The decline of noble crayfish may be a factor in declining European mink numbers, as minks are notably absent in the eastern side of the Urals, where crayfish are also absent.
The decline of noble crayfish (Astacus astacus) has been proposed as a factor in the drop in European mink numbers, as minks are notably absent in the eastern side of the Urals, where crayfish are also absent. The decline in mink numbers has also been linked to the destruction of crayfish in Finland during the 1920s-1940s, when the crustaceans were infected with crayfish plague. The failure of the European mink to expand west to Scandinavia coincides with the gap in crayfish distribution.
• Image | ©️ Paco Gómez, Some Rights Reserved, (CC BY-SA 2.0)
• Sources | (Maran & Henttonen, 1995; The Wikimedia Foundation, 2020a)
