Aphanomyces astaci, the crayfish plague pathogen, may be a common cause of crayfish mass mortalities in the Czech Republic

Abstract

On three occasions, crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci) has been identified as the cause of mass mortalities of native crayfish in the Czech Republic in 2005 and 2006. The true number of plague outbreaks is likely to be higher.

Keywords

• Aphanomyces astaci
• Oomycete
• Orconectes limosus
• Astacus astacus
• Austropotamobius torrentium
• Mass mortalities