Welcome to CrayfIT

A regional European IAA meeting organised by Life CLAW

Extended deadline for abstract submission!  12 June 2023

5 – 8
September
2023, Pavia

The meeting

We are delighted to announce that a regional European IAA meeting will take place, on 5 – 8 September 2023, at the University of Pavia (Italy), one of the world’s oldest academic institutions.

We are happy to welcome cray-friends and colleagues from across Europe to Pavia, a beautiful town rich in history and culture, about 35 km away from Milan.

We will deal with all crayfish topics: conservation, species diversity and distribution, genetics, physiology, ecology, ethology, diseases, management and invasives, fishery and aquaculture. Plenary lectures, oral and poster presentations by the attendees are forecast, together with a session dedicated to Life projects conserving and managing crayfish and aquatic fauna.

The meeting is organized by Life CLAW, an EU-funded project aiming at the improvement of the conservation status of the endangered crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes in the Italian North-Western Apennines through a long-term conservation programme.

Book of Abstracts

Click here to download the book of abstracts

Keynote speakers

Kelly Bateman

Dr. Kelly Bateman is an Invertebrate Pathologist at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in the UK.  Her work focuses on aquatic pathogens, and combines approaches based upon histopathology, transmission electron microscopy and molecular systematics for the classification of novel and emerging pathogens. She has over 20 years’ experience in the diagnosis of disease in experimental, farmed and wild aquatic animals, with a special interest in the identification and characterisation of novel and emerging pathogens of crustaceans.  Kelly is leading the work of the Crustacean Health Theme within the WOAH Collaborating Centre for Emerging Aquatic Animal Disease and the International Centre of Excellence for Aquatic Animal Health at Cefas. Kelly is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Invertebrate Pathology and is an author on over 50 peer-reviewed publications in the field of aquatic animal health.

Pierre Taberlet

Dr. Pierre Taberlet is a molecular ecologist currently Emeritus Senior Scientist at CNRS of Grenoble (France) and invited professor at Arctic University of Tromsø (Norway). He graduated at the Université de Grenoble where he gained his PhD. His scientific career spans a wide range of topics, from molecular ecology to conservation genetics and phylogeography. His pioneering studies combining landscape ecology and population genetics conceived a new field of research called “landscape genetics”. In recent years he published the first study regarding the use of environmental DNA from water for species detection and coined the terms “eDNA” and “metabarcoding”, which laid the foundations for a new era in biodiversity monitoring studies. He coordinated three large collaborative European projects and, since 2014, he is Member of Academia Europaea.

Kate Mathers

Dr. Kate Mathers is a UK Research and Innovation fellow at Loughborough University, UK. Her research is at the interface of aquatic ecology, hydrology and fluvial geomorphology with a focus on macroinvertebrate communities. It aims to advance our understanding of how disturbances (anthropogenic and natural) affect aquatic ecosystems in addition to promoting the conservation and sustainable management of freshwater systems. She received her PhD in 2017 centred on the effects of signal crayfish on fine sediment dynamics and macroinvertebrate communities. Following this she spendt 2.5 years in Switzerland working as a post-doctoral researcher at Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology) investigating the role of sediment dynamics for macroinvertebrate communities before returning to the UK to pursue her current fellowship. Her work on invasive crayfish was recognised in 2019 by the Francesca Gherardi Memorial Prize.

Registration fees

Thanks to the support of the Life EU programme, participation to the CrayfIT meeting is completely free of charge. Maximum number of participants: 100. Priority will be given to the presenting authors.

The registration fee will be allocated to fund student and junior research awards and attend social events (one will be Evening at the Museum of Natural History ‘Kosmos’).

At least five prizes will be awarded for the best scientific and innovative presentations, both oral and poster.

Early bird registration extended!

New deadline: 2 May 2023

PositionEarly bird 
(1Early bird registration extended! New deadline: 2 May 2023)
Regular
(deadline 17 July 2023)
Field tripSocial dinner
Student€ 50€ 100€ 25€ 50
Professional€ 120€ 170€ 25€ 50
Accompanying guest€ 150€ 150€ 25€ 50

To receive the reduced fee, students must submit a letter of support from their academic supervisor, confirming their student status. The term student applies to all students (undergraduate, master and PhD). Submission of the letter of support can be done after online registration (please send the file to e-mail: info@crayfit.eu).

The participation to the CrayfIT meeting includes the following services:

  • Access to meeting
  • Welcome drink reception
  • Lunches and coffee breaks according to the program
  • A printed copy of the final program and book of abstract (pdf version will also be available)
  • Conference bag

The participation to the CrayfIT meeting for accompanying guests includes the following services:

  • Welcome drink reception
  • Lunches and coffee breaks according to the program

Field trip and social dinner

The last day, 8 September, will be devoted to a field trip in the North-Western Apennines visiting sites for red swamp crayfish controlling, and sites for restoration and breeding facilities of white-clawed crayfish. Lunch will be organised in a traditional restaurant. The day will end in Genova with a tour of the Aquarium (free entrance), where we will have also the meeting social dinner.

Registration form and abstract submission

The participation fee must be paid via the PagoPA system (credit cards or bank transfers through the affiliated banks).

    Personal data

    Registration fees and invoice information

    Other information

    The field marked with * are mandatory.

    If a participant does not choose both the excursion and the social dinner, he/she must arrange for the dinner in Genova or transport by him/herself.

    After filling in the form, the user will receive an email containing a link to upload the abstract.

    Abstract submission

    All crayfish topics will be welcome. All abstracts must be in English – the official language of the conference.

    Submission Deadline – 15th May 2023

    New deadline:12th June 2023

    Decision on Abstracts – 30th June 2023

    Cancellation policy

    The cancellation policy will be applied for the registration fees. Cancellations must be sent to info@crayfit.eu in writing by the dates specified:
    Cancellation received before 1st July 2023: 70 % refund 
    Cancellation on 1st July 2023 and later: no refund
    Substitutions may be made at any time but please advise the info@crayfit.eu of a change of name.

    Venue and accomodations

    The meeting will take place at the University of Pavia, in one of the historic classrooms of the ancient University Palace (Via Strada Nuova).

    Pavia is 35 km south of Milan and it is easily accessible by air (from airports of Milan Linate, Malpensa and Bergamo Orio al Serio), by train and by car.

    Pavia’s accommodation capacity is wide and suitable for all types of users (hotels, hostels, B&Bs, apartments, camping, guest houses. You will find the most suitable accommodation by checking the following link or one of the most popular sites for booking.

    Programme

    The meeting will include plenary lectures, sessions on specific fields of crayfish, as well as a rich social programme and a field trip.

    Posters will be placed in the hall and visible throughout the meeting.

    Provisional schedule

    5 september Opening day

    Welcome drink, registration, plenary lecture, afternoon session

    6 september Second day

    Plenary lectures, morning session, afternoon session.

    Evening at the Museum of Natural History ‘Kosmos’ (with Biodiversity of tastes)

    7 september Third day

    Plenary lectures, morning session, afternoon session.

    8 september Fourth day

    Field trip and social dinner