ECOLOGICAL INTERACTION BETWEEN FAXONIUS LIMOSUS (RAFINESQUE, 1817) AND PONTASTACUS LEPTODACTYLUS (ESCHSCHOLTZ, 1823) IN THE DANUBE RIVER

During 2024, sampling of crayfish was carried out at four sites along the Danube river through Serbia: Apatin, Bogojevo, Begeč and Sremski Karlovci. The presence of two species of crayfish, the invasive spinycheek crayfish (Faxonius limosus) and the native Danube crayfish (Pontastacus leptodactylus), was detected at all four sites. The abundance of Faxonius limosus ranged from 53% to over 99%. The percentage of males was about 60%. The mean Fulton Conditioning Factor ranged from 0.0304 to 0.0372 and was higher in males than in females. Danube crayfish had lower values of the Fulton conditioning factor, while the values of the Crayfish constant were higher than in spinycheek crayfish.