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Cronius ruber (Lamarck, 1818) arrives to Madeira Island: a new indication of the ongoing tropicalization of the northeastern Atlantic

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Abstract

This manuscript reports the first sightings and collection of the swimming crab Cronius ruber (Lamarck, 1818) on the coast of Madeira Island, Portugal. After the recent record in the Canary Islands, this represents a further step northward on this species’ expansion in distribution in the eastern Atlantic. The crab was first spotted during underwater visual census surveys done by scuba diving in July 2018 and was repeatedly observed during the following months, in different locations on the south coast of Madeira. Analysis of temperature data from several geographic locations where C. ruber is present was performed to assess how thermal regimes and ongoing changes may influence this recent distribution shift. Current temperature trends in Madeira suggest that the arrival and establishment of C. ruber to Madeira might have been facilitated this thermophilic species, adding evidence for the ongoing tropicalization of this area. Finally, the current spread of C. ruber in both Canaries and Madeira island systems highlights the need for a long-term monitoring program targeting this and other non-indigenous species (NIS).

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Acknowledgments

We thank Peter Wirtz and Cédric d’Udekem d’Acoz for confirming the identification of Cronius ruber. We also thank the whole crew of NRP Auriga, as well as Madeira Divepoint, Scuba Madeira, Atalaia Diving, Madeira Diving, and Azul Diving for their support and for enabling our fieldwork and surveys.

Funding

SS was supported through a federal state scholarship by the Kiel University and is currently funded by Agência Regional para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação, Tecnologia e Inovação (ARDITI) research fellowship in the scope of the H2020 project GoJelly. JM was supported by a post-doctoral research fellowship (ARDITI - M1420-09-5369-FSE- 000001). NC was supported by a Research fellowship for Graduates granted by ARDITI in the framework of project MIMAR (MAC/4.6.d/066) INTERREG MAC 2014-2020 Programme. JCC was supported by a starting grant in the framework of the 2014 FCT Investigator Programme (IF/01606/2014/CP1230/CT0001). Activities within this study were supported by MIMAR project cofounded by FEDER Programa (MAC/4.6.d/066, INTERREG MAC 2014-2020 Programme), Observatório Oceânico da Madeira (M1420-01-0145-FEDER-000001) and by the Smithsonian MarineGEO network. Finally, this study also had the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2019 granted to MARE UI&I. This is contribution 40 from the Smithsonian’s MarineGEO Network.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Quinta do Lorde Marina, Sítio da Piedade, Caniçal, Madeira, Portugal

    Susanne Schäfer, João Monteiro, Nuno Castro & João Canning-Clode

  2. GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany

    Susanne Schäfer

  3. National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, Haifa, Israel

    Gil Rilov

  4. Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, Centre of IMAR of the University of the Azores, Rua Prof. Dr. Frederico Machado, 4, Horta, Azores, Portugal

    João Canning-Clode

  5. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Road, Edgewater, MD, USA

    João Canning-Clode

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  1. Susanne Schäfer
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Contributions

Conceptualization: SS and JCC; Funding acquisition: JCC; Methods and Data Collection: SS, JM and NC; Resources: JCC; Supervision: GR and JCC; Analyses and Visualization: SS and JM; Writing: SS, JM, NC, GR and JCC.

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Correspondence to Susanne Schäfer.

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Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities.

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The sea surface temperature data analyzed during this study is provided by NOAA/OAR/ESRL PSD, Boulder, Colorado, USA, and is available from their Web site at https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/. All remaining datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Communicated by S. De Grave

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Schäfer, S., Monteiro, J., Castro, N. et al. Cronius ruber (Lamarck, 1818) arrives to Madeira Island: a new indication of the ongoing tropicalization of the northeastern Atlantic. Mar. Biodivers. 49, 2699–2707 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-019-00999-z

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