BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Scientists in Texas are on high alert for an invasive species that could threaten native wildlife: an Australian crayfish that has appeared in the state’s resacas, the remnant wetlands of the Rio Grande.
“It’s not supposed to be in Texas,” Lance Williams, Ph.D., biology professor and department chair at the University of Texas at Tyler, said in a segment on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Television Series. “It’s supposed to be in Australia.”
The Australian redclaw crayfish, an aggressive crustacean native to northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, has been spotted in South Texas. Experts warn that its impact on local ecosystems remains uncertain…