Sampling in hard to sample habitats, a case study for assessing the status of a rare, swamp inhabiting crayfish in Illinois, USA

D. Swedberg, C. A. Taylor, M. Carlson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Illinois is home to 24 crayfish species; however, much of our distribution and habitat needs knowledge is over 35 years old, including for the Shrimp Crayfish, Faxonius lancifer. F. lancifer occurs in the central Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States from extreme southern Illinois to east Texas and Louisianna. The species occurs in swamp-like habitats and other permanently flooded areas near creeks and lakes. In Illinois, F. lancifer has only been collected from Horseshoe Lake, a cypress-tupelo oxbow lake in the deep southern portion of the state. To determine F. lancifer’s status in Illinois, we implemented four strategies: seining, d-frame dip netting, month-long microhabitat trapping, and overnight minnow trapping. Additionally, we used species distribution models with coarse-scale habitat data to predict catchments with high habitat suitability. In 2021 we collected only three juvenile and three adult F. lancifer using seining and dip nets. These were the first records of F. lancifer in Illinois in over 20 years. Both trapping methods did not collect F. lancifer. Our models identified wetland areas as critical habitats for the species that will need to be visited in the future to try and identify new populations of F. lancifer.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationAbstracts - 23rd Symposium of the International Association of Astacology (IAA) from 20-25 June in Hluboká nad Vltavou, Czech Republic
StatePublished - 2022

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