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Article
Morphological Variation of Rusty Crayfish Orconectes rusticus (Cambaridae) with Gender and Local Scale Spatial Gradients
International Journal of Biology
  • Luke Etchison
  • Stephen J. Jacquemin, Wright State University - Lake Campus
  • Michael Allen
  • Mark Pyron
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Abstract

We tested for the influence of gender, stream, and urbanization on morphological variation in rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) in an east-central Indiana, US watershed. We used geometric morphometrics to characterize shape and tested for differences among and within sites. Males had shallower rostrum, increased head width and length, decreased abdomen and cephalothorax width and length, and increased telson length compared to females. Morphology of males did not vary with stream or along an urban gradient. The morphology of females varied with stream and along an urban gradient. Female shapes from small creek sites were stouter and less fusiform than larger river specimens. Following an urban gradient, females exhibited an increasingly reduced abdominal and telson area and a more fusiform rostrum. Morphological variation is linked with adaptation and subsequent success of aquatic taxa. Disentangling the potential influences on crayfish morphology has implications for improved understanding of ecosystem structure and conservation.

Comments

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

DOI
10.5539/ijb.v4n1p163
Citation Information
Luke Etchison, Stephen J. Jacquemin, Michael Allen and Mark Pyron. "Morphological Variation of Rusty Crayfish Orconectes rusticus (Cambaridae) with Gender and Local Scale Spatial Gradients" International Journal of Biology Vol. 4 Iss. 1 (2012) p. 163 - 171 ISSN: 1916-9671
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/stephen-jacquemin/33/