Prairie Crayfish: A Hazard in Direct Seeding

The prairie crayfish has been a suspected cause of seed and seedling losses on poorly drained sites where southern pines have been direct seeded. Crayfish burrows are often numerous on these sites, and clipping of newly germinated pines is similar to agricultural crop damage by crayfish. A series of studies was started near Alexandria, La., in 1963 to determine if crayfish eat pine seeds and seedlings. Results indicate that they seldom feed on either, but that washing of seeds into burrows is a major problem. Several similar species of prairie crayfish (Cambarus) are intermingled on upland pine sites in Louisiana l; no attempt is made to distinguish among them in this article. All are grayishwhite. Adults average about 2-1/2 inches long, smaller than the commercial species used in many food delicacies (fig. 1). Almost their entire life (probably not longer than 2 years) is spent in underground burrows extending below the water table (fig. 2). According to Johnson (1948), the crustaceous shell extracts oxygen from water similarly to fish gills, and if it is dry for more than a few minutes the crayfish will suffocate. Consequently, above-ground activity takes place at night during or after a rain when vegetation is wet. The principal food of these crayfish appears to be vegetable matter, either alive or dead (Hamner 1953).

Download this file:

Download this file

Details

Author(s): Thomas E. Campbell

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 22, Number 4 (1971)

Volume: 22

Number: 4