Published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science on 02 July 2022. Available here.
A paper has recently been published in collaboration with colleagues from Spain on the invasion history of the blue crab in the Iberian Peninsula.
Through genetic sequencing of samples from the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Spain and Morocco, and from the Guadiana estuary in southern Portugal, it was possible to evaluate the hypothesis that in the area of the Iberian Peninsula investigated in this study there was a first introduction on the Mediterranean coasts which expanded southwards to reach the Strait of Gibraltar. This expansion may have been facilitated by additional secondary introductions already within the study area. The low genetic diversity along the various points evaluated also seems to indicate this theory of a single introduction from the native zone, and subsequent expansion by the remaining zones.