UseIT_BlueCrab_Tracking: Acoustic telemetry data for blue crab (C. sapidus) in the S'Ena Arrubia lagoon (Oristano, Italy)
Citation
Giacalone, V.M.; Pipitone, C.; (2026): Acoustic telemetry data for blue crab (C. sapidus) in the S'Ena Arrubia lagoon (Oristano, Italy). https://marineinfo.org/doc/dataset/9042
Contact:
Giacalone, Vincenzo Maximiliano Availability:
This dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Description
The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus occurs as an invasive alien species in the Mediterranean, where it has successfully colonized the entire basin, exerting a negative impact on fisheries in some areas. This paper presents the results of a study on the movement ecology of blue crabs in the S’Ena Arrubia lagoon (Sardinia, western Mediterranean). An array of 15 receivers was deployed in the lagoon. Two batches of adult blue crabs were tagged with external ultrasonic transmitters: a first lot (5 males and 5 females) was released in December 2022, and a second lot (10 females) in June 2023. Monitoring lasted 290 days for the first lot and 202 days for the second. Residency and movement index, daily home range (MCPd), and Vemco Positioning System (VPS) data were used to describe crab movements and activity patterns. Residency and movement indexes were larger than 80% for 16 and 8 crabs, respectively. MCPd values ranged between 2516.9 m2 and 21207.2 m2. The movement rate, used as a proxy of activity, was lower for males in spring and summer. Females tended to move towards the open sea in summer, driven by reproductive needs. Compared to the native areas along the western Atlantic coasts, blue crabs in S’Ena Arrubia remained active also in winter with no hibernation. This study, which offers for the first time long-term data on the blue crab movement ecology, extends the knowledge of the species and may provide support to its management and control in invaded areas. Scope Themes: Biology, Biology > Acoustics, Biology > Ecology - biodiversity, Biology > Invertebrates, Physical > Underwater acoustics Keywords: Brackish water · Acoustic arrays · Acoustic data · Acoustic detection · Acoustic tags · Acoustic Tags · Acoustic telemetry · Acoustic Telemetry · Acoustic tracking · Animal movement · Animal Project · Blue crabs · Crabs · Fish movement · Invasive alien species · Invasive alien species distribution (Invasive Alien Species Directive) · Invasive species · Live fish movement · Movement ecology · Network Project · Stagno di S'Ena Arrubia · Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 Geographical coverage Stagno di S'Ena Arrubia [Marine Regions] Temporal coverage
2 December 2022 - 18 January 2024 Target species
Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 [WoRMS]
Parameter
Acoustic detections Methodology
Acoustic detections: Acoustic telemetry Contributors
Italian National Research Council; Institute for the study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in the Marine Environment (IAS), more, data creator, principal investigator
Related datasets
Parent dataset: European Tracking Network (ETN) data, more Dataset status: Completed
Data type: Data
Data origin: Research: field experiment
Metadatarecord created: 2026-04-01
Information last updated: 2026-04-21
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