Distribution, Habitat Preference, and Status of the Ditch Fencing Crayfish, Faxonella clypeata (Hay) (Decapoda: Cambaridae), in Arkansas

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science Volume 68 Article 17 2014 Distribution, Habitat Preference, and Status of the Ditch Fencing Crayfish, Faxonella clypeata (Hay) (Decapoda: Cambaridae), in Arkansas H. W. Robison C. T. McAllister Eastern Oklahoma State College, Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas Part of the Animal Studies Commons, Fresh Water Studies Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Recommended Citation Robison, H. W. and McAllister, C. T. (2014) "Distribution, Habitat Preference, and Status of the Ditch Fencing Crayfish, Faxonella clypeata (Hay) (Decapoda: Cambaridae), in Arkansas," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 68 , Article 17. Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol68/iss1/17 This article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact , . Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 68 [2014], Art. 17 Distribution, Habitat Preference, and Status of the Ditch Fencing Crayfish, Faxonella clypeata (Hay) (Decapoda: Cambaridae), in Arkansas H.W. Robison1 and C.T. McAllister2* 1 2 * 9717 Wild Mountain Drive, Sherwood, AR 72120 Science and Mathematics Division, Eastern Oklahoma State College, Idabel, OK 74745 Correspondence: Running Title: Faxonella clypeata in Arkansas Abstract The ditch fencing crayfish, Faxonella clypeata (Hay), is a common and widespread crayfish that inhabits roadside ditches, intermittent first-order streams, shallow sloughs with heavy vegetation, and edges of swamps in Arkansas. Between 1997-2012, we made 55 collections of F. clypeata in 34 counties throughout eastern Arkansas, including 23 counties where F. clypeata had not been previously documented. At most of these locations within the West Gulf Coastal and Mississippi Alluvial Plain provinces, F. clypeata was found to be a locally abundant crayfish. With regard to conservation status, F. clypeata should be considered as “Currently Stable” due to its widespread distribution and general abundance throughout its range in the state. Introduction Arkansas is home to approximately 53 currently described species of crayfishes (Bouchard and Robison 1980, HWR unpubl.). Among these many crayfishes is the ditch fencing crayfish, Faxonella clypeata (Hay). Hay (1899) originally described F. clypeata as Cambarus clypeatus from near Bay St. Louis, Hancock Co., Mississippi. This crayfish occurs from southeastern Texas across the southern states to northern Florida and to South Carolina, ranging north to southeastern Missouri (Walls 2009). Recent studies of Arkansas crayfishes have improved our knowledge of several species (Robison and McAllister 2006, 2008, 2010, Robison et al. 2009, 2014, McAllister and Robison 2010, 2012, Wagner et al. 2010a, b, McAllister et al. 2011) but no investigation has involved F. clypeata in the state. Faxonella clypeata is a commonly encountered state crayfish species; however, we know little of its precise distribution and habitat in Arkansas. In an unpublished thesis, Reimer (1963) provided a cursory look of the distribution of this species in Arkansas. Fitzpatrick (1963) studied geographic variation in this species and elevated it to the genus Faxonella from a subgenus of Orconectes. Smith (1953) investigated the life history of this crayfish in Louisiana. Oklahoma crayfishes were surveyed by Reimer (1969) who provided locations of F. clypeata and some habitat information. Pflieger (1996) included this crayfish as a member of the Missouri crayfish fauna, and Walls (2009) surveyed the Louisiana crayfish fauna and included F. clypeata as a state member. More recently, Morehouse and Tobler (2013) reported that F. clypeata was found in three counties of southeastern Oklahoma. The purpose of this present study was to attempt to accurately describe the habitat and distribution of F. clypeata in Arkansas. Specific objectives of the study were: (1) to determine the distribution of F. clypeata; (2) to document the habitat of F. clypeata; and (3) examine the current conservation status of this crayfish in the state. Materials and Methods Fieldwork was conducted from March 1997 through April 2012. The majority of collections was made during the months of March, April, and May. Faxonella clypeata was collected by hand, aquatic dipnets, baited and unbaited crayfish traps, and by digging burrows with shovels. Notes on habitat type were made at each of the 55 collection sites and later summarized for presentation in the text. Collection efforts were centered in southern and eastern Arkansas within the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (Delta) and West Gulf Coastal Plain (Fig. 1). Fifty-five collections of F. clypeata were made in 34 counties throughout eastern Arkansas (Appendix). Select voucher specimens were preserved in 60% v/v isopropanol and deposited in the Southern Arkansas University (SAU) Invertebrate Collection, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (USNM) Invertebrate Zoology Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 68, 2014 100 Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 2014 100 Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 68 [2014], Art. 17 Faxonella clypeata in Arkansas (see also Walls 2009): In male F F. clypeata the mesial process of the gonopod is much shorter than in F.. creaseri and the central projection is a bit thicker and less attenuated at the tip. Male F.. blairi can be distinguished from all other Faxonella species by the much straighter central projection of F F. blairi blairi,, which reaches to the coxae of the first pereiopod. In F.. creaseri creaseri,, the central projection reaches basically to the same level, but the distal half of the ramus is bent more mesially. In F.. clypeata clypeata,, the mesial process is much shorter. Hayes and Reimer (1977) described the distinguishing characters of F. blairi blairi,, including the annulus ventralis of the F. blairi female, which is much more firmly embedded in the sternum, much more than in other species of Faxonella and the sinus is simpler in sculpture. Figure 1. Physiographic regions of Arkansas. Coastal Plain (=West Gulf Coas Coastal tal Plain), Delta (=Mississippi Alluvial Plain). Collection in Washington, D.C. In addition to our field collections, crayfish collections housed at SAU were examined for specimens of F. clypeata clypeata,, and a search of the online computerized database of crayf crayfishes ishes at the National Museum of Natural History, (...truncated)