Mass mortality event of Callinectes sapidus Rathbun 1896 in a coastal pond of the protect area of Vendicari in summer 2020 (S-E Sicily)

In the 2020 summer the territory of Sicily was affected by a strong drought which caused a strong lowering of the level of the water bodies of the whole Region; the protected area of Vendicari (S-E Sicily) was not spared by these events. Furthermore, a strong storm affected the coasts of southeastern Sicily. These meteorological events, drought and storm, acted synergistically causing the silting up of the mouth of the coastal pond Pantano Sichilli which represents for the latter the only way of communication with the sea. Therefore, the water level of the Marsh has drastically dropped causing, directly or indirectly, the death of several tens of thousands of aquatic organisms that populate them such as fish, crabs, molluscs, etc. Among these, our attention was drawn to the remains of thousands of specimens of the voracious Atlantic blue crab of the Callinectes sapidus species. Following these events, linked to the climate, it was possible to detect, for the first time, the presence of C. sapidus in the Vendicari ponds and to formulate hypotheses on the great abundance of individuals of this species which could represent a strong threat to the biodiversity of these environments.