Temperature affects predation of schistosome-competent snails by a novel invader, the marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis

The human burden of environmentally transmitted infectious diseases can depend strongly on ecological factors, including the presence or absence of natural enemies. The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a novel invasive species that can tolerate a wide range of ecological conditions and colonize diverse habitats. Marbled crayfish first appeared in Madagascar in 2005 and quickly spread across the country, overlapping with the distribution of freshwater snails that serve as the intermediate host of schistosomiasis–a parasitic disease of poverty with human prevalence ranging up to 94% in Madagascar. It has been hypothesized that the marbled crayfish may serve as a predator of schistosome-competent snails in areas where native predators cannot and yet no systematic study to date has been conducted to estimate its predation rate on snails. Here, we experimentally assessed marbled crayfish consumption of uninfected and infected schistosome-competent snails (Biomphalaria glabrata an..., Animal husbandry
Marbled crayfish were reared in freshwater aquaria filled with artificial pond water. Crayfish tanks varied in size (3.72 L, 11.7 L, or 81.3 L), depending on the age, size, and rearing density of the crayfish. Crayfish, prior to becoming subjects in experiments, were typically housed with between two and four conspecifics. Juvenile crayfish were regularly removed from adult husbandry tanks and either relocated to a smaller tank (11.7 L) without adults or euthanized. Once included in the experiment, crayfish were housed individually in 11.7-L tanks. Husbandry tanks were held at room temperature (~25°C), whereas the temperature of experimental tanks was controlled and monitored (see below). All crayfish were regularly fed frozen carrots, except during experimental trials. Marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) were obtained through private sellers on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/) and Aquabid (https://www.aquabid.com/). Permission to import and house marbled crayfish for..., , # Temperature affects predation of schistosome-competent snails by a novel invader, the marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis

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These are the data underlying the following manuscript:

Faiad SM et al. 2023. Temperature affects predation of schistosome-competent snails by a novel invader, the marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis. PLoS One.

## Description of the data and file structure

For a complete description of how these data were collected, please see the corresponding manuscript. In brief, the data include two csv files used in this analysis: `all_trials_crayfish_digital.csv`, which contains data on each crayfish taken at the start of each experimental run, and `all_trials_snail_digital.csv` which contains data on snail abundance, mortality, and behavior at the trial level within experimental runs. Variable descriptions are provided in `metadata.csv`.

## Sharing/access information

Data are available in this repository, and are also permanently archived in GitHub at .