Cambarus jonesi

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	ARTHROPODA	CRUSTACEA	DECAPODA	CAMBARIDAE

Scientific Name:

Cambarus jonesi

Species Authority:

Hobbs and Barr, 1960

Common Name/s:

English

–

Alabama Cave Crayfish

Taxonomic Notes:

Two new species, Cambarus speleocoopi and Cambarus laconensis, have been described from Marshall County, Alabama that were formerly attributed to this species (Buhay et al. 2007, Buhay and Crandall 2009).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Vulnerable B1ab(iii) ver 3.1
Year Published:	2010
Assessor/s:	Cordeiro, J., Crandall, K.A. & Thoma, R.F.
Reviewer/s:	Collen, B. & Richman, N.
Contributor/s:	Soulsby, A.-M., Batchelor, A., Dyer, E., Whitton, F., Livingston, F., Milligan, H.T., Smith, J., Lutz, M.L., De Silva, R., McGuinness, S., Kasthala, G., Jopling, B., Sullivan, K. & Cryer, G.
Justification: Cambarus jonesi has been assessed as Vulnerable under criterion B1ab(iii). This species has an estimated extent of occurrence of less than 11,000 km²and a severely fragmented distribution. There has been a noted decline in the number of occurrences of this species, though the cause for this is not known; urbanisation and water pollution have been cited as a possible cause. Further research needs to be initiated to identify possible threats at each site.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is known from caves in the Tennessee River basin between Florence and Guntersville, Alabama, USA (Hobbs 1989, Buhay et al. 2007). According to Buhay et al. (2007), this species is currently known from 12 caves in Alabama. Previous cave localities in Marshall County actually represent two distinct species, Cambarus speleocoopi and Cambarus laconensis (Buhay and Crandall 2009). As such, this species only occurs in Colbert, Limestone, Lauderdale, Madison, and Morgan Counties, Alabama. It was previously recorded from 14 sites along the Highland Rim region of northern Alabama (six counties on both sides of the Tennessee River) and is now known from 12 (Buhay et al. 2007). This range is severely fragmented, with an extent of occurrence of approximately 11,000 km² and an inferred decline in the quality of cave habitat (Buhay et al. 2007).
Countries:	Native: United States (Alabama)
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	There is insufficient population data for this species. All populations of this species are, however, composed of very few individuals and fecundity of these is low (Buhay et al. 2007).
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species is a cave dwelling species inhabiting subterranean water (Hobbs and Barr 1960). This species is known to co-occur with other cave crayfish species such as Orconectes sheltae and Procambarus pecki (Buhay et al. 2007).
Systems:	Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	It is unknown whether this species is impacted by any major threat process. However, it is likely to be undergoing localized declines due to urbanization, alterations to the hydrological regime and water pollution. As this species has documented habitat declines, further research should be initiated to determine the cause of this decline (Buhay et al. 2007).

Major Threat(s):

It is unknown whether this species is impacted by any major threat process. However, it is likely to be undergoing localized declines due to urbanization, alterations to the hydrological regime and water pollution. As this species has documented habitat declines, further research should be initiated to determine the cause of this decline (Buhay et al. 2007).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	This species has been given a Global Heritage Status Rank of G2 by NatureServe (Taylor et al. 2007, NatureServe, 2009) and Currently Stable by the American Fisheries Society (Taylor et al. 2007). Further research is required to determine abundance and the existence of any major threats, especially in the light of a recent decline in site occupancy (R. Thoma, T. Jones, J. Cordeiro, pers. comm. 2009).

Conservation Actions:

This species has been given a Global Heritage Status Rank of G2 by NatureServe (Taylor et al. 2007, NatureServe, 2009) and Currently Stable by the American Fisheries Society (Taylor et al. 2007).
Further research is required to determine abundance and the existence of any major threats, especially in the light of a recent decline in site occupancy (R. Thoma, T. Jones, J. Cordeiro, pers. comm. 2009).

Citation:	Cordeiro, J., Crandall, K.A. & Thoma, R.F. 2010. Cambarus jonesi. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 May 2013.
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