Rusty crayfish

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Rusty crayfish
Rusty Crayfish (Faxonius rusticus) - Guelph, Ontario 2020-04-08 (06).jpg
Rusty crayfish (Faxonius rusticus) in Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Faxonius rusticus-male dorsal.jpg
Rusty spots on sides of carapace
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Cambaridae
Genus: Faxonius
Species:
F. rusticus
Binomial name
Faxonius rusticus
(Girard, 1852)
Synonyms [2] [3]
  • Cambarus rusticus Girard, 1852
  • Orconectes rusticus (Girard, 1852)

The rusty crayfish (Faxonius rusticus) is a large, aggressive species of freshwater crayfish which is native to the United States, in the Ohio River Basin in parts of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. [2] [4] [5] Its range is rapidly expanding across much of eastern North America, displacing native crayfishes in the process. [6] [7] The rusty crayfish was first captured in Illinois in 1973, and has been collected at over 20 locations in the northern portion of the state. [8] In 2005, F. rusticus was found for the first time west of the Continental Divide, in the John Day River, Oregon, which runs into the Columbia River. [9]

Contents

Description

Measurement of a rusty crayfish Rusty crayfish.JPG
Measurement of a rusty crayfish

Adult rusty crayfish can reach 10 centimeters (4 inches) in length, although they reach maturity at about 4.4 cm (1.7 in), [10] and can range in color from greenish grey, to reddish brown, [11] [12] [13] They can be easily recognized by two "rusty", reddish colored spots on the sides of their back and their large front claws with black bands around the tips. [14] Male rusty crayfish have small hook-like features on their first pair of hind legs that they use to hold onto a female while mating. [6]

Behavior

Two adult male rusty crayfish fighting for dominance. Crayfish Fight.jpg
Two adult male rusty crayfish fighting for dominance.

Many species of vertebrates that live in communities together utilize a dominance hierarchy to establish order, and studies have shown that some species of invertebrates do as well. [15] [16] The dominance hierarchy is an important aspect of a crayfish's biology and behavior. Crayfish tend to form dominance hierarchies with the other members of their population in a particular environment. The largest male will generally demonstrate the most dominance over the others by being the most aggressive, and picking fights with the other, smaller crayfish. The crayfish that wins the most fights is placed at the top of the hierarchy with the other members generally ranking in descending order based on size and sex. [17] Studies have suggested that the largest determining factor in the formation of dominance hierarchies is size rather than sex. That means that female rusty crayfish can rank higher in the dominance hierarchy than male rusty crayfish if they are larger than them. [17]

As an invasive species

The larger size and aggressive nature of rusty crayfish that have been introduced to a body of water makes it harder for them to be preyed upon by native species of fish, which are not accustomed to crayfish fighting them back. [18] Instead of running away like the native crayfish species do when they come in contact with a predator, the rusty crayfish will take an attack stance with its claws raised above its head, which will generally scare away most predatory fish. Additionally, adult rusty crayfish can be too large for some fish to consume. [19] Because the rusty crayfish are able to avoid predators fairly well, their population in these new aquatic ecosystems was able to grow extremely quickly and within twenty years the rusty crayfish population had exploded and become an invasive species in the Northern United States and parts of Canada. [20] Because these rusty crayfish populations have basically taken over the natives species' habitats and forced them out of their homes, many populations of native crayfish have experienced drastic decline over the past fifty years and the rusty crayfish has become the dominant species in much of the Midwestern United States. [12]

Control efforts

There are some chemicals that will selectively kill only crayfish that have not been registered or labeled for crayfish control, but kill all species of crayfish and are not specific to rusty crayfish. [21] Manual harvest for human consumption is an effective control strategy due to the large size of rusty crayfish. However, this strategy is only useful in reducing the adult population. Once a population of rusty crayfish is introduced to a body of water, it is very difficult to completely eradicate them. Therefore, the best control strategy is to try to prevent any further spread of the rusty crayfish. The best ways to prevent invasive species spread is to learn to identify the invasive species, and not use the species as bait or transport the species to bodies of water where it is not already present. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crayfish</span> Freshwater crustaceans

Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some species are found in brooks and streams, where fresh water is running, while others thrive in swamps, ditches, and paddy fields. Most crayfish cannot tolerate polluted water, although some species, such as Procambarus clarkii, are hardier. Crayfish feed on animals and plants, either living or decomposing, and detritus.

