Classroom citizen scientists discover red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) from northern Idaho, United States

Citizen scientists may provide unique opportunities for surveillance and early detection of management-relevant biological invasions. Here, we report results of a classroom citizen science program that detected the first record of the invasive red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) from northern Idaho, United States. Secondary school students trapping storm water ponds in a public park of Lewiston, Idaho detected an unusual crayfish that they identified as P. clarkii. We confirmed this identification by crayfish morphology and mitochondrial DNA barcoding. Management agencies were promptly notified and have initiated monitoring and removal efforts for this population, which directly neighbors a major river in the study region. Procambarus clarkii may be well-suited to citizen science surveillance by classroom programs because of its tendency to invade freshwater ecosystems like storm water ponds in urban and suburban landscapes.