A COMPARISON OF MORPHOMETRIC FEATURES OF THE NARROW-CLAWED CRAYFISH (ASTACUS LEPTODACTYLUS ESCHSCHOLTZ, 1823) LIVING IN TWO DIFFERENT HABITATS

Narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823) is native species to Turkey and the most important shellfish because of its commercial value and ecological role in ecosystem. The knowledge on bio-ecological features of narrow clawed crayfish is limited. In this study, total length (TL), carapace length (CL) carapace width (CW), abdomen length (AL), abdomen width (AW) chela length (ChL) and chela width (ChW) of narrow clawed crayfish were compared in two different habitats (Egirdir Lake and Keban Dam Lake). According to linear regression analysis. the highest relation was between TL and AL (R-2=0.987) of the female in Egirdir Lake and the weakest relationship was between AW and ChL (R-2=0.084) in Keban Dam Lake. Overall, the biometric features of A. leptodactylus populations in Egirdir Lake and Keban Dam Lake were different and these differences were significant in mid-length groups. These findings clearly demonstrated the impact of commercial catching on the length distribution of the crayfish stocks.