al., 2008; Patok 2009: Beqiraj and Kashta, 2010; Yumurtalık 2010: Tureli Bilen 
and Yesilyurt, 2014; Silvi 2011: Castriota et al., 2012; Montecristo 2013 and Metaponto 2013: Stasolla and Innocenti, 2014; San 
Carlos de la Ràpita 2012: Castejón and Guerao, 2013; Akçakoca 2013 and Ereğli 2013: Yağlıoğlu et al., 2014; Gandía 2014: https://
cienciagandia.webs.upv.es/en/2015/07/; Sacca di Goro 2015: Manfrin, 2015). White stars indicate records of C. sapidus in the Black 
Sea from 1968 to 2012 (see references in Yağlıoğlu et al., 2014). Black circle shows the location of the Segura River mouth (SE Spain) 
where C. sapidus was registered (present work).
GONZÁLEZ-WANGÜEMERT and PUJOL / Turk J Zool
617
269 (632 bp were compared, 631 bp were identical), and 
with JQ435813 (specimen from Romania), having two 
mutations at positions 11 and 611 (625 bp were compared, 
623 bp were identical). Therefore, the specimen from the 
Segura River showed a different haplotype, which was 
recorded in GenBank as KT282079.
The blue crab is a species that shows high tolerance to 
extreme variations in water conditions (temperature and 
salinity), high fecundity (females produce 2 to 8 million 
eggs per spawn; Jivoff et al., 2007), large body size, and 
aggressive behavior competing with other crabs for food 
and space (Mancinelli et al., 2013); all these features allow 
its invasive success (Nehring, 2011). The Segura River 
mouth harbors the right conditions for the settlement 
and spread of this invasive species with available food 
resources, right temperature and salinity ranges, and 
suitable habitat to provide refuge for its larvae. It has been 
described that blue crab growth is strongly temperature-
dependent, with growth ceasing below temperatures of 
approximately 11 °C. Therefore, this species could grow 
year-round in the Segura River mouth, considering the 
temperatures described by Bazin et al. (2014) (minimum 
temperatures around 11.6 °C). The presence of seaweeds 
in this area also favors the settlement of C. sapidus larvae 
and juveniles: the sea grass meadows and macroalgal beds 
are considered critical nursery habitats for this invasive 
species, though its habitat preferences change with age, 
size, and sex (Hines, 2007; Castejón and Guerao, 2014).
The origin of the C. sapidus individual found in the 
Segura River is uncertain, but there are several factors 
that could explain the presence of this specimen. First, 
it is important to consider that adults are excellent 
swimmers and migrate from seawater to rivers and vice 
versa at different stages of their life cycle. Several studies 
established a high mobility of male adults (averaging 24 
m/h in channel areas), this speed being even higher in 
inseminated females that migrate long distances into 
high salinity areas to incubate the eggs (Hines et al., 
1995; Castriota et al., 2012 and references therein). The 
species also shows great larval dispersal ability. It has been 
described that the C. sapidus larval development occurs in 
30–50 days; during this period the larvae remain in surface 
waters and may be transported considerable distances 
(30 to 80 km) (Olmi, 1994). Therefore, the individual 
found in the Segura River could be the result of a direct 
dispersal of larvae or adults from any close population of 
C. sapidus. Recently individuals of this species were also 
recorded in Gandía and Albufera, both located close to 
Guardamar (eastern Spain; https://cienciagandia.webs.
upv.es/en/tema/crab/), which would imply that C. sapidus 
is creating permanent populations in this area such as it 
was registered in other regions from the Mediterranean 
Sea (Mancinelli et al., 2013). The indirect dispersal of C. 
sapidus larvae in ballast waters or on hulls of fishery and 
recreational vessels from stable populations in the central 
Mediterranean Sea (Mancinelli et al., 2013) or western 
European coasts (Ribeiro and Veríssimo, 2014) must also 
be considered. Very close to the location where the C. 
sapidus was found, there are the fishing port of Guardamar 
del Segura (SE Spain) and a large harbor for recreational 
craft (Marina de las Dunas, Guardamar, SE Spain; http://
www.marinadunas.es/marina-de-las-dunas/) with 500 
berths that can shelter ships of 15 m in length.
