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Cambarus bartonii

Cambarus bartonii

Cambaraus bartonii, a slow walking species of crayfish native to the eastern coast of North America, is commonly referred to as the Appalachian brook crayfish or the common crayfish.

Cambarus bartonii, a member of the Cambaridae family, is the largest of the main four families of freshwater crayfish with an estimated population of 3.61 crayfish per meter squared in the wild. They can range anywhere from New Brunswick, Canada down south as far as Georgia.

Cambarus bartonii typically dig in the soil in bodies of water such as rivers, streams, burrows, and ponds. This digging is a notable help with in the agricultural field as it helps release nutrients stuck in the soil underwater.

Cambarus bartonii are prey to few animals such as various bird species as well has turtle species. Cambarus bartonii can be classified as a predator and a scavenger. It feeds on detritus as well as plant algae while also a predator to amphibians, eggs, insects, mollusks, worms, and other crustaceans. Cambarus bartonii attempt to evade predators by contracting powerful abdominal muscles to for a quick, rapid, backward motion to evade quickly and effectively.

Mating for the Cambarus bartonii typically occurs in the spring and can extend into the summer. Cambarus bartonii are 9 times more likely to find a mate at night, and have two ways of mating. One method is an external form of reproduction, where the males sperm flows down the females groves into the receptacle to begin fertilization. The other method of reproduction occurs with sperm meeting the egg internally, which involves the delivery of a spermatophore from the male to the females receptacle. A female can lay around 50-60 eggs during each mating process. Both mating methods will result in the fertilized eggs residing on the females pleopods, segments located along the abdomen, until around the 2nd molting of the Cambarus bartonii as it gets close to maturation.[1]

While molting, Cambarus bartonii remains mostly inactive, happening up to 10 times in their first year in life and 3-5 times per year afterwards. During their molt, the shedding of their exoskeleton leaves them vulnerable to predation and injury.

This species is not endangered.

References

1. Jenkinson, S. 2000. "Cambarus bartonii" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved April 01, 2024 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cambarus_bartonii/
2. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, 2024. (On-line), North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Retrieved March 29, 2024 at https://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Crustaceans/Cambarus-C-bartonii
3. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, June 2015. "Appalachian brook crayfish (Cambarus bartonii)" (On-line), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved April 02, 2024 at https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Ecological-Risk-Screening-Summary-Appalachian-brook-crayfish.pdf
4. Crandall, K.A., S. De Grave. 2017. "Cambarus bartonii" (On-line), Nature Serve Explorer. Retrieved March 26, 2024 at https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.872128/Cambarus_bartonii
5. Iowa State University. 2003. "Species Cambarus bartonii" (On-line), BugGuide. Retrieved April 04, 2024 at https://bugguide.net/node/view/603390