Status Survey for three rare Alabama crayfishes, Cambarus cracens, Cambarus scotti, and Cambarus unestami

The Slender Claw crayfish, Cambarus cracens, the Chattooga River Crayfish, C. scotti, andthe Blackbarred Crayfish,C. unestamieach have limited ranges confined to northeastern Alabama and northwestern Georgia. As such they are vulnerable to population declines due to single catastrophic events and are listed as either Endangered (C. cracens) or Threatened (C. scotti and C. unestami) according to American Fisheries Society criteria (Taylor et al. 2007). Following conservation priority criteria developed by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, C. cracenswas classified as a P1 (Highest Conservation Priority) species, C. scotti was classified as a P4 (Low Conservation Priority), and C. unestamiwas classified as a P2 (High Conservation Priority) by Smith et al. (2011). These three species were chosen based upon their need for range-wide status assessments and limited detection rates in past surveys. The current status survey was conducted to determine true distribution and population statuses of C. cracens, C. scotti andC. unestamiand had four main goals: 1) visit all known historical locations for all three species and sample using traditional methods to determine the presence of each species; 2) attempt to find additional populations of the species by sampling other streams with suitable habitat in northeastern Alabama and northwestern Georgia; 3) assess population sizes of the species at locations where appropriate quantitative methods can be employed; 4) determine preferred habitat for the three species by recording abiotic habitat variables at sites containing the species.