The introduction of blue crabs can have significant 
and negative consequences to the ecology of the invaded 
environments. C. sapidus has been defined as a highly 
aggressive species and was selected among the 100 worst 
invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea with impact on 
both biodiversity and economy (Streftaris and Zenetos, 
2006; Castejón and Guerao, 2013). Further studies on 
this region (SE Spain), monitoring the presence of this 
invasive species and assessing its potential dispersal, will 
provide valuable information on population structure and 
dynamics of the blue crab on the Spanish coast. These data 
Figure 2. Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, adult male (A: 
dorsal view; B: ventral view) from the Segura River, SE Spain.
GONZÁLEZ-WANGÜEMERT and PUJOL / Turk J Zool
618
would be useful for further management of this invasive 
species.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Juan Manuel Baños 
Abellán, Alejandro Baños Campillo, and Manuel A 
Sánchez Torregrosa, fishermen from Torrevieja, for 
catching the crab and providing valuable information. 
Special thanks to the referees for their valuable comments 
and suggestions. Dr Mercedes González-Wangüemert was 
supported by the FCT Investigator Programme-Career 
Development (IF/00998/2014).
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First record of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea: Brachyura: Portunidae) in the Segura River mouth (Spain, southwestern Mediterranean Sea)

Mercedes GONZÁLEZ-WANGÜEMERT

Juan Antonio PUJOL

Crossref

Sapientia (Univ. do Algarve)

615http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/Turkish Journal of Zoology Turk J Zool(2016) 40: 615-619© TÜBİTAKdoi:10.3906/zoo-1511-23First record of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea: Brachyura: Portunidae) in the Segura River mouth (Spain, southwestern Mediterranean Sea)Mercedes GONZÁLEZ-WANGÜEMERT1,*, Juan Antonio PUJOL21Center of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, Gambelas, Faro, Portugal2Torrevieja Municipality, Environmental Office, Torrevieja, Spain* Correspondence: mwanguemert@ualg.ptThe blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 is a species native to the western Atlantic coasts. Its geographical distribution ranges from Nova Scotia in Canada down to northern Argentina, including Bermuda and the Antilles (Williams, 1974; Castriota et al., 2012). However, it started to spread to the Atlantic European coasts, being recorded in France in 1900 (Bouvier, 1901), and later northward in the Baltic Sea and southward along the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal, including recent records in the Sado Estuary, western Portugal (Nehring, 2011; Ribeiro and Veríssimo, 2014). It has also been reported in the Pacific Ocean, colonizing Japan since 1975 and Hawaii since 1985 (Eldredge, 1995). The first occurrence of the blue crab in the Mediterranean (Marina di Grado, Italy) was on 4 October 1949 (Mizzan, 1993); later C. sapidus was reported in many localities from the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including Israel (Holthuis and Gottlieb, 1955), Turkey (Holthuis, 1961; Tureli Bilen and Yesilyurt, 2014; Yağlıoğlu et al., 2014), Greece (Kinzelbach, 1965), northern Albania (Beqiraj and Kashta, 2010), southern Croatia (Onofri et al., 2008; Dulčić et al., 2011), northern Italy (Manfrin et al., 2015), eastern Italy (Castriota et al., 2012), southern Italy (Florio et al., 2008; Mancinelli et al., 2013), northwestern Italy (Stasolla and Innocenti, 2014), and northeastern Spain (Ebro Delta) (Castejón and Guerao, 2013) (Figure 1). Recently, a specimen of C. sapidus was found in the Albufera lagoon (eastern Spain, October 2014) and in close sites such as Gandía (May 2015), although these last sightings have not been confirmed formally yet (https://cienciagandia.webs.upv.es/en/2015/07/). In Turkey, C. sapidus has been reported in 15 lagoonal systems, supporting important commercial fisheries with 46 t of catches in 2010 (TÜİK, 2010), although in 2013 the catches decreased to 3 t (TÜİK, 2013).The species is euryhaline and inhabits estuaries and marine bays from 0 m to 90 m depth on muddy and sandy bottoms (Hill et al., 1989). In its native habitats, C. sapidus carries out several ecosystem functions, playing an important role in energy transfer within estuaries and lagoons (Johnson and Eggleston, 2010). Blue crabs are mainly omnivores, acting as dominant, opportunistic benthic predators and scavengers, although some cases of cannibalism have been also registered (Hill et al., 1989; Douglass et al., 2011). In addition to its ecological importance, the blue crab is a target species for commercial and recreational fisheries throughout its geographical distribution (Tureli Bilen and Yesilyurt, 2014). Its settlement process in new geographical areas is probably favored by global climate change and/or ship traffic between seas; it is considered that C. sapidus was transferred