Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Metacommunity Dynamics And The Biogeography Of Central Louisiana Crayfishes, William Robert Budnick

LSU Master's Theses

The greatest diversity of crayfishes, especially of rare Orconectes species, is found in the central Louisiana watersheds (Red River, Mermentau, Calcasieu, and Vermillion-Teche), and most species are widely distributed among the drainages. The purpose of this research was to lay groundwork for species distribution and metacommunity modelling for crayfishes in this region. To address this goal, two field studies were performed in the summers of 2013 and 2014, as well as an indoor laboratory study. Analyses of broadly distributed species indicated no significant correlations between species abundances and habitat variables nor any significant environmental gradients for those species. Within-drainage variability …