An integrative conservation assessment of sgcn crayfishes in north carolina, south carolina, and georgia to fill criticalneeds for conservation planning

This $286,029 Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the State Wildlife Grants (CFDA 15.634) program will fund a 3-year conservation assessment of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) crayfishes in the coastal plain regions of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The project will use an integrative approach combining field sampling and extensive genetic analyses to evaluate the taxonomic and conservation status of over 40% of the 37 Procambarus crayfish species in these states, many of which are SGCN. The goal is to build a robust understanding of this historically understudied group of species and address numerous priorities outlined in the partner states' current State Wildlife Action Plans. The project will be carried out by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a key state agency responsible for managing and preserving Georgia's natural resources.

The southeastern united states is a global hotspot for crayfish diversity, encompassing nearly two-thirds of the countrys 350 known species. Recent work has demonstrated that this is a substantial underrepresentation of the true diversity in the region, in large part due to historically sparse sampling coupled with taxonomic challenges. Among the most diverse crayfish genera in the states of north carolina (NC), south carolina (SC), and georgia (GA) is procambarus. The majority of the 37 procambarus species in these states are restricted to the coastal plain ecoregion, below the atlantic seaboard fall line. Procambarus is among the most imperiled crayfish genera in the southeastern US due to several factors common to coastal plain aquatic ecosystems, including habitat alteration via urbanization, climate change effects, and environmental input from upstream activities (e.g., runoff from agricultural and industrial activity). Equally detrimental to effective management and conservation of these species is taxonomic uncertainty, compounded by effects of the introduction and subsequent dispersal of non-native crayfishes, such as the red swamp crayfish. Currently, fifteen of the 37 procambarus species in NC, SC, and GA (over 40%) are species of greatest conservation need (sgcn). This 3-year proposed project will use an integrative approach, combining traditional field sampling techniques with extensive genetic analyses, to build a robust understanding of a historically understudied group of species and address numerous topics in each partner states current (2015) state wildlife action plan. The overall project can be broken down into three sets of objectives, each with a quantifiable metric to track progress. First, we aim to evaluate the taxonomic and conservation status of crayfish sgcn in the coastal plain of NC, SC, and GA. The ultimate outcome of this will be a landscape-scale, data-driven, integrative assessment of the taxonomic and conservation status of up to 25 crayfish sgcn in these states, including 2 state endangered, 8 state threatened, 1 special concern, and 2 species proposed for additional state listings. Second, we aim to assess current and near-future threats to crayfish sgcn in NC, SC, and GA through fieldwork and surveys of crayfishes sold in the regional pet trade, with an emphasis on identifying potential pathways for invasive introductions. Gaining a clear understanding of where non-native crayfishes are and how they are spreading in the region will allow US to react accordingly using data-driven science, as well as proactively mitigate potential impacts on sgcn of all aquatic taxa (e.g., crayfishes, fishes, mussels, snails, amphibians). Third, we will develop a user-friendly data portal that will allow agency staff and partners to query and visualize spatial genetic structure coincident with occurrence data. This will help guide management and conservation planning and will serve as a platform for public outreach and education regarding a common, yet poorly understood group of animals. The results of this project will inform wildlife managers from partner agencies on how to better conserve and manage crayfish species of conservation concern as well as proactively implement best management practices to prevent further population declines and the future petitioning and or listing of species. In addition, this project establishes a framework for conducting expedient, landscape-scale, integrative surveys to address urgent conservation needs.