Abstract
Abstract In crayfish, intraspecific coloration can vary due to a variety of factors such as diet, genetic variation, environment, and ontogeny. Ortmann (1906) hypothesized that the crayfish Cambarus bartonii bartonii and Faxonius obscurus exhibit an ontogenetic shift in color change, with greener coloration in younger individuals of both species diminishing with age in larger specimens. However, this hypothesis has never been quantitatively tested. This work incorporated digital image analysis to quantify coloration of samples of C. b. bartonii and F. obscurus collected from two locations, respectively, in an eastern Pennsylvania stream. Examination for relationships between coloration (percent “green dominance”, i.e., the proportion of green in comparison to blue and red in photographs) and body size did not reveal any significant relationship between these variables in either crayfish species. Therefore, this study does not support the presence of ontogenetic color change in C. b. bartonii and F. obscurus, and suggests intraspecific variation of color in both species may be primarily influenced by other factors.
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