<i>Orconectes</i> Genus of crayfish

Orconectes is a genus of cave dwelling freshwater crayfish, endemic to suitable habitats in the eastern United States. Surface dwelling species, formerly categorised here, were moved to Faxonius in 2017.

Faxonius hathawayi blacki, the Calcasieu crayfish, is a sub-species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to Louisiana. The common name refers to the Calcasieu River, near where the original specimens were found in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana.

Faxonius cooperi, the Flint River crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to Alabama and Tennessee in the United States. The common name refers to the Flint River, where the original specimens were found.

<i>Faxonius deanae</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius deanae, the Conchas crayfish is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to the United States. The common name refers to the Conchas Lake, where the original specimens were found.

Faxonius jonesi, the Sucarnoochee River crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. The common name refers to the Sucarnoochee River, near where the original specimens were found in Kemper County, Mississippi. It is endemic to Mississippi and Alabama in the United States.

Faxonius menae, the Mena crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to Oklahoma and Arkansas in the United States. The specific epithet and common name both refer to Mena, Arkansas, where the original specimens were found.

Faxonius quadruncus, the St. Francis River crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to Missouri. The common name refers to the St. Francis River where the first examples were found.

<i>Faxonius shoupi</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius shoupi, the Nashville crayfish, is a freshwater crustacean native to the Mill Creek Basin in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to August 2017, the species was called Orconectes shoupi. Faxonius shoupi is protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as an endangered species. However, the crayfish has recently been put up for delisting by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Faxonius stannardi, the Little Wabash crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is endemic to Illinois. The common name refers to the Little Wabash River, where the original specimens were found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Faxon</span>

Walter Faxon was an American ornithologist and carcinologist. He was born at Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, where he grew up. He received three degrees from Harvard University. One of his greater ornithological achievements was demonstration that Brewster's warbler is a hybrid.

<i>Faxonius limosus</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius limosus, synonym Orconectes limosus, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is native to the east coast of North America, from Quebec to the lower James River, Virginia, but has also been introduced to Europe. It is known commonly as the spinycheek crayfish or Kamberkrebs in German.

<i>Faxonius virilis</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius virilis is a species of crayfish known as the virile crayfish, northern crayfish,eastern crayfish, and lesser known as the lake crayfish or common crawfish. Faxonius virilis was reclassified in August 2017, and the genus was changed from Orconectes to Faxonius. It is native to the central United States, east to tributaries of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River in New York and to much of Canada.

<i>Faxonius immunis</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius immunis is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is native to North America and it is an introduced species in Europe, where it lives along the Upper Rhine. Its common names include calico crayfish and papershell crayfish.

<i>Faxonius erichsonianus</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius erichsonianus is a species in the family Cambaridae ("crayfishes"), in the order Decapoda. A common name for Faxonius erichsonianus is reticulate crayfish. Faxonius erichsonianus is found in the south eastern United States of America.

<i>Faxonius</i> Genus of crayfishes

Faxonius is a genus of freshwater crayfish in the family Cambaridae. There are more than 90 described species in Faxonius. It includes the rusty crayfish, an invasive species in North America, and three species, F. virilis, F. immunis, and F. limosus, that are invasive to Europe.

<i>Faxonius lancifer</i> Species of crayfish

Faxonius lancifer, the shrimp crayfish, is a species of crayfish in the family Cambaridae. It is widespread in the South-Eastern United States.

Faxonius alluvius is a species of Cambarid crayfish endemic to the state of Indiana.

<i>Faxonius neglectus</i> Species of freshwater crayfish

Faxonius neglectus, a species of freshwater crayfish also known as the ringed crayfish, is native to Central North America, with two major disjunct areas of distribution in the Ozarks and around Nebraska. The species name, Faxonius neglectus, was previously Orconectes neglectus. Faxonius was declared its own genus in 2017 by Crandall & De Grave, as many previously thought Orconectes species were found to not reside in caves.

References

  1. ↑ S. Adams; G. A. Schuster & C. A. Taylor (2010). "Orconectes rusticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010: e.T153835A4551760. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T153835A4551760.en . Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 Crandall, Keith; De Grave, Sammy (2017). "An updated classification of the freshwater crayfishes (Decapoda: Astacidea) of the world, with a complete species list". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 37 (5): 615–653. doi: 10.1093/jcbiol/rux070 .
  3. ↑ "Faxonius rusticus". Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  4. ↑ Global Invasive Species Database
  5. ↑ Species Profile - Rusty Crayfish (Orconectes rusticus), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library
  6. 1 2 Gunderson, Jeffrey. "Rusty Crayfish Gender Identification." Rusty Crayfish Gender Identification.
  7. ↑ www.invadingspecies.com Partnership between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
  8. ↑ Taylor, Christopher A.; Redmer, Michael (1996). "Dispersal of the Crayfish Orconectes rusticus in Illinois, with Notes on Species Displacement and Habitat Preference". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 16 (3): 547–551. doi:10.2307/1548745. ISSN   0278-0372. JSTOR   1548745.
  9. ↑ Julian D. Olden Jeffrey W. Adams & Eric R. Larson (2009). "First record of Orconectes rusticus (Girard, 1852) (Decapoda, Cambaridae) west of the Great Continental Divide in North America" (PDF). Crustaceana . 82 (10): 1347–1351. doi:10.1163/156854009X448934. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-02.
  10. ↑ Pappas, Janice. Orconectes rusticus, Animal Diversity Web.
  11. ↑ Bovbjerg, Richard V. (1952). "Comparative Ecology and Physiology of the Crayfish, Orconectes propinquus and Cambarus fodiens". Physiological Zoology. 25 (1): 34–56. doi:10.1086/physzool.25.1.30160911. JSTOR   30160911. S2CID   87913861.
  12. 1 2 Pintor, Lauren M. and Sih, Andrew (2008). "Differences in Growth and Foraging Behavior of Native and Introduced Populations of an Invasive Crayfish". Biological Invasions. 11 (8): 1895–1902. doi:10.1007/s10530-008-9367-2. S2CID   19550240.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Rabalais, M. R., and Magoulick, D. D. (2006). "Influence of an Invasive Crayfish Species on Diurnal Habitat Use and Selection by a Native Crayfish Species in an Ozark Stream". The American Midland Naturalist. 155 (2): 295–306. doi:10.1674/0003-0031(2006)155[295:IOAICS]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR   4094645. S2CID   85898164.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. 1 2 Jensen, Doug (26 July 2013). "Rusty Crayfish". Minnesota Sea Grant.
  15. ↑ Alexander, R. D. (1961). "Aggressiveness, territoriality, and sexual behavior in field crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)". Behaviour. 17 (2): 130–223. doi:10.1163/156853961X00042. JSTOR   4532972.
  16. ↑ Courchesne, E. & Barlow, G. W. (1971). "Effect of isolation on components of aggressive and other behavior in the hermit crab, Pagurus samuelis". Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Physiologie. 75: 32–48. doi:10.1007/BF00335136. S2CID   13459037.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. 1 2 Copp, Newton H. (1986). "Dominance Hierarchies in the Crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) and the Question of Learned Individual Recognition (Decapoda, Astacidea)". Crustaceana. 51 (1): 9–24. doi:10.1163/156854086X00025. JSTOR   20104160.
  18. ↑ Hein, Catherine L; Roth, Brian M; Ives, Anthony R; Zanden, M Jake Vander (2006). "Fish Predation and Trapping for Rusty Crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) Control: A Whole-lake Experiment". Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 63 (2): 383. doi:10.1139/f05-229.
  19. ↑ "Wisconsin Aquatic Invasive Species." wisc.edu
  20. ↑ Olden, Julian D.; McCarthy, Julia M.; Maxted, Jeffrey T.; Fetzer, William W.; Vander Zanden, M. Jake (2006). "The rapid spread of rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) with observations on native crayfish declines in Wisconsin (U.S.A.) over the past 130 years". Biological Invasions. 8 (8): 1621. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.546.4281 . doi:10.1007/s10530-005-7854-2. S2CID   11304533.
  21. ↑ "Rusty Crayfish." in.gov.
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