AUTHORS: Kathryn Schulz, West Liberty University; Eric Ng, West Liberty University; Michael Kendrick, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; Zanethia Barnett, USDA Forest Service; Nicole Garrison, West Liberty University; Zachary Loughman, West Liberty University
ABSTRACT: Species distribution modeling (SDM) is becoming an increasingly common tool for rare species detection. SDMs analyze and predict the habitat variables driving the distribution of the target species, which can provide useful insight into potential habitats for endemic taxa. Burrowing crayfish often have a patchy distribution on the landscape, making detection difficult. The primary burrowing crayfish genus Distocambarus (Decopoda: Cambaridae) is represented by five taxa, four of which are located within the Piedmont region of South Carolina. All species are narrowly endemic and globally rare, often occurring in fragmented habitats. The distribution of the genus has not been thoroughly delimited, making management efforts difficult. Two species are of greatest conservation need in South Carolina (D. youngineri and D. carlsoni), raising interest in a formal revision of the distribution of the genus within the state. We employed an SDM driven by habitat variables from sites with positive Distocambarus spp. presence to predict potential occurrences outside their current range. We validated the model by visiting predicted locations and confirming species presence or absence. The SDM method successfully expanded the range of the four species residing in South Carolina and led to novel habitat observations, which indicates greater plasticity among the genus than previously documented.
