Rusty Crayfish (Faxonius rusticus) Interactions with Benthic Macroinvertebrates in the Monocacy River
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Author/Creator ORCID
Date
2022
Type of Work
Department
Hood College Biology
Program
Environmental Biology
Citation of Original Publication
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
Abstract
The rusty crayfish (Faxonius rusticus) is an invasive species with origins in the
Midwestern Unites States, that has the capacity to alter benthic macroinvertebrate community
structure through predation. Since 2007, Faxonius rusticus migrated downstream in the
Monocacy River, establishing its presence as one of the predominant crayfish species in certain
areas of the river. I analyzed changes in benthic macroinvertebrate communities in 2016 and
2021 at sites with and without a presence of Faxonius rusticus using biodiversity, density, and
biomass as biological metrics. No significant changes in these metrics were detected in
comparisons of with and without Faxonius rusticus. Some significant differences were detected
between habitats. Additionally, macroinvertebrate taxonomic composition was not statistically
significant across treatments with the exception of one genus. The lack of changes in
macroinvertebrate communities is likely attributed to the significant decline in densities of
Faxonius rusticus over the past five years. Because of this decline, I hypothesize that rates of
predation by Faxonius rusticus are not high enough to be detected by field sampling in the
Monocacy River.