Crayfish plague is one of the most devastating wildlife diseases and its pathogen, the oomacete Aphanomyces astaci, is one of the "100 worst invasive alien species in the world". Crayfish plague only affects crayfish and is a notifiable disease in Switzerland. If the pathogen infects a naive population of native crayfish, this leads to very high mortality, up to 100%.
Although it is known that Aphanomyces astaci cannot survive long-term without crayfish tissue, spores can be detected in water for several days under experimental conditions. However, it is still largely unknown how the disease behaves in an affected water body after an outbreak under natural conditions. The following questions are therefore still open: How long is the pathogen detected after an outbreak? Does the disease continue to spread? How fast does the disease spread?
This Master's thesis will provide important information on the ecology and epidemiology of crayfish plague under natural conditions and over time, which will be important for the management and control of the disease.
Contact: Manon Zürcher, Simone Pisano, Heike Schmidt-Posthaus