from the Atlantic coasts of America to the European shores and the Mediterranean Sea by ballast waters of vessels (Nehring, 2011).Considering the background of colonization of this invasive species, the aims of this paper are to record, for the first time, the occurrence C. sapidus in the Segura River mouth (southeastern Spain), and to discuss the potential geographical origin of the colonization in this area.Abstract: A single male individual of Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) was collected on 6 December 2014 in the Segura River mouth in southeastern Spain. Information on collection site, DNA barcoding, and its present distribution and dispersal strategies are provided. Key words: Blue crab, invasive species, DNA barcoding, COI gene, Segura River, southeastern SpainReceived: 12.11.2015              Accepted/Published Online: 08.01.2016              Final Version: 09.06.2016Short CommunicationGONZÁLEZ-WANGÜEMERT and PUJOL / Turk J Zool616A single male individual of C. sapidus (Figure 2) was collected on 6 December 2014 in the Segura River mouth (38°6′37.137″N, 0°38′53.804″W) in southeastern Spain. Fishermen caught it by chance because it was tangled in a fishing line.The Segura River covers a surface area of about 18,870 km2. It flows through the driest region of the Iberian Peninsula from the northwest to the southeast over a distance of 325 km. At its terminal part, the mean annual temperature is around 18 °C and the mean annual rainfall is below 300 mm (Bazin et al., 2014). At the river mouth, the water is hyperhaline (36 psu at surface), and the area located 2–3 km upstream from the mouth is polyhaline (19–23 psu) (Bazin et al., 2014). The specimen was identified in situ as C. sapidus (Figure 2) based on its external morphology (carapace morphology and coloration pattern) according to Williams (1974). Subsequently this identification was confirmed using barcoding, amplifying the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene according to the protocol of Folmer et al. (1994), comparing the result with the sequences recorded in the GenBank database using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank/. BLAST finds regions of local similarity between sequences. The program compares nucleotides to sequence databases and calculates the statistical significance of matches. BLAST can be used to infer functional and evolutionary relationships between sequences as well as help identify members of gene families. The individual was weighed with a digital scale with an accuracy of ±0.1 g, and the carapace width and length were measured using a caliper with ±0.1 cm of precision. The carapace length (distance between the tip of the frontal teeth and the posterior margin of the carapace) was 86 mm, and carapace width (distance between the tips of the longest lateral carapace spines) was 200 mm. This size is close to the maximum carapace width registered for this species until now (225 mm), with a wet weight of 550 g (Mancinelli et al., 2013). The dorsal carapace surface was brownish-green, with small white spots scattered mainly on its anterior side; the ventral surface was whitish with blue walking legs and bright blue cheliped fingers (Williams, 1974).The amplification of the COI mitochondrial gene, a sequence 634 bp in length, and the BLAST in GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) identified the specimen from the Segura River mouth as Callinectes sapidus with a 99% maximum identity with JX123452 (specimen from São Paulo, Brazil), showing only one mutation at position Figure 1. Locations and years (black stars) of previous records of blue crab in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. (Marina di Grado 1949: Mizzan, 1993; Hadera 1955: Holthuis and Gottlieb, 1955; Akyatan 1961: Holthuis, 1961; Porto Lagos 1965: Kinzelbach, 1965; Ston 2008: Onofri et al., 2008; Lesina 2008: Florio et al., 2008; Patok 2009: Beqiraj and Kashta, 2010; Yumurtalık 2010: Tureli Bilen and Yesilyurt, 2014; Silvi 2011: Castriota et al., 2012; Montecristo 2013 and Metaponto 2013: Stasolla and Innocenti, 2014; San Carlos de la Ràpita 2012: Castejón and Guerao, 2013; Akçakoca 2013 and Ereğli 2013: Yağlıoğlu et al., 2014; Gandía 2014: https://cienciagandia.webs.upv.es/en/2015/07/; Sacca di Goro 2015: Manfrin, 2015). White stars indicate records of C. sapidus in the Black Sea from 1968 to 2012 (see references in Yağlıoğlu et al., 2014). Black circle shows the location of the Segura River mouth (SE Spain) where C. sapidus was registered (present work).GONZÁLEZ-WANGÜEMERT and PUJOL / Turk J Zool617269 (632 bp were compared, 631 bp were identical), and with JQ435813 (specimen from Romania), having two mutations at positions 11 and 611 (625 bp were compared, 623 bp were identical). Therefore, the specimen from the Segura River showed a different haplotype, which was recorded in GenBank as KT282079.The blue crab is a species that shows high tolerance to extreme variations in water conditions (temperature and salinity), high