Habitats provide food sources, cover, concealment, and a place to reproduce; thus, habitat selection is an important aspect of an organism's ecology. The objectives of this study were to investigate habitat preferences of crayfish and to determine if there was habitat partitioning among different species of crayfish in wadeable streams. Data were collected while collecting crayfish at 50 sites throughout southeastern Alabama. Data collected along with species and relative abundance were: sex, stream position, type of instream cover, and type of substrate. The 3 dominant aquatic species found in the study area were Procambarus suttkusi (Choctawhatchee Crayfish), P. versutus (Sly Crayfish), and Cambarus graysoni (Twospot Crayfish). These 3 species were most often found in woody debris, on sandy substrate, and in stream runs. In addition, there was a significant difference in abundance in pools where P. suttkusi was found alone and where P. suttkusi was found along with other crayfish species. In contrast to other reported studies, these 3 crayfish species appeared to have no preference among habitat types, but were found in the habitat most available. This result may be due to the limited habitat found in the sandy-bottomed streams of the southeastern coastal plains, and their lack of variety in cover and substrates.
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1 January 2010
Macrohabitat Partitioning of Crayfish Assemblages in Wadeable Streams in the Coastal Plains of Southeastern Alabama
Paul M. Stewart,
Jonathan M. Miller,
William H. Heath,
Thomas P. Simon
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