Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Injury frequency and severity in crayfish communities as indicators of physical habitat quality and water quality within agricultural headwater streams

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Crayfishes (Decapoda) are common inhabitants of agricultural headwater streams in the Midwestern USA that have been impacted by physical habitat degradation and contamination by agricultural pollutants. The frequency and severity of injuries within crayfish communities are indicators of crayfish aggression, which is influenced by physical, chemical, and biotic factors. Previous studies have not evaluated the relationships of the frequency and severity of crayfish injuries with physical habitat quality, water quality, and biotic factors within agricultural headwater streams. Understanding these relationships will assist with determining if crayfish injury variables can serve as an indicator of physical habitat quality or water quality in these small degraded streams. We sampled crayfishes, documented the frequency and type of injuries, and measured instream habitat and water chemistry in 2014 and 2015 within 12 agricultural headwater streams in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. We documented five native crayfish species from 1641 adult captures. The most abundant species were Faxonius rusticus, Faxonius immunis, and Faxonius propinquus. Linear mixed effect model analyses indicated that four crayfish injury response variables were positively correlated (p < 0.05) with crayfish density, physical habitat quality, and water velocity diversity and that crayfish injury response variables were more strongly correlated with crayfish density than physical habitat quality or water quality. Our results indicate that response variables describing the severity and frequency of crayfish injuries can be effective indicators of physical habitat quality in agricultural headwater streams.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander, M. M. (1943). Food habits of the snapping turtle in Connecticut. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 7, 278–282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, R. G., Avers, P. E., King, T., & McNab, W. H. (1994). Ecoregions and subregions of the United States. Washington, DC: USDA Forest Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird, H. P., Patullo, B. W., & Macmillan, D. L. (2006). Reducing aggression between freshwater crayfish (Cherax destructor Clark: Decapoda, Parastacidae) by increasing habitat complexity. Aquaculture Research, 37, 1419–1428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbee, G. C., & Stout, M. J. (2009). Comparative acute toxicity of neonicotinoid and pyrethroid insecticides to non-target crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) associated with rice–crayfish crop rotations. Pest Management Science, 65, 1250–1256.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, D. D., & Jennings, R. D. (2003). Habitat use by Gila monsters: the importance of shelters. Herpetological Monographs, 17, 111–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergman, D. A., & Moore, P. A. (2003). Field observations of intraspecific agonistic behavior of two crayfish species, Orconectes rusticus and Orconectes virilis, in different habitats. The Biological Bulletin, 205, 26–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergman, D. A., Redman, C. N., Fero, K. C., Simon, J. L., & Moore, P. A. (2006). The impacts of flow on chemical communication strategies and fight dynamics of crayfish. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology, 39, 245–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breithaupt, T., & Eger, P. (2002). Urine makes the difference: chemical communication in fighting crayfish made visible. Journal of Experimental Biology, 205, 1221–1231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brusven, M. A., & Prather, K. V. (1974). Influence of stream sediments on distribution of macrobenthos. Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia, 71, 25–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burskey, J. L., & Simon, T. P. (2010). Reach- and watershed-scale associations of crayfish within an area of varying agricultural impact in west-central Indiana. Southeastern Naturalist, 9(Special Issue 3), 199–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Capelli, G. M., & Hamilton, P. A. (1984). Effects of food and shelter on aggressive activity in the crayfish Orconectes rusticus (Girard). Journal of Crustacean Biology, 4, 252–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, J. M., Kershner, M. W., & Montemarano, J. J. (2013). Habitat-specific effects of particle size, current velocity, water depth, and predation risk on size-dependent crayfish distribution. Hydrobiologia, 716, 103–114.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, M. E., & Moore, P. A. (2008). The effects of the herbicide metolachlor on agonistic behavior in the crayfish, Orconectes rusticus. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 55, 94–102.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Corkum, L. D., & Cronin, D. J. (2004). Habitat complexity reduces aggression and enhances consumption in crayfish. Journal of Ethology, 22, 23–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Creed Jr., R. P., & Reed, J. M. (2004). Ecosystem engineering by crayfish in a headwater stream community. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 23, 224–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorn, N. J., & Wojdak, J. M. (2004). The role of omnivorous crayfish in littoral communities. Oecologia, 140, 150–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, D. D., Klotz, K. L., & Moore, P. A. (2018). Exposure to sublethal ammonia concentrations alters the duration and intensity of agonistic interactions in the crayfish, Orconectes rusticus. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 100, 189–194.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Englund, G., & Krupa, J. J. (2000). Habitat use by crayfish in stream pools: influence of predators, depth and body size. Freshwater Biology, 43, 75–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eggleston, D. B., & Lipcius, R. N. (1992). Shelter selection by spiny lobster under variable predation risk, social conditions, and shelter size. Ecology, 73, 992–1011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans-White, M. A., Dodds, W. K., & Whiles, M. R. (2003). Ecosystem significance of crayfishes and stonerollers in a prairie stream: functional differences between co-occurring omnivores. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 22, 423–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Figiel Jr., C. R., & Miller, G. L. (1995). The frequency of chela autotomy and its influence on the growth and survival of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852)(Decapoda, Cambaridae). Crustaceana, 68, 472–483.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fortino, K., & Creed Jr., R. P. (2007). Abiotic factors, competition or predation: what determines the distribution of young crayfish in a watershed? Hydrobiologia, 575, 301–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, J., & Weisberg, H. S. (2011). An R and S-Plus companion to applied regression (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez, J. M., Smith, D. R., Livingston, S., Warnemuende-Pappas, E., & Zwonitzer, M. (2016). Blind inlets: conservation practices to reduce herbicide losses from closed depressional areas. