PID2020-120026RB-I00 - Una aproximación multidisciplinar a las

Biological invasions are one of the drivers of Global Change, generating widespread and severe environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Improving the knowledge of this phenomenon and management options to avoid or mitigate its impacts is a research priority. In recent years, there has been an increasing acceptance that human dimensions and long-term studies should be integral components of invasion science to understand, predict, prevent and mitigate biological invasions CRAYMAP proposes a multidisciplinary approach to invasion processes and their impacts, using freshwater crayfish as study models. The project identifies 10 specific objectives focused on different stages of the invasion process (introduction, expansion, impacts) and on two crayfish species: the Italian crayfish, Austropotamobius italicus, introduced into Spain in the 16th century, and the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, introduced in 1973. Among the themes dealt with in CRAYMAP there is: a) the introduction of the Italian crayfish into Spain; b) the genetic structure and diversity of the Italian crayfish, both in Italy and Spain; c) the possible past impacts of the Italian crayfish in Spain; d) the changes in the climatic niche of the Italian crayfish and their relation with the spread of North American crayfishes; e) the genetic structure of the red swamp crayfish in its native area; f) the drivers of red swamp crayfish genetic diversity within river basins; g) the conservation of the climatic niche of the red swamp crayfish during its century-long quasi-global expansion; h) the evolution of the social image of the red swamp crayfish; i) the perceptions on the impacts, exploitation and management of the red swamp crayfish; and j) the interactions between the red swamp crayfish and the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), a recent and expansing invader in the Lower Guadalquivir. To develop the planned objectives CRAYMAP will use diverse approaches form different disciplines, including history (analyses of historical document, collection of historical records), social sciences (text content analyses, questionnaires and interviews) and different methodologies from the natural sciences (field sampling, genetics, niche modelling, stable isotopes analyses). The different results will be integrated without subordinating any discipline, in order to generate knowledge in a truly multidisciplinary process. The diffusion of methodologies, achievements and results of the project beyond the academic framework and the distribution and sharing of the project data and products are among CRAYMAP priorities. The research and working teams form an international, multidisciplinary and highly productive group with representations of all stages of research careers. All CRAYMAP objectives have a high potential for scientific impact and many of them are innovative globally. Several objectives also have direct application for the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable exploitation of natural resources, and are aligned with different Spanish Societal Challenges. The
combination of all these elements represents a guarantee of the national and international impact that CRAYMAP will have.