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Ecology of Aquatic Crustaceans: Crabs, Shrimps and Lobsters
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Ecology of Aquatic Crustaceans: Crabs, Shrimps and Lobsters

A Special Issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615) belonging to the section "Aquatic Animals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 6225

Editors

Dr. Hui Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Fisheries, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China
Interests: healthy aquaculture; eco-physiology; environmental stress; adaptive mechanism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yafei Duan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510300, China
Interests: environmental stress; aquatic physiology; intestine microbiota; nutritional immunity; healthy aquaculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aquatic crustaceans, including crabs, shrimps, and lobsters, play pivotal roles in maintaining the balance of marine and freshwater ecosystems. They serve as keystone species in nutrient cycling, sediment dynamics, and food webs while supporting global fisheries and aquaculture industries. However, rapid environmental changes—such as pollution, climate change, anthropogenic disturbances, etc.—are increasingly threatening their survival, ecological functions, and the sustainability of associated fisheries. Understanding the interplay between environmental factors and the ecology of these crustaceans is critical for developing effective conservation strategies and ensuring ecosystem resilience.

This Special Issue warmly welcomes original research and review articles that explore the environmental ecology of aquatic crustaceans, with a focus on their responses to ecological stressors, adaptive mechanisms, and broader implications for ecosystem health. We welcome interdisciplinary studies integrating field observations, experimental approaches, and advanced technologies to address pressing ecological challenges.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Hui Guo
Dr. Yafei Duan
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • crustaceans
  • environmental stress
  • eco-physiology
  • biochemistry
  • pollutants
  • healthy aquaculture
  • adaptive mechanisms