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 16, 1921–1932.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gorman, O. T., & Karr, J. R. (1978). Habitat structure and stream fish communities. Ecology, 59, 507–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gostner, W., Alp, M., Schleiss, A. J., & Robinson, C. T. (2013). The hydro-morphological index of diversity: a tool for describing habitat heterogeneity in river engineering projects. Hydrobiologia, 712, 43–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, K. J., & Davis, R. J. (1992). Coarse woody debris in stream channels in relation to river channel management in woodland areas. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management, 7, 117–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herzon, I., & Helenius, J. (2008). Agricultural drainage ditches, their biological importance and functioning. Biological Conservation, 141, 1171–1183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higham, T. E., Day, S. W., & Wainwright, P. C. (2006). Multidimensional analysis of suction feeding performance in fishes: fluid speed, acceleration, strike accuracy and the ingested volume of water. Journal of Experimental Biology, 209, 2713–2725.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirvonen, H. (1992). Effects of backswimmer (Notonecta) predation on crayfish (Pacifastacus) young: autotomy and behavioural responses. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 29, 261–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogger, J. B. (1988). Ecology, population and behaviour. In D. M. Holdich & R. S. Lowery (Eds.), Freshwater crayfish: biology, management and exploitation (pp. 114–144). London: Croom Helm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huber, R., Schneider, R. A. Z., & Moore, P. (2001). Individual and status recognition in the crayfish, Orconectes rusticus: the effects of urine release on fight dynamics. Behaviour, 138, 137–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudina, S., Žganec, K., & Hock, K. (2015). Differences in aggressive behaviour along the expanding range of an invasive crayfish: an important component of invasion dynamics. Biological Invasions, 17, 3101–3112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, M. A., Castañeda, A., Smiley Jr., P. C., Gillespie, R. B., Smith, D. R., & King, K. W. (2016). Influence of instream habitat and water chemistry on amphibians in channelized agricultural headwater streams. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 230, 87–97.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Juanes, F., & Smith, L. D. (1995). The ecological consequences of limb damage and loss in decapod crustaceans: a review and prospectus. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 193, 197–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kouba, A., Buřič, M., Policar, T., & Kozák, P. (2011). Evaluation of body appendage injuries to juvenile signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus): relationships and consequences. Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems, 401, 04. https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2011012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuklina, I., Kouba, A., & Kozak, P. (2013). Real-time monitoring of water quality using fish and crayfish as bio-indicators: a review. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185, 5043–5053.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lodge, D. M., Kershner, M. W., Aloi, J. E., & Covich, A. P. (1994). Effects of an omnivorous crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) on a freshwater littoral food web. Ecology, 75, 1265–1281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lodge, D. M., & Lorman, J. G. (1987). Reductions in submersed macrophyte biomass and species richness by the crayfish Orconectes rusticus. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 44, 591–597.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur, R., & Levins, R. (1967). The limiting similarity, convergence, and divergence of coexisting species. The American Naturalist, 101, 377–385.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magurran, A. E. (1988). Ecological diversity and its measurement. London: Croom Helm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magoulick, D. D. (2004). Effects of predation risk on habitat selection by water column fish, benthic fish and crayfish in stream pools. Hydrobiologia, 527, 209–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mariappan, P., & Balasundaram, C. (1999). Molt-related limb loss in Macrobrachium nobilii. Current Science, 77, 637–639.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin III, A. L., & Moore, P. A. (2007). Field observations of agonism in the crayfish, Orconectes rusticus: shelter use in a natural environment. Ethology, 113, 1192–1201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattingly, R. L., Herricks, E. E., & Johnston, D. M. (1993). Channelization and levee construction in Illinois: review and implications for management. Environmental Management, 17, 781–795.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClain, W. R., Romaire, R. P., Lutz, C. G., & Shirley, M. G. (2007). Louisiana crawfish production manual. Publication 2637. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Agricultural Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meade, M. E., & Watts, S. A. (1995). Toxicity of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate to juvenile Australian crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus. Journal of Shellfish Research, 14, 341–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Momot, W. T., Gowing, H., & Jones, P. D. (1978). The dynamics of crayfish and their role in ecosystems. American Midland Naturalist, 99, 10–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Momot, W. T. (1995). Redefining the role of crayfish in aquatic ecosystems. Reviews in Fisheries Science, 3, 33–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, P., & Atema, J. (1988). A model of a temporal filter in chemoreception to extract directional information from a turbulent odor plume. The Biological Bulletin, 174, 355–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morphet, J., & Hancock, P. (2008). A rapid method for the screening and confirmation of over 400 pesticide residues in food. In Application notes. Manchester: Waters Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally, N. R., & Keller, E. (1979). Use of fluvial processes to minimize adverse effects of stream channelization. Raleigh, North Carolina: Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyberg, D. W. (1971). Prey capture in the largemouth bass. American Midland Naturalist, 86, 128–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyström, P., Brönmark, C., & Graneli, W. (1996). Patterns in benthic food webs: a role for omnivorous crayfish? Freshwater Biology, 36, 631–646.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohio EPA. (2005). Total maximum daily loads for the Big Walnut Creek watershed. Final Report. Columbus, Ohio: Division of Surface Water, State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

