Threats assessment of the endemic idle crayfish (Austropotamobius bihariensis Pârvulescu, 2019) : lessons from long- term monitoring

Ács, Andrei-Robert (author), Ion, Mihaela C. (author), Miok, Kristian (author), Laza, Antonio V. (author), Pitic, Alina (author), Robnik Šikonja, Marko (author), Pârvulescu, Lucian (author)

The idle crayfish (Austropotamobius bihariensis Pârvulescu, 2019), endemic to Romania's Apuseni Mountains, urgently requires a specific conservation plan. Due to its recent description, conservation efforts have been limited, highlighting the need for immediate and practical recommendations to ensure its protection. Over 13 years, field observations were conducted to evaluate population trends and identify threats following IUCN standards. Additionally, geospatial assessments and predictive modelling were employed to estimate both the optimal habitat and current population size under three distinct scenarios. The primary threats identified include poor forest management, extreme drought, anthropogenic development and riverbed alterations, all contributing to declines in crayfish abundance. The most severe impacts arise when these pressures converge at a single site, compounded by a chronic, low-virulence crayfish plague infection (A-haplogroup). The total population is estimated at 31,150 (± 449.9 SE) individuals, with 1,163,754 m$^2$ of suitable habitat, of which only 37.9% lies within 13 protected areas under the most realistic scenario. Poor water quality was found to significantly reduce the modelled population size. In light of these findings, we propose a series of targeted conservation actions tailored for each protected area and highlight the importance of extending measures beyond their current boundaries. Additionally, we recommend implementing the ‘ark sites’ concept in regions with optimal ecological conditions, stable populations and genetic diversity, to reduce pressures and safeguard the species through effective field management.

• Language: English
• Keywords: crayfish, Austropotamobius bihariensis Pârvulescu, species conservation, data science, ark site, extinction, geodiversity data, habitat assessment, pressures assessment, protected areas, species conservation plan, distribution modelling
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FRI - Faculty of Computer and Information Science
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 13 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 35, iss. 1, art. e70033
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-171511
• UDC: 595.3:502.172
• ISSN on article: 1052-7613
• DOI: 10.1002/aqc.70033
• COBISS.SI-ID: 224493315
• Publication date in RUL: 27.08.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Aquatic conservation
• Shortened title: Aquat. conserv.
• Publisher: Wiley, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
• ISSN: 1052-7613
• COBISS.SI-ID: 513788185

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: raki, Austropotamobius bihariensis Pârvulescu, ogrožene vrste, ohranjanje vrst, zaščita, podatkovne vede

Projects

• Funder: Other - Other funder or multiple funders
• Project number: vPCE-2020- 1187

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Project number: 101081355
• Name: Machine learning for Sciences and Humanities
• Acronym: SMASH