This species was first recorded in the UK in 2010 and is one of the UK's top 100 most invasive species. It has spread from the Ponto-Caspian region of eastern Europe via the Rhine-Main-Danube canal (or Europa Canal). This now links the Danube and the Rhine/Main, creating a navigable river all the way up to the North Sea and Atlantic ocean. Of course, this doesn't just benefit commerical traffic - nature is also taking advantage of this new route and species are moving to areas they weren't previously in.Rob gave a one hour presentation covering the taxonomy of killer shrimp, key identification features, environmental tolerance and its impacts to ecosystems and biodiversity. We also learnt about biosecurity measures that can be put in place to stop the spread of invasive non-native species. Happy to say I am using these for my pond surveying! The mantra check, clean and dry was reinforced. If found, occurances should be reported to alert_nonnative@ceh.ac.uk
As with any invasive species, it threatens native species because it is slightly larger and preys on existing habitants. We saw a slightly gruesome video of the killer shrimp devouring its prey, which can be smaller shrimp species, newt eggs, tadpoles, small fish, etc. So the presence of killer shrimp can alter the make up of aquatic ecosystems and have wide reaching consequences.
After the presentation, we had the chance to look at specimens of the killer shrimp and others under the microscope. It is a very small creature about the size of a 5p piece, but can grow up to 3cm across. It may have a strippy appearance, as it is often found alongside zebra mussels. It can only be accurately identified from other members of the family by three hairs on a cone protusion at the base of the back, visible under a microscope.
It was good to meet other people working in ecology, and to learn more about the current topics in aquatic ecology.
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