fecundity (females produce 2 to 8 million eggs per spawn; Jivoff et al., 2007), large body size, and aggressive behavior competing with other crabs for food and space (Mancinelli et al., 2013); all these features allow its invasive success (Nehring, 2011). The Segura River mouth harbors the right conditions for the settlement and spread of this invasive species with available food resources, right temperature and salinity ranges, and suitable habitat to provide refuge for its larvae. It has been described that blue crab growth is strongly temperature-dependent, with growth ceasing below temperatures of approximately 11 °C. Therefore, this species could grow year-round in the Segura River mouth, considering the temperatures described by Bazin et al. (2014) (minimum temperatures around 11.6 °C). The presence of seaweeds in this area also favors the settlement of C. sapidus larvae and juveniles: the sea grass meadows and macroalgal beds are considered critical nursery habitats for this invasive species, though its habitat preferences change with age, size, and sex (Hines, 2007; Castejón and Guerao, 2014).The origin of the C. sapidus individual found in the Segura River is uncertain, but there are several factors that could explain the presence of this specimen. First, it is important to consider that adults are excellent swimmers and migrate from seawater to rivers and vice versa at different stages of their life cycle. Several studies established a high mobility of male adults (averaging 24 m/h in channel areas), this speed being even higher in inseminated females that migrate long distances into high salinity areas to incubate the eggs (Hines et al., 1995; Castriota et al., 2012 and references therein). The species also shows great larval dispersal ability. It has been described that the C. sapidus larval development occurs in 30–50 days; during this period the larvae remain in surface waters and may be transported considerable distances (30 to 80 km) (Olmi, 1994). Therefore, the individual found in the Segura River could be the result of a direct dispersal of larvae or adults from any close population of C. sapidus. Recently individuals of this species were also recorded in Gandía and Albufera, both located close to Guardamar (eastern Spain; https://cienciagandia.webs.upv.es/en/tema/crab/), which would imply that C. sapidus is creating permanent populations in this area such as it was registered in other regions from the Mediterranean Sea (Mancinelli et al., 2013). The indirect dispersal of C. sapidus larvae in ballast waters or on hulls of fishery and recreational vessels from stable populations in the central Mediterranean Sea (Mancinelli et al., 2013) or western European coasts (Ribeiro and Veríssimo, 2014) must also be considered. Very close to the location where the C. sapidus was found, there are the fishing port of Guardamar del Segura (SE Spain) and a large harbor for recreational craft (Marina de las Dunas, Guardamar, SE Spain; http://www.marinadunas.es/marina-de-las-dunas/) with 500 berths that can shelter ships of 15 m in length.The introduction of blue crabs can have significant and negative consequences to the ecology of the invaded environments. C. sapidus has been defined as a highly aggressive species and was selected among the 100 worst invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea with impact on both biodiversity and economy (Streftaris and Zenetos, 2006; Castejón and Guerao, 2013). Further studies on this region (SE Spain), monitoring the presence of this invasive species and assessing its potential dispersal, will provide valuable information on population structure and dynamics of the blue crab on the Spanish coast. These data Figure 2. Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, adult male (A: dorsal view; B: ventral view) from the Segura River, SE Spain.GONZÁLEZ-WANGÜEMERT and PUJOL / Turk J Zool618would be useful for further management of this invasive species.AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank Juan Manuel Baños Abellán, Alejandro Baños Campillo, and Manuel A Sánchez Torregrosa, fishermen from Torrevieja, for catching the crab and providing valuable information. Special thanks to the referees for their valuable comments and suggestions. Dr Mercedes González-Wangüemert was supported by the FCT Investigator Programme-Career Development (IF/00998/2014).ReferencesBazin P, Jouenne F, Deton-Cabanillas AF, Pérez-Ruzafa A, Véron B (2014). Complex patterns in phytoplankton and microeukaryote diversity along the estuarine continuum. Hydrobiologia 726: 155-178.Beqiraj S, Kashta L (2010). The establishment of blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 in the Lagoon of Patok, Albania (south-east Adriatic Sea). 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First record of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Crustacea: Brachyura: Portunidae) in the Segura River mouth (Spain, southwestern Mediterranean Sea)

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