The profile of a ‘perfect’ invader – the case of killer shrimp, Dikerogammarus villosus

Stuart Crofts has sent around this important review paper on the killer shrimp, Dikerogammarus, with these words…

“Please take a little time to read this paper. Yes, it is very heavy and very technical in places BUT if you just read the abstract at the beginning and conclusions at the end it will give you the gist. Any details can then be found within the rest of the document. The Killer Shrimp is, and will continue to be, a very serious threat to our waters. We simply must not let down our guard or get complacent. They do not produce this type of document without reason!

It is interesting to note that even now the best ​“control” for the shrimps is check, clean and dry with the use of hot water as the ultimate treatment.

It is very interesting to read how quickly these things can reproduce and how small a fertile female can be (6mm) and the fact that in the UK they will probably be able to breed throughout the year. Add to this the findings that one large female can probably produce more offspring in just one brood than one of our common shrimps (G. pulex) can in its entire lifetime is nothing short of terrifying!

PLEASE have a good look at this and review what your club is doing in light of this new information and what it plans to do in the future. Nothing is not an option.”

Click to access paper here

Authors: Tomasz Rewicz, Michal Grabowski, Calum MacNeil and Karolina Bącela-Spychalska