Rediscovery and phylogenetic analysis of the Shelta Cave Crayfish (Orconectes sheltae Cooper & Cooper, 1997), a decapod (Decapoda, Cambaridae) endemic to Shelta Cave in northern Alabama, USA

By

Dooley, Katherine
Niemiller, K Denise Kendall
Sturm, Nathaniel
Niemiller, Matthew L.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

43

Pages

11--31

Subjects

Cambarus , Conservation , Crustacea , Decapoda , Endangered , Malacostraca , Phylogeny , population decline , short-range endemism

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.43.79993

 

Abstract

The Shelta Cave Crayfish (Orconectes sheltae) is a small, cave-obligate member of the genusOrconectes(family Cambaridae) endemic to a single cave system—Shelta Cave—in northwest Huntsville, Madison Co., Alabama, USA. Although never abundant, this stygobiont was regularly observed in the 1960s and early 1970s before the population and aquatic community in general at Shelta Cave collapsed likely in response to groundwater contamination and the loss of energetic inputs from a Grey Bat (Myotis grisescens) maternity colony that abandoned the cave after installation of a poorly designed cave gate. We conducted 20 visual surveys of aquatic habitats at Shelta Cave between October 2018 and July 2021. Although the aquatic community has not recovered, we did confirm the continued existence ofO. sheltae, which had not been observed in 31 years, with observations of an adult female on 31 May 2019 and an adult male on 28 August 2020. We conducted the first phylogenetic analyses ofO. sheltaeand discovered that the species is most closely related to other geographically proximate stygobiotic crayfishes in the genusCambarusin northern Alabama than members of the genusOrconectes. We advocate for recognition of this species asCambarus sheltaeto more accurately reflect evolutionary relationships of this single-cave endemic and offer recommendations for its management, conservation, and future research, as this species remains at high risk of extinction.