Conservation of Freshwater Crayfish in Australia

Abstract

—Recent conservation assessments\rrank the world's freshwater crayfish in the\rfive most endangered animal groups, and the\rAustralian fauna as the most endangered of all\rthe world's crayfish. In this paper, we introduce\rthe 135 described species of freshwater crayfish in\rAustralia, and provide an overview of this fauna\rand their current IUCN Red List conservation\rstatus. The Australian crayfish fauna is almost\rentirely endemic, and displays enormous variation\rin biology, distribution and ecology. Some\rAustralian species are the world's fastest growing,\rmost highly fecund and widely distributed\rcrayfishes, and are tolerant of extreme variation in\renvironmental conditions. Conversely, Australia\ris also home to many crayfish that are remarkably\rslow growing, late maturing and poorly fecund.\rMany species have highly restricted distributions\rand require specific environmental conditions\rthat restrict them to particular areas and habitat\rtypes. These crayfish face a wide range of existing\rand emerging threats, and we discuss the research\rimperatives, practical actions, legislative changes\rand collaboration required to facilitate the\rrecovery of crayfish populations