HR: 10:30h
AN: NB22D-01    [Abstracts]
TI: The Effect of the Crayfish Orconectes virilis (Crustacea: Decapoda: Cambaridae) in the Decomposition and Succession of Submerged Small Mammal Carrion
AU: * De Jong, G D
EM: chadeco@aol.com
AF: Chadwick Ecological Consultants, Inc., 5575 S. Sycamore St., Ste. 100, Littleton, CO 80120 United States
AU: Chadwick, J W
EM: chadeco@aol.com
AF: Chadwick Ecological Consultants, Inc., 5575 S. Sycamore St., Ste. 100, Littleton, CO 80120 United States
AB: The role of the crayfish Orconectes virilis in the decomposition of submerged rat carrion and succession of other benthic macroinvertebrates was experimentally investigated in Slaughterhouse Gulch, a small, urban stream in Littleton, Colorado. Crayfish participation in carrion decomposition significantly altered the decomposition rate of the carrion. Nine carcasses were exposed in anchored minnow traps at three degrees of crayfish access: crayfish always present, crayfish having free access, and crayfish excluded. These three treatments required 23 days, 29 days, and 65 days, respectively, for complete decomposition of the rat carrion (<2% original biomass). Sample variability increased with number of crayfish present, especially as decomposition proceeded. Seven other macroinvertebrate taxa were collected from the carcasses, but their presence or absence could not be correlated with crayfish presence. The leech Haemopis marmoratus was generally the first macroinvertebrate to arrive at the carrion, being present in densities of <5 individuals/carcass early in succession and in larger densities (up to 25 individuals/carcass) after extensive decomposition and exposure of the viscera.
DE: 9350 North America
DE: 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings)
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly