64 Richard Franz, Judy Bauer and Tom Morris 



Troglocambarus prevents a more scholarly interpretation of the relation- 

 ships between the St. Johns and Ocala populations of Troglocambarus 

 and between the Orlando Troglocambarus and Procambarus attiguus 

 and P. delicatus. 



CONSERVATION 



Troglobitic populations of most Florida and south Georgia faunas 

 are potentially susceptible to human disturbance. Because these cave 

 faunas are composed of primarily aquatic species, they could be threat- 

 ened by (1) groundwater contamination that results from saltwater 

 intrusion due to excessive pumping of groundwater and from the 

 introduction of agricultural and industrial chemicals as well as human 

 and domesticated animal wastes into groundwater reservoirs. Ground- 

 water contamination may also result from vandalism and other direct 

 human-related disturbances. 



Cave fauna kills have been documented on at least four occasions 

 in caves associated with the Suwannee and Wakulla drainages. On 

 one occasions, Streever (1992^) reported a complete faunal kill that 

 included, not only cave crayfishes, but also yellow bullheads, American 

 eels, and Corbicula clams. This event followed the introduction of 

 cold flood waters into the cave from the Suwannee River which forced 

 the spring to reverse. The kill may have resulted from sudden changes 

 in water temperature, oxygen deprivation, or the introductions of toxic 

 materials. Another catfish kill was noted at White Springs, but no 

 other information is available about the conditions that may have 

 sponsored this event (TM). Crustacean kills were also noted at Edwards 

 Spring and Falmouth Spring-Siphon in May 1989. Unlike Streever's 

 account, these springs had not reversed, and there was no injection of 

 cold water. Over 50 cave crayfish (probably Procambarus pallidus) 

 and large numbers of isopods and amphipods were found dead at 

 Edwards Spring. Divers reported that they found blue pellets spread 

 on the ground in a managed pine forest in the vicinity of several large 

 sinks that formed the upstream portion of the Edwards Spring cave. 

 They suggested that the pellets were possibly a herbicide used to 

 control hardwoods in the plantation. 



The Squirrel Chimney Cave Shrimp was federally listed as 

 Threatened (Anonymous 1990), and the Florida Cave Amphipod, 

 Hobbs' Cave Amphipod, and Orlando Cave Crayfish are being con- 

 sidered as candidates for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 (Wood 1992). The Santa Fe Cave Crayfish is considered a Species of 

 Special Concern by the State of Florida (Wood 1992). Most of the 

 other Florida troglobitic fauna has been proposed by the Florida 



