Environment and host related factors modulate gut and carapace bacterial diversity of the invasive red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)

The invasive red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarki (Girard 1852) is present in most of the Portuguese rivers with well-known economic and environmental impacts, being also an important reservoir for many fungal and bacterial pathogens that can affect native aquatic fauna. Here the bacterial microbiota of the gut and carapace of the red swamp crayfish from three distinct localities in Portugal was characterized, using a metataxonomic approach. We tested whether biological measurements (sex, cephalotorax lenght, body condition and stress through glucose measurements) and sampling locality can be used as predictors of alpha and beta bacterial diversity.