English

Abstract

Abstract In 2015, a survey of Tomlinson Run State Park (TRSP) located in Hancock County, West Virginia USA was completed. Thirty stations, each 100m long, were randomly selected using ArcGIS for both intermittent and perennial stream reaches. Sites were sampled by performing ten seine hauls at each randomly selected station and scored using an Ohio EPA Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) to obtain qualitative habitat data. Ponds and impoundments were trapped for crayfish using baited crayfish/minnow traps. Burrows found in wetlands and seeps were excavated to determine TRSP burrowing crayfish species composition. In total, 471 crayfish of four species (Cambarus carinirostris, Cambarus monongalensis, Cambarus robustus and Orconectes obscurus) were collected. A statistically significant correlation existed between QHEI score and CPUE for C. carinirostris on intermittent streams. Cambarus monongalensis was the sole burrowing species encountered while C. carinirostris was only collected from intermittent stations (CPUE = 0.12). O. obscurus was the most common species collected from perennial streams (CPUE = 0.95) while Cambarus robustus was the rarest species (CPUE = 0.09) encountered in Tomlinson Run State Park. The crayfish fauna of TRSP is typical for the Upper Ohio River Valley, and at the present time, all species appear stable.