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.                                   

Increasing population size and road density has lead to a dramatic increase in salt application during the cold months over the last few decades in the northeastern United States. As a result, salinity levels of freshwater streams are rising at a rapid rate. This increase in salinity has led to habitat degradation in aquatic ecosystems and a harmful effect on the health of freshwater organisms. The purpose of this project is to explore the impact of increased salinity levels on the stress levels of two common native crayfish species, the Rock Crayfish (C. carinirostris) and the Allegheny Crayfish (Faxonius obscurus), by measuring the change in respiration through the tracking of dissolved oxygen levels. This will be accomplished through the use of a respiration chamber containing various concentrations of salt solutions made from common road salt deicer. Respiration rate will be corrected for crayfish ash free dry mass and regressed against salinity. Crayfish responses to salinity may be indicative of how other freshwater macroinvertebrates react to increased salinity levels. The specimens will be dried, and their dry masses will be collected. They will be ashed to create regression equations to convert between various morphometric measurements, dry mass, and ash free dry mass. The morphometric measurements that produce the most accurate regression equation will be determined.

Non-indigenous species are a significant threat to freshwater biodiversity. In the Potomac Basin there are several known invasive crayfish species including F. virilis (virile crayfish) and F.rusticus (rusty crayfish). It is imperative to discover whether F. obscurus is in fact an invasive crayfish that needs a management plan or simply another native species that needs protection. F. obscurus is a wide-ranging crayfish species that is native to the northeastern United States. Populations found in the Atlantic Slope Drainage basins are considered invasive. Using CO1 and 16S primers, we will be creating a range-wide haplotype map to investigate these invasions.

During the cold months in the northeastern United States, road salt is used to de-ice roads. The increase in human population and road density has led to a dramatic increase in salt application over the past 30 years. As a result, salinity levels of freshwater streams are rising at a rapid rate which has led to habitat degradation in aquatic ecosystems and a harmful effect on the health of many freshwater organisms. Crayfish responses to salinity may be indicative of how other freshwater macroinvertebrates react to increased salinity levels. This project explores the impact of increased salinity levels on the stress levels of two West Virginia natives, the Rock Crayfish (Cambarus carinirostris) and the Allegheny Crayfish (Faxonius obscurus). We measured the change in respiration through the tracking of dissolved oxygen levels through the use of a respiration chamber and varying salt solutions from common road salt deicer. All specimens were dried and ashed to record dry mass (DM) and ash-free dry mass (AFDM). We then created species level regressions to predict DM and AFDM from carapace length (CL). In 2010, Benke et al. published an order level regression for Decapoda to predict DM from CL, and a species level regression for Cambarus bartonii to convert between CL and AFDM. We found significant difference Benke’s regressions and our regressions, indicating the possible need for species specific regression equations to estimate crayfish biomass.