Poster Details
RED SWAMP IN THE REDWOODS: AN INTRODUCED POPULATION OF THE REDSWAMP CRAYFISH (PROCAMBARUS CLARKII) HAS ESTABLISHED IN SANTA CRUZ, CA.
The red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852), is a decapod crustacean originating in the South-eastern United States, and can negatively influence more than one level of freshwater processes while simultaneously representing a significant part of the benthic biomass available for assimilation into higher trophic levels. As an invasive species, P. clarkii poses a significant threat to native biological diversity. The introduction of P. clarkii outside of their native range into redwood ecosystems can have far-reaching ecological consequences on local communities. P. clarkii has not yet been documented in Santa Cruz, California, but are found to have successfully colonized an urban pond; Westlake Park. A total of 137 crayfish were caught with a 1:1.25 male to female sex ratio. Preliminary results found total length (mm) averaged 86.3 + 8.3 SD for males (N=61) and 87.9 + 9.5 SD for females (N=76). We are examining sex ratios and differences in morphological characteristics of this population of red swamp crayfish to estimate the risk of possible further range expansion of P.clarkii into local habitats of Santa Cruz, CA.
Authors: Schuyler P. McMahan, Nicholas A. Macias, and Eric Palkovacs
Schuyler McMahan (Primary Presenter/Author), University of California, Santa Cruz, spmcmaha@ucsc.edu;
Nicholas Macias (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), University of California, Santa Cruz, niamacia@ucsc.edu;