  • Parkyn, S. M., Collier, K. J., & Hicks, B. J. (2001). New Zealand stream crayfish: functional omnivores but trophic predators? Freshwater Biology, 46, 641–652.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. R., Maita, Y., & Lalli, C. M. (1984). A manual of chemical and biological methods for seawater analysis. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro, J., Bates, D., DebRoy, S., Sarkar, D., & the R Core Team. (2018). nlme: Linear and nonlinear mixed effects models. R package version, 3, 1–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team. (2018). R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raney, E. C., & Roecker, R. M. (1947). Food and growth of two species of water snakes from western New York. Copeia, 1947, 171–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, J., & Souty-Grosset, C. (2012). Management of freshwater biodiversity. Crayfish as bioindicators. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, K. E. (2012). Relative importance of water quality and habitat to fish communities in streams influenced by agricultural land use in the Cedar Creek watershed, Indiana. M.S. thesis. Fort Wayne, Indiana: Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, R. E. (2001). A guide to Ohio streams. Columbus, Ohio: Watkins Printing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savolainen, R., Ruohonen, K., & Railo, E. (2004). Effect of stocking density on growth, survival and cheliped injuries of stage 2 juvenile signal crayfish Pasifastacus leniusculus Dana. Aquaculture, 231, 237–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skurdal, J., Taugbøl, T., Fjeld, E., & Qvenild, T. (1988). Cheliped loss in Astacus. Freshwater Crayfish, 7, 165–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smiley Jr., P. C., & Gillespie, R. B. (2010). Influence of physical habitat and agricultural contaminants on fishes within agricultural drainage ditches. In M. T. Moore & R. Kroger (Eds.), Agricultural drainage ditches: mitigation wetlands for the 21st century (pp. 37–73). Kerala: Research Signpost.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smiley Jr., P. C., Gillespie, R. B., King, K. W., & Huang, C. H. (2008). Contribution of habitat and water quality to the integrity of fish communities in agricultural drainage ditches. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 63, 218A–219A.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smiley Jr., P. C., Shields Jr., F. D., & Knight, S. S. (2009). Designing impact assessments for evaluating the ecological effects of conservation practices on streams in agricultural landscapes. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 45, 867–878.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smiley Jr., P. C., King, K. W., & Fausey, N. R. (2010). Public health perspectives of channelized and unchannelized headwater streams in central Ohio: a case study. Journal of Water and Health, 8, 577–592.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smiley Jr., P. C., King, K. W., & Fausey, N. R. (2011). Influence of herbaceous riparian buffers on physical habitat, water chemistry, and stream communities within channelized agricultural headwater streams. Ecological Engineering, 37, 1314–1323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smiley Jr., P. C., King, K. W., & Fausey, N. R. (2014). Annual and seasonal differences in pesticide mixtures within channelized agricultural headwater streams in central Ohio. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 193, 83–95.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smiley Jr., P. C., King, K. W., & Fausey, N. R. (2017). Influence of different habitat factors on creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) within channelized agricultural headwater streams. Northeastern Naturalist, 24(Special Issue 8), 18–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. R., & Pappas, E. A. (2007). Effect of ditch dredging on the fate of nutrients in deep drainage ditches of the Midwestern United States. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 62, 252–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steele, A. N., Belanger, R. M., & Moore, P. A. (2018). Exposure through runoff and ground water contamination differentially impact behavior and physiology of crustaceans in fluvial systems. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 75, 436–448.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stites, A. J., Taylor, C. A., & Kessler, E. J. (2017). Trophic ecology of the North American crayfish genus Barbicambarus Hobbs, 1969 (Decapoda: Astacoidea: Cambaridae): evidence for a unique relationship between body size and trophic position. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 37, 263–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative. (2006). St. Joseph River watershed management plan. Fort Wayne, Indiana: St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, C. A., & Soucek, D. J. (2010). Re-examining the importance of fish in the diets of stream-dwelling crayfishes: implications for food web analyses and conservation. American Midland Naturalist, 163, 280–293.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. EPA. (2013). Aquatic life ambient water quality criteria for ammonia – freshwater. Report number EPA- 822-R-13-001. Washington, DC: Office of Water Office of Science and Technology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. EPA. (2016). Aquatic life benchmarks for pesticide registration, pesticide science, and assessing pesticide risks. Washington, DC: Office of Water Office of Science and Technology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Available online at https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-science-andassessing-pesticide-risks/aquatic-life-`benchmarks-pesticide-registration.