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5008 KB  
Article
Estimating Survival, Growth, and Morphometric Relationships of Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) in North Carolina Using Mark–Recapture and Bayesian Approaches
by Alex J. Rocco and Jie Cao
Animals 2026, 16(15), 2296; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16152296 - 24 Jul 2026
Viewed by 609
Abstract
Several of the North Carolina blue crab’s (Callinectes sapidus) life history parameters such as growth rate, natural mortality, and length–weight relationships would benefit from being updated or localized. To this end, we designed a mark–recapture study of blue crabs using coded [...] Read more.
Several of the North Carolina blue crab’s (Callinectes sapidus) life history parameters such as growth rate, natural mortality, and length–weight relationships would benefit from being updated or localized. To this end, we designed a mark–recapture study of blue crabs using coded wire tags to estimate carapace width (CW)-to-weight relationships, growth, and natural mortality in a North Carolina blue crab population. We used data from captured blue crabs to estimate their CW-to-weight relationships and used recapture data to estimate growth rates via the Fabens method using both frequentist and Bayesian approaches. Additionally, we built a Cormack–Jolly–Seber (CJS) model to estimate apparent survival. Our CW-to-weight estimates fell largely between the CW-to-weight estimates from the Chesapeake Bay and Florida stocks, suggesting possible regional variation. Our frequentist and Bayesian growth rate estimates had higher k values than other estimates based on a limited number of growing recaptures. There was no single CJS model that was strongly supported by data, but we identified important covariates that inform the precision and accuracy of the CJS model for future studies. Our results suggest that coded wire tags can be useful for mark–recapture studies of species without permanent hard parts, but considerable effort may be necessary to produce viable results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Aquatic Crustaceans: Crabs, Shrimps and Lobsters)
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17 pages, 5563 KB  
Article
The SQSTM1/p62 of Pacific White Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) Is Involved in the Oxidative Stress Induced by Ammonia Exposure
by Wei Lu, Junliang Luo, Leyuan Feng, Shuanghu Cai, Jichang Jian and Shiping Yang
Animals 2026, 16(11), 1718; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16111718 - 4 Jun 2026
Viewed by 905
Abstract
Ammonia exposure can induce oxidative stress in aquatic animals. The p62 protein is a selective autophagy receptor that participates in protein degradation and oxidative stress regulation. In this study, the role of Lv-p62 in the response of Litopenaeus vannamei to ammonia exposure was [...] Read more.
Ammonia exposure can induce oxidative stress in aquatic animals. The p62 protein is a selective autophagy receptor that participates in protein degradation and oxidative stress regulation. In this study, the role of Lv-p62 in the response of Litopenaeus vannamei to ammonia exposure was investigated using RNA interference. The results showed that Lv-p62 expression was significantly induced in the hepatopancreas, gills, and intestine of L. vannamei after ammonia exposure (p < 0.05). Lv-p62 expression peaked at 6 h in the gills and 24 h in the intestine, whereas a biphasic response was observed in the hepatopancreas, with an initial peak at 12 h and a higher second peak at 48 h. In the RNAi experiment, Lv-p62 knockdown altered the expression of antioxidant-related genes (Trx, Gst, and Gpx) in a tissue-specific manner, with Gpx expression being prominently increased in the gills and intestine but not in the hepatopancreas under ammonia exposure. Autophagy-related genes (ATG4 and ATG10) also showed time-dependent and tissue-specific expression changes after Lv-p62 knockdown. The expression of apoptosis-related genes, including caspase 3 and p53, was tissue-specific and was generally lower in the dsRNA-Lv-p62+NH3 group than in the dsRNA-EGFP+NH3 group at most time points. Histopathological observations showed that hepatopancreatic acinar vacuolation and structural damage were alleviated, and the hepatopancreatic apoptosis rate was reduced in L. vannamei in the dsRNA-Lv-p62+NH3 group. These findings suggest that Lv-p62 participates in the response of L. vannamei to ammonia exposure, possibly by regulating antioxidant defense, autophagy-related processes, and apoptosis, thereby affecting hepatopancreatic oxidative damage and tissue injury. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Aquatic Crustaceans: Crabs, Shrimps and Lobsters)
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20 pages, 7380 KB  
Article
Copper Pyrithione Induces Hepatopancreatic Apoptosis and Metabolic Disruption in Litopenaeus vannamei: Integrated Transcriptomic, Metabolomic, and Histopathological Analysis
by Jieyu Guo, Yang Yang, Siying Yu, Cairui Jiang, Xianbin Su, Yongfeng Zou and Hui Guo
Animals 2025, 15(14), 2134; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15142134 - 18 Jul 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1383
Abstract
Copper pyrithione (CuPT), an emerging biocide used in ship antifouling coatings, may accumulate in marine sediments and pose risks to non-target organisms. However, current research on CuPT toxicity remains limited. Litopenaeus vannamei, one of the world’s most important aquaculture shrimp species, relies [...] Read more.
Copper pyrithione (CuPT), an emerging biocide used in ship antifouling coatings, may accumulate in marine sediments and pose risks to non-target organisms. However, current research on CuPT toxicity remains limited. Litopenaeus vannamei, one of the world’s most important aquaculture shrimp species, relies heavily on its hepatopancreas for energy metabolism, detoxification, and immune responses. Due to their benthic habitat, these shrimps are highly vulnerable to contamination in sediment environments. This study investigated the toxicological response in the hepatopancreas of L. vannamei exposed to CuPT (128 μg/L) for 3 and 48 h. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) fluorescence staining revealed increased apoptosis, deformation of hepatic tubule lumens, and the loss of stellate structures in the hepatopancreas after CuPT 48 h exposure. A large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by transcriptomics analysis at 3 and 48 h, respectively. Most of these DEGs were related to detoxification, glucose transport, and immunity. Metabolomic analysis identified numerous significantly different metabolites (SDMs) at both 3 and 48 h post-exposure, with most SDMs associated with energy metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and related pathways. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis of metabolomics and transcriptome revealed that both DEGs and SDMs were enriched in arachidonic acid metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathways at 3 h, while at 48 h they were enriched in the starch and sucrose metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, and galactose metabolism pathways. These results suggested that CuPT disrupts the energy and lipid homeostasis of L. vannamei. This disruption compelled L. vannamei to allocate additional energy toward sustaining basal physiological functions and consequently caused the accumulation of large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the body, leading to apoptosis and subsequent tissue damage, and ultimately suppressed the immune system and impaired the health of L. vannamei. Our study elucidates the molecular mechanisms of CuPT-induced metabolic disruption and immunotoxicity in L. vannamei through integrated multi-omics analyses, providing new insights for ecological risk assessment of this emerging antifoulant. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Aquatic Crustaceans: Crabs, Shrimps and Lobsters)
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21 pages, 2449 KB  
Article
Toxic Effects of Acute Water Selenium Exposure on Litopenaeus vannamei: Survival, Physiological Responses, Transcriptome, and Intestinal Microbiota
by Xinghui Luo, Jian Chen, Asare Derrick, Gongyu Li, Hongming Wang, Zhihao Xue, Lili Shi and Shuang Zhang
Animals 2025, 15(12), 1792; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15121792 - 18 Jun 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2097
Abstract
Excess selenium (Se) can cause a variety of toxic effects in aquatic animals. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive studies about the toxicity effects of Se in culture water on shrimp. Based on the 96 h acute toxicity test, which confirmed [...] Read more.
Excess selenium (Se) can cause a variety of toxic effects in aquatic animals. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive studies about the toxicity effects of Se in culture water on shrimp. Based on the 96 h acute toxicity test, which confirmed the 96 h LC50 of Se (Na2SeO3) for Litopenaeus vannamei as 2.69 mg/L, L. vannamei (7.25 ± 0.05 g) were divided into three groups (named CON, S1 and S2) and exposed to Se at concentrations of 0, 0.0269 (0.01 × 96 h LC50), and 0.269 (0.1 × 96 h LC50) mg/L in the water for 72 h, respectively. The toxic effects of Se exposure on L. vannamei were evaluated based on histopathology, oxidative stress, immunity, apoptosis, transcriptional responses, and intestinal microbiota. Results demonstrated that Se exposure induced structural damage to the hepatopancreas of L. vannamei, including hepatocyte vacuolation and necrosis. Compared to the CON group, serum Caspase-3 activity significantly increased, while Bcl-2 activity markedly decreased in the S1 and S2 groups (p < 0.05). No significant differences in Bax activity were observed among groups (p > 0.05). ROS content, as well as activities of SOD, PO, GSH-PX, LYS, AKP, and ACP, exhibited an upward trend under Se exposure (p < 0.05). However, MDA levels showed no significant intergroup differences (p > 0.05). Hemocyte transcriptomic analysis revealed 2103 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (1294 upregulated, 809 downregulated) in the S2 group compared to CON. GO enrichment indicated significant enrichment of DEGs in cellular processes, binding, and cell components. KEGG pathway analysis highlighted prominent enrichment in ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes, lysosome, cell cycle, and pancreatic secretion pathways. Intestinal microbiota analysis showed that the Shannon, Simpson, and Pielou indices in the S2 group were significantly lower than those in the CON group (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of Vibrio and Acinetobacter increased significantly in the S2 group, while Enterococcus and Pseudomonas decreased markedly (p < 0.05). In conclusion, Se exposure triggered elevated immune enzyme activities, induced oxidative damage and apoptosis, transcriptional level metabolic disorders, and disrupted intestinal microbiota structure in L. vannamei. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Aquatic Crustaceans: Crabs, Shrimps and Lobsters)
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