A Habitat Suitability Model for Selected Crayfish Species in Lancaster County,Pennsylvania, Streams
Abstract
The introduction of invasive exotic species to previously inaccessible areas provides the opportunity to study the impacts of invasive species on closely related native species. Habitat suitability index [HSI] models offer a coarse estimate of the habitat quality relative to hypothesized physiological tolerances of a species. The distribution and abundance of two native [Orconectes obscurus and Cambarus bartonii] and one invasive [Orconectes rusticus] crayfish along a twenty-three mile length of a Lancaster County, PA, stream and various physical factors at the sample sites were provided by a recent survey (Wagner et.al. unpublished). Of the factors provided, stream width, velocity, pH, and temperature were considered as the factors defining the geographic range of each species. An HSI model was constructed based on these factors to identify regions offering suitable habitat for a species and areas of a stream which are at risk for invasion of O. rusticus. Current work involves the development of subindices describing the availability of food and shelter within the stream, using stream order, link magnitude, and substrate measurements. The HSI model will be coupled to a model describing the interactions between size-structured populations of native and invasive species under the influence of a predator.
- Publication:
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AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2005
- Bibcode:
- 2005AGUSMNB33P..04L
- Keywords:
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- 9800 GENERAL OR MISCELLANEOUS;
- 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings)