Status revision and update for Illinois freshwater mussel Species in Greatest Need of Conservation

Three crayfish species that were listed by Taylor et al. (2007)as in need of conservation attention were also included in a 2010petitionfor listing under the Endangered Species Act filed by the Center for Biological Diversity. These three species, the Least Crayfish, Cambarellus diminutus, the Burrowing Bog Crayfish, Fallicambarus burrisi, and the Lagniappe Crayfish, Procambarus lagniappe each have limited ranges in southwestern Alabama and southeastern Mississippi and were the focus of this study. Following conservation priority criteria developed by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, C. diminutus, Fallicambarus burrisi, and Procambarus lagniappe were also classified as a P2 (High Conservation Priority) by Smith et al. (2011). These three species were chosen based upon the need for range-wide status assessments and because of the paucity of recent records for them.The current status survey was conducted to better determine the actual distribution and the need for conservation status for C. diminutus, F. burrisi, and P. lagniappe. This study had four main goals: 1) visit as many historical locations as possible for all three species and using traditional methods sample for the presence of each species; 2) attempt to find additional populations of the species by sampling other streams with suitable habitat in southwestern Alabama and southeastern Mississippi; 3) anecdotally assess population levels; 4) document habitat for the three species.