Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Effects Of Predation On Two Species Of Stream-Dwelling Crayfish (Orconectes Marchandi And Cambarus Hubbsi) In Pool And Riffle Microhabitats, Heidi Dukat, Daniel D. Magoulick

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Community structure may be governed by many abiotic and biotic factors. Of the biotic factors, predation is often considered to be critical in structuring freshwater stream communities. In the Warm Fork of the Spring River, the crayfish Cambarus hubbsi is found mainly in riffles, whereas the crayfish Orconectes marchandi is found in high numbers in pools. We hypothesized that predation, mainly by fish, is a factor causing this segregation. Higher predation rates for C. hubbsi than 0. marchandi in the pools and higher predation rates for 0. marchandi than C. hubbsi in the riffles were expected. A transplant tethering experiment …