Epigean Crayfishes of the Greenbrier River Drainage, West Virginia

Abstract

Although the distribution and status of West Virginia’s crayfishes has received more attention since the publication of Jezerinac et al.’s monograph of the state fauna in 1995, the crayfishes of the Greenbrier River Drainage have been neglected. Conservation concerns for imperiled crayfish fauna have increased in recent years. However, in order to form effective managements plans, a thorough understanding of the distribution and conservation status of a region's fauna is necessary. In order to establish this understanding of crayfish fauna within the Greenbrier River Drainage, the West Liberty University Crayfish Conservation Laboratory performed surveys during the summers of 2008 and 2009 within the drainage. These efforts have revealed new information regarding the distribution, life history, natural history, taxonomy, and conservation status of the complete assemblage of epigean crayfish species found in the Greenbrier River Drainage: Cambarus appalachiensis, C. carinirostris, C. chasmodactylus, C. smilax, Faxonius cristavarius, F. obscurus, F. sanbornii, and F. virilis. This novel information regarding the distribution and life history of the epigean crayfishes present within the drainage can be used to combat the major conservation threats affecting the native crayfish within the drainage including nonnative crayfishes, land-use practices, and pollutants.