  • Verro, R. T., Finizio, A., Otto, S., & Vighi, M. (2009). Predicting pesticide environmental risk in intensive agricultural areas. II: screening level risk assessment of complex mixtures in surface waters. Environmental Science and Technology, 43, 530–537.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vorburger, C., & Ribi, G. (1999). Aggression and competition for shelter between a native and an introduced crayfish in Europe. Freshwater Biology, 42, 111–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walser, C. A., & Bart Jr., H. L. (1999). Influence of agriculture on in-stream habitat and fish community structure in Piedmont watersheds of the Chattahoochee River System. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 8, 237–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wofford, S. J., LaPlante, P. M., & Moore, P. A. (2017). Information depends on context: behavioural response to chemical signals depends on sex and size in crayfish contests. Behaviour, 154, 287–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, K. A. (2001). Habitat diversity and species diversity: testing the competition hypothesis with juvenile salmonids. Oikos, 95, 87–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuur, A. E., Ieno, E. N., Walker, N. J., Saveliev, A. A., & Smith, G. M. (2009). Mixed effect models and extensions in ecology with R. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank William DeMott for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. We thank the numerous current and past USDA-ARS National Soil Erosion Laboratory, USDA-ARS Soil Drainage Research Unit, and Purdue University Fort Wayne personnel for their assistance with collecting water samples and laboratory measurements of nutrients and pesticides. We thank Kathryn Sanders, Victoria Mumaw, Alicia Conrad, Sarah Hess, Eric Gates, Marissa Lauer, Amanda Rapp, Kyle Seitz, Drew Shafer, and Karolyn Stillman for their invaluable assistance in the field performing habitat assessments and capturing crayfish. We also thank Eric Fischer for analyzing the nutrient data from the UBWC sites. Landowner and site information were provided by Soil and Water Conservation and NRCS districts in Delaware (Ohio), Morrow (Ohio), Allen (Indiana), Dekalb (Indiana), and Noble (Indiana) Counties. We are also grateful to the landowners who provided access to the sites.

Funding

This research was funded in part by the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Sensory Ecology, Department of Bilogical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

    Tyler C. Wood

  2. Department of Biology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, USA

    Tyler C. Wood & Robert B. Gillespie

  3. USDA Agricultural Research Service, Columbus, OH, USA

    Peter C. Smiley Jr & Kevin W. King

  4. USDA Agricultural Research Service, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Javier M. Gonzalez

Authors
  1. Tyler C. Wood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Peter C. Smiley Jr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert B. Gillespie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Javier M. Gonzalez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kevin W. King
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tyler C. Wood.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wood, T.C., Smiley, P.C., Gillespie, R.B. et al. Injury frequency and severity in crayfish communities as indicators of physical habitat quality and water quality within agricultural headwater streams. Environ Monit Assess 192, 227 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-8171-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-8171-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation