DISTRIBUTION, PHYLOGENETICS, AND HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS OF A BURROWING CRAYFISH SPECIES COMPLEX IN ILLINOIS
Freshwater crayfish are among the most imperiled taxa, being data deficient and threatened by pollution, species invasion, and habitat loss. Many burrowing crayfish species have limited life history and distributional data, while others go undescribed. This prevents researchers from generating effective species conservation plans. Species-level data can be gathered through a combination of distributional surveys, phylogenetics, and habitat assessments. We aimed to document the distribution, genetic variation, and habitat associations of the Devil Crayfish species complex in Illinois. Our results suggest four described and one potential new species within the Devil Complex in Illinois. We found several zones of potential hybridization in the state and three possible hybrid individuals. Additionally, we found that shallow water table access significantly drives burrowing crayfish presence and abundance. This work contributes to fine-scale data necessary in developing conservation management plans for the Devil Complex and informs future research on these understudied organisms.
