Case study of the freshwater shrimp Atyaephyra desmarestii (Millet, 1831) (Crustacea, Decapoda) in the watershed of Moulouya and eastern Morocco

Abstract

ABSTRACT. – Considered by some researchers to be invasive in some parts of Europe, the
freshwater shrimp Atyaephyra desmarestii has been poorly studied in Morocco. This study
reports from the survey of 90 stations situated in the Moulouya watershed and in the Oriental
region of the country. Twenty-nine stations, visited three times between 2014 and 2016, reveal
the presence of the freshwater shrimp. Twenty-three stations among the 29 showed significant
fluctuations in the abundance of the crustacean in time and space. The analysis of the data col-
lected from these 23 stations show that it occupies a large range of habitats, and exhibits a great
plasticity against water quality. It concludes that in the watercourses of the Moulouya watershed
(even slightly oxygenated), the main factor limiting the geographical distribution of
A. desmarestii is the velocity of the water current