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Williams, L.R., M.G. Williams, J. Banta, J. Hernandez, L. Brown, & J. Placyk. 2014. Ecological niche modeling and field surveys for the Kisatchie painted crayfish, Orconectes maleate [sic]. USFWS SWG Contract #447170. Final Report Submitted to Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept., Austin, TX. October 2014. 10 pp.

[Note: correct spelling is: Orconectes maletae]

INTRODUCTION

The Kisatchie Painted Crayfish has few historic records and is endemic to northeast Texas and western Louisiana. Most specimens have been collected in the Kisatchie Bayou drainage in Louisiana and the Cypress Creek drainage in Texas (Walls 1985). This species has historically been collected both in small, sandy streams and large, silty rivers. Little is known about the habitat requirements of this species. A thorough literature review turned up no peer-reviewed publication on the ecology or population genetics of this species. [snip]

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Historical collecting localities were obtained from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. In summer 2014, we visited all of the historical sites and sampled them for Kisatchie painted crayfish. Initially, we used a combination of baited (hot dogs and sardines) minnow traps, electrofishing, and sweeping with a D-frame kick net. Kick nets were determined to be the most efficient collecting method. All of the collections occurred in the Cypress Creek/Caddo Lake drainage. [snip]

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Of the 25 historical collecting localities, fourteen of them had no captures of Kisatchie painted crayfish. One site was inaccessible, and ten sites contained the species. Thus, our survey work suggests that the species is currently found in 40% of its historical collecting localities (Figure 1, Table 1). The Kisatchie painted crayfish seems to be associated with vegetation and detritus along stream margins in the Cypress creek drainage (See Figure 2 for example). No specimens were found in collections downstream of Jefferson, TX.

In summary, we feel the Kisatchie painted crayfish has exhibited significant declines in its geographic range in East Texas. We therefore recommend this species be afforded protection and conservation action. Future work by our research team will include: 1) sampling in Louisiana to determine the conservation status across its entire range, 2) sampling of additional sites in East Texas to ground truth our ecological niche model and verify its prediction accuracy, and 3) DNA analysis to determine genetic diversity within the disjunct populations in East Texas and Louisiana. [snip]