AUTHORS: Eric Ng, West Liberty University; Kathryn Schulz, West Liberty University; Zanethia Barnett, US Forest Service; Zachary J. Loughman, West Liberty University
ABSTRACT: The piedmont region of the southeastern United States, once noted by early European explorers to host wide ranging prairie-like habitat, is now dominated by agricultural practices such as pine plantations. The Piedmont Prairie Burrowing Crayfish [(Distocambarus (Distocambarus) crockeri Hobbs & Carlson 1983)] is postulated to have adapted to a terrestrial environment in the piedmont of South Carolina. Nevertheless, the planting of pine throughout the region has removed important habitat elements, such as an open canopy, needed for other Distocambarus populations to persist. Contrarily, other silvicultural practices, such as complete tree removal, seem to benefit D. (D.) crockeri, a suggested prairie habitat specialist. Land management practices used to create prairie-like, open-canopy habitat in the piedmont region could produce a beneficial situation for the vulnerable Piedmont Prairie Burrowing Crayfish. To test this hypothesis, we compared the burrow densities of D. (D.) crockeri in various managed fields to forests within the Long Cane Ranger District of Sumter National Forest, SC. Burrow densities were quantified in 1m2 quadrats along 100m transects that were placed perpendicular to an ecotonal edge of a field and forest. We discovered that the average burrow densities of managed fields were more variable than the forests. However, the means of both averages were near to one another, indicating that maintaining some degree of habitat heterogeneity is important for the persistence of D. (D.) crockeri on a modern landscape.
