The dataset STRIVE consists of two files which contain: (1) measurements of wet weight (g) and total length (mm) of juvenile marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) used in infection trials performed at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb; and (2) records of juvenile marbled crayfish mortality and detection of crayfish plague pathogen (Aphanomyces astaci) in individuals used in infection trials under (1). Two sets of experiments were performed: Experiment 1 where juvenile marbled crayfish were continuously exposed to two concentrations of A. astaci (7500 and 15000 zoospore/mL) and Experiment 2 where juveniles were exposed to a higher pathogen load (15000 zoospores/mL) but under differing feeding regime (once a week vs. five times a week). In both experiments, all infected groups had respective non-infected control groups. Infections were repeated every two weeks, and individuals were measured and weighed before consecutive infections. Wet weight was measured using a digital scale, while the total length was measured from photographs using the image processing program, ImageJ. All crayfish were tested at the end of experiments for the presence of A. astaci in the crayfish cuticle using PCR-based assay with specific primers which amplify the ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) region of the A. astaci 5.8 rRNA gene.

All experimental protocols are described in detail in the publication Dobrović et al. (2022). Recurring infection by crayfish plague pathogen only marginally affects survival and growth of marbled crayfish. NeoBiota 77 (155-177), and accompanying Supplementary Information (SI). Briefly, two sets of experiments were performed - Experiment 1 where juvenile marbled crayfish were continuously exposed to two concentrations of crayfish plague pathogen (7500 and 15000 zoospore/mL) and Experiment 2 where juveniles were exposed to a higher pathogen load (15000 zoospores/mL) but under differing feeding regime (once a week vs. five times a week). Infections were repeated every two weeks, and individuals were measured and weighted before consecutive infections. Mortality was recorded regularly, and both dead and surviving crayfish were tested at the end of experiments for the presence of crayfish plague pathogen (Aphanomyces astaci) in the crayfish cuticle.

No specific programs/software are required to open data files. Statistical analyses and graphical representation of results are available in the NeoBiota publication (Dobrović et al., in press) and were performed in the R statistical environment (R version 3.6.3, R Studio 1.2.5033).