Admittedly, it might have looked like crawdadding. But what DNR’s Freshwater Biodiversity Program and staff from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and Georgia Southern and West Liberty universities were actually doing recently near the Okefenokee Swamp was surveying for crayfishes.
Ditto for even more recent work in the Augusta area, including at the U.S. Army’s Fort Gordon, McDuffie Public Fishing Area and select DNR wildlife management areas.
Too little is known about many native crustaceans in Georgia and North and South Carolina. The states have teamed up for a Competitive State Wildlife Grants project aimed at providing needed details about species distribution, habitats, taxonomy and life histories. The results will help conserve crayfishes listed as species of greatest conservation need in each state’s Wildlife Action Plan, informing monitoring and management.
So while species like the Ogeechee crayfish pictured at top — as part of the genus Procambarus — targeted in the Coastal Plain, all crayfish are being collected to update records and provide genetic samples for analysis…