Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) on Aug 31, 2011
Submitter has sample
Description of specimen
while fishing the creek i saw what i thought was a native signal crawfish but when i grabbed it it was like nothing ive ever seen and im an AVID crawfisherman i see lots of mudbugs i kept it for identification brought it home and found that it is one of the two invasive spp. in oregon. it will live out its days in my aqaurium or be disposed of.
Commentary
Expert Reviewer
Tania Siemens
WISE Program Coordinator (Watershed and Invasive Species Education)
Oregon Sea Grant Extension
Oregon State University
tania.siemens@oregonstate.edu
541-914-0701
Reporter
Aug. 31, 2011, 2:19 p.m.
I commend you for being so observant and noting that you definitely did not find a the native signal crayfish! Yes, cox creek and wavery lake are known to be infested with the invasive red swamp crayfish. Thanks for being responsible and not transporting or releasing it into another un-infested water body. I am not aware of any studies showing specifically how the invasive crayfish would impact native mussles, however they do out compete the native crayfish for food and shelter, and can prey on fish and amphibian egg masses and thus decrease their populations as well.
I have a flyer describing the various non native crayfish in Oregon so you can be aware of them as well. I will email it to you separately. Thanks for doing your part to prevent additional spread of these species.
Tania Siemens
WISE Program Coordinator (Watershed and Invasive Species Education)
Oregon Sea Grant Extension
Oregon State University
tania.siemens@oregonstate.edu
541-914-0701
Tania Siemens
Sept. 1, 2011, 12:26 a.m.
Reporter
Sept. 1, 2011, 11:05 a.m.