TY - JOUR AU - Vopal, Christopher PY - 2019/03/20 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Life History of an Imperiled Appalachian Crayfish Species, Cambarus callainus (Big Sandy Crayfish) JF - Proceedings of the West Virginia Academy of Science JA - Proc. W. Va. Acad. Sci. VL - 91 IS - 1 SE - Meeting Abstracts-Oral DO - 10.55632/pwvas.v91i1.474 UR - https://pwvas.org/index.php/pwvas/article/view/474 SP - AB - In 2016, a species of crayfish endemic to Central Appalachia,<em> Cambarus callainus</em> (Big Sandy Crayfish), was listed by the United States Fish &amp; Wildlife Service (USFWS) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to limited and declining range caused by various anthropogenic activities, especially those causing stream sedimentation. <em>Cambarus callainus </em>was recently described and was formerly considered to represent the Big Sandy River populations of <em>Cambarus veteranus </em>(Guyandotte River Crayfish), a species which was listed as endangered under the ESA by USFWS in 2016. A limited picture of the life history of <em>C. callainus</em> has been pieced together from surveys conducted over the past decade, as well as from specimens from historic collections. A more complete life history analysis of <em>C. callainus</em> is needed, one which follows the same populations a consecutive year, which will better aid state and federal agencies in formulating effective conservation strategies. A twelve-month life history of <em>C. callainus</em> began in March 2018, following two populations. One population in the Dry Fork watershed at War, WV; and the other population in the Russell Fork watershed at Haysi &amp; Davenport, VA. The project also examines the community composition and interplay with three syntopic stream crayfish species: <em>Faxonius cristavarius</em> (Spiny Stream Crayfish), <em>Cambarus hatfieldi</em> (Tug Valley Crayfish), and <em>Cambarus theepiensis</em> (Coalfields Crayfish). ER -