(DRAFT) - Taxonomy
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
TAXONOMY
NAME - CRAYFISH
OTHER COMMON NAMES - CRAYFISH; CRAYFISH and CAVE
ELEMENT CODE -
CATEGORY - Aquatic Crustaceans
PHYLUM AND SUBPHYLUM - ARTHROPODA,
CLASS AND SUBCLASS - CRUSTACEA,
ORDER AND SUBORDER - DECAPODA,
FAMILY AND SUBFAMILY - CAMBARIDAE,
GENUS AND SUBGENUS - CAMBARUS,
SPECIES AND SSP - ZOPHONASTES,
SCIENTIFIC NAME - CAMBARUS ZOPHONASTES
AUTHORITY -
TAXONOMY REFERENCES -
COMMENTS ON TAXONOMY -
Crayfish (no common name)
Cambarus zophonastes Hobbs and Bedinger, 1964
KINGDOM: Animal GROUP: Crustacean
PHYLUM: Arthropoda CLASS: Crustacea
ORDER: Decapoda FAMILY: Cambaridae
Cambarus zophonastes is an albinistic cave crayfish. The eyes
lack pigment and are reduced. The overall body length is about 65 mm.
It is distinguished from related species by a rostrum with strongly
convergent margins bearing spines and with an areola that is more than
29 times longer than wide (04,06). The species was described by Hobbs
and Bedinger in 1964 (04). The species is one of four troglobitic
crayfish in the subgenus Jugicambarus (06). The type specimens (5)
are located in the U.S. National Museum (No. 108356, holotype male,
form I, No. 108357 allotype female, two paratype males, form I and a
paratype female) (04,06).
Three additional specimens from the type locality (Stone Co., AR)
were collected in 1972 and deposited in the U.S National Museum. The
only other specimen known to exist in collections is at Southern
Arkansas University (06).
No common name is known for this species and no other scientific
Taxonomy - 1 (DRAFT) - Taxonomy
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
names have been used.
Taxonomy - 2 (DRAFT) - Status
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
STATUS
Coded Status
Arkansas; Federal Endangered
Arkansas; State Recognized
Arkansas; Unofficially Listed
E: Federal Endangered
Ornamental
COMMENTS ON STATUS -
U.S. STATUSES AND LAWS:
Cambarus zophonastes (a cave crayfish with no common name) has
been designated an Endangered species pursuant to the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (50 CFR 17.11; P.L. 93-205, 87 Stat. 884;
16 U.S.C. 1531-1540), as amended. The species has this status
wherever found including the State of Arkansas. Critical Habitat has
not been designated.
This species is protected by the Lacey Act (P.L. 97-79, as
amended; 16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.) which makes it unlawful to import,
export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any wild animal
(alive or dead including parts, products, eggs, or offspring):
(1) in interstate or foreign commerce if taken, possessed,
transported or sold in violation of any State law or
regulation, or foreign law; or
(2) if taken or possessed in violation of any U.S. law,
treaty, or regulation or in violation of Indian tribal law.
It is also unlawful to possess any wild animal (alive or dead
including parts, products, eggs, and offspring) within the U.S.
territorial or special maritime jurisdiction (as defined in
18 U.S.C. 7) that is taken, possessed, transported, or sold in
violation of any State law or regulation, foreign law, or Indian
tribal law.
RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL AGENCIES:
USFWS -Responsible for the management/recovery, listing, and
law enforcement/protection of this species.
All Federal agencies have responsibility to ensure that any
action authorized, funded, or carried out by that agency is not likely
to jeopardize the continued existence of the species or result in the
destruction or adverse modification of Critical Habitat (50 CFR 402),
and to utilize their authorities to carry out programs for the
conservation of the species.
STATE STATUSES AND LAWS:
STATE: Arkansas
DESIGNATED STATUS: Recognized Endangered
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Status - 1 (DRAFT) - Status
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
STATE STATUTE: Cooperative Agreement with U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service; Sec. 1 of Amend. 35 to AR Constitution.
UNOFFICIAL LIST: "List of Species of Special Concern", Arkansas
Natural Heritage Commission, Global rank 1,
State rank 1.
INTERNATIONAL STATUSES, TREATIES, AND AGREEMENTS:
Cambarus zophonastes is listed as Endangered in the 1986 IUCN
List of Threatened Animals.
ECONOMIC STATUSES:
C. zophonastes is valued by collectors for display as a rare
species.
86/05/05:51 FR 16569/16572 - Proposed rule, list as Endangered
87/05/07:52 FR 11170/11172 - Final rule, listed as Endangered
Status - 2 HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS
HABITAT - AQUATIC
INLAND AQUATIC
LAND USE -
Residential
Commercial and Services
Industrial
Transportation, communications, and Util
Confined Feeding Operations
Deciduous Forest Land
Streams and Canals
NATIONAL WETLAND INVENTORY CODES
NWI NWICLS NWIMOD NWISPEC
Riverine, upper perennial SB3
Riverine, upper perennial RS1
Riverine, upper perennial OW0
Riverine, upper perennial
COMMENTS ON HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS -
The only known population occurs in a cave formed in Plattin
Limestone (04) in the Ozark Mountains (06). The cave is a "solution
channel" or "tunnel" cave, most of which is wet year-round. It
contains much mud, and many of its passages are flooded during storms
and wet seasons. The cave stream flows through 1400 feet of passage
and emerges at three springs some 150 feet from the cave entrance
(06). The stream is 3 to 6 feet wide and ranges from 1 to 20 feet
deep (04,06). Water temperature has been measured at 58 degrees
(deg.) F on 30 Oct. 1961 and 56 deg. F on 7 Nov. 1961. Normal stream
flow was estimated at 200 gal. per min. and increases for a short time
after moderate rainfall (04).
C. zophonastes has been found on the steep rock sides of the deep
pool within the cave entrance and on the mud substrate (06). The
primary recharge area consists of approximately 3.5 square miles and
is largely privately owned (01). This crayfish apparently requires
clear water since it has been observed crawling away from turbid
water. Other required parameters of water quality and habitat
requirements are unknown.
Within the recharge area of the cave are oak-hickory hardwood
forests; residential, commercial, and small industrial developments;
highways and roads; transmission line right-of-ways; and confined
feeding operations - all of which influence to some degree the quality
of Cambarus zophonastes' habitat.
Habitat Associations - 1 (DRAFT) - Food Habits
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
FOOD HABITS
TROPHIC LEVEL -
OMNIVORE
LIFESTAGE FOOD FOOD PART
General Detritus
General Arthropods
General Crustaceans
Food Habits - 1 (DRAFT) - Environment Associations
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
Environment Associations - 1 (DRAFT) - Life History
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
LIFE HISTORY
FOOD HABITS:
Food habits of Cambarus zophonastes are little known. Generally
this crayfish is an opportunistic omnivore, feeding on whatever
organic matter washes into the cave system. It feeds on organic
detritus, aquatic insects, and small crustaceans such as isopods,
copepods, and amphipods (07,08).
HOME RANGE/TERRITORY:
Unknown.
PERIODICITY:
Unknown.
MIGRATION PATTERNS:
Non-migratory.
COVER/SHELTER REQUIREMENTS:
Unknown.
REPRODUCTIVE SITE REQUIREMENTS:
Unknown.
REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS:
Reproduction is believed to be similar to most aquatic
troglobites and is believed to begin in late winter and spring when
water flows and nutrient levels are high, before tapering off in the
summer and fall months. Sustained precipitation at any time of the
year can trigger reproduction (06).
PARENTAL CARE:
Unknown.
POPULATION BIOLOGY:
The specific population biology for Cambarus zophonstes is
unknown. Obligate cave species tend to have very low reproductive
rates and low recovery potential from adverse impacts. The life span
is generally several times that of related epigean species. The
limiting factor is most often the food supply (06). The larget number
of individuals sighted during a single trip was 15 crayfish sighted by
scuba divers in 1983. The total population may be fewer than 50
individuals (06).
SPECIES INTERRELATIONSHIPS:
C. zophonastes has a commensal relationship with an undescribed
ostracod (04). Details of the relationship are unknown.
OTHER LIFE HISTORY DESCRIPTORS:
The species shows no response to light but is sensitive to
sediment, touch and disturbance of the water (04,06).
Life History - 1 (DRAFT) - Management Practices
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
RESULT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
Beneficial Restricting/regulating human disturbance of populations
Beneficial Controlling water levels
Beneficial Maintaining undisturbed/undeveloped areas
Beneficial Restricting/regulating human use of habitats
Beneficial Land Acquisition
Beneficial Controlling/Restricting Herbicide Use
Adverse Collecting
Existing Collecting
Adverse Spelunking
Existing Spelunking
Adverse Inherent Reproductive Characteristics
Existing Inherent Reproductive Characteristics
Adverse Low Gene Pool
Existing Low Gene Pool
Adverse Rural Residential/Industrial Areas
Existing Rural Residential/Industrial Areas
Adverse Highway/Railroads
Existing Highway/Railroads
Adverse Transmission Lines/Towers
Existing Transmission Lines/Towers
Adverse Siltation
Existing Siltation
Adverse Applying herbicides
Existing Applying herbicides
Adverse Environmental Contamination/Pollution
Existing Environmental Contamination/Pollution
COMMENTS ON MANAGEMENT PRACTICES -
The threats of low gene pool, sedimentation, groundwater
contamination, and human disturbance are the primary reasons for the
listing of Cambarus zophonastes.
Cambarus zophonastes has a very restricted range and probably a
corresponding low population level. Given that the species is only
known from one location and that the population may be as small as 50
individuals, the removal of crayfish, especially ovigerous females,
could reduce the species' population drastically (06). Obligate cave
species generally live longer and have lower reproductive rates than
surface dwelling relatives. Cooper (02), in a study of crayfish in
Shelta Cave, AL, found that Orconectes australis (a cave crayfish)
carried 10 to 60 attached ova while surface species carry as many as
574 attached ova.
Apparently Cambarus zophonastes never existed beyond the present
distribution (type locality in Stone Co., AR). The existing
population is threatened by water quality degradation from nearby
highway (AR Hwy 9) traffic (toxic spills, e.g., a 4,000 gallon spill
of gasoline occurred in March 1985), siltation from industrial
operations (concrete company and petroleum product storage) and real
estate development (residential and commercial), sewage or effluents
Management Practices - 1 (DRAFT) - Management Practices
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
from septic systems, and transmission line right-of-way maintenance
with herbicides (01). The species apparently has low reproductive
rates characteristic of obligate cave dwellers and is extremely
susceptible to collecting, a potential future threat (02,05).
The cave energy source is bat guano from a maternity roost of
gray bats, an endangered species (03). Loss of this energy source
(a possible outcome of disturbance by spelunkers) would certainly
result in a decline of biological life in the cave. Cavers could
have a direct impact on the crayfish by forcing the often sedentary
crayfish to become active, thus increasing their metabolic rate in a
system where energy conservation is highly important.
UNAPPROVED PLAN:
A recovery plan for Cambarus zophonastes has not been initiated. The
anticipated date for this action is FY 1988.
Baseline data on population levels, water quality, the size of
the recharge area, and sources of pollution needs to be gathered (some
of this work has already begun). Additional caves should be surveyed
for the presence of C. zophonastes.
A 3.5 square mile area has been identified as a "high" or
"extremely high hazard area" with regard to the survival of Cambarus
zophonastes. This area should be protected from adverse development
(i.e., sewage treatment plants and lagoons, impoundments, road
construction, mining, etc.) through land use zoning or conservation
agreement, easement, or other means (06). The water table should be
maintained and human access to the cave limited. The use of
herbicides for transmission line corridor or road maintenance in the
area should be controlled.
Management Practices - 2 (DRAFT) - References
Species CRAYFISH
Species Id ESIS454003
Date 13 MAR 96
References
***** REFERENCES FOR ALL NARRATIVES EXCEPT N-OCCURRENCE *****
01 Aley, T. and C. Aley. 1985. Water quality protection studies Hell
Creek Cave, Arkansas. Rep. on file with: AR Nat. Heritage Comm.,
Heritage Center, Suite 200, 225 East Markham, Little Rock 72201.
02 Cooper, J.F. 1975. Ecological and behavioral studies in Shelta
Cave, Arkansas, with emphasis on decapod crustaceans. Ph.D.,
Diss., Univ. of KY.
03 Harvey, M.J., J.J. Cassidy, and G.G. O'Hagan. 1981. Endangered
bats of Arkansas: Distribution, status, ecology, and management.
A report to Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Little Rock.
04 Hobbs, H.H, Jr. and M.S. Bedinger. 1964. A new troglobitic
crayfish of the Genus Cambarus (Decapoda, Astracidae) from Arkansas
with a note on the range of Cambarus cryptodytes Hobbs. Proc.
Biol. Soc. Wash. 77:9-15.
05 Poulson, T.L. 1961. Cave adaptation in amblyopsid fishes. Ph.D.
Diss., Univ. of Michigan.
06 Smith, K.I. 1984. The status of Cambarus zophonastes Hobbs and
Bedinger, an endemic cave crayfish from Arkansas. Status Survey
Rep. on file at: U.S. Fish & Wildl. Serv., Jackson Field Off.,
Jackson, MS.
07 Smith, K. 1987. Pers. comm. AR Nat. Heritage Comm., Heritage
Center, Suite 200, 225 E. Markham, Little Rock 72201.
08 Pennak, R.W. 1978. Freshwater invertebrates of the United States,
2nd ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 803 pp.
***** REFERENCES FOR N-OCCURRENCE NARRATIVE ONLY *****
01 Smith, K.I. 1984. The status of Cambarus zophonastes Hobbs and
Bedinger, an endemic cave crayfish from Arkansas. Status Survey
Rep. on file at: U.S. Fish & Wildl. Serv., Jackson Field Office,
Jackson, MS.
References - 1