Orconectes ronaldi (Crayfishes and Shrimp of the Green River, KY)

Orconectes ronaldi

Distribution ¹

Global Range: (250-1000 square km (about 100-400 square miles)) Originally thought to be restricted to the Mud River system and adjacent Muddy Creek in the Green River drainage in west-central Kentucky (Taylor, 2000), but new records occur in several Ohio River tributaries in south-central Indiana around Perry Co. (Taylor and Schuster, 2004).

Habitat and ecology ²

Habitat and Ecology

This species can be found in open water and under boulders in creeks and small rivers with cobble, gravel, and mud substrates and woody debris (Taylor 2000). In addition, this species has been collected from sections of the MudRiver of widths ranging from 6 - 8 m and at an average depth of 0.4 m (Taylor 2000).

Systems

Freshwater

Iucn red list assessment ³

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2010

Assessor/s

Adams, S., Schuster, G.A. & Taylor, C.A.

Reviewer/s

Collen, B. & Richman, N.

Contributor/s

Livingston, F., Livingston, F., Soulsby, A.-M., Batchelor, A., Dyer, E., Whitton, F., Milligan, H.T., Smith, J., Lutz, M.L., De Silva, R., McGuinness, S., Kasthala, G., Jopling, B., Sullivan, K. & Cryer, G.

Justification

Orconectes ronaldi has been assessed as Least Concern (LC). This species has a highly restricted distribution, equating to an EOO of just under 2,000 km². There may be a second population to the north of the current range, though this awaits confirmation. Despite the small range of this species, there are no current threats, and no plausible future threats which may negatively impact the species in the coming few years. Given its restricted range, continued monitoring of the status of this species is recommended, to ensure that any potential future threats are recognized and acted upon.

Nature serve conservation status ⁴

Rounded Global Status Rank: G3 - Vulnerable

Reasons: Originally thought to be restricted to the Mud River system and adjacent Muddy Creek in the Green River drainage in west-central Kentucky (Taylor, 2000), but new records occur in several Ohio River tributaries in south-central Indiana (Taylor and Schuster, 2004). This species has a highly restricted distribution of <800 sq. km. Despite the small range of this species, there are no current threats, nor plausible future threats which may negatively impact the species in the coming few years. Given its restricted range, continued monitoring of the status of this species is recommended, to ensure that any potential future threats are captured and acted on.

Intrinsic Vulnerability: Unknown

Environmental Specificity: Unknown

Range description ⁵

This species is endemic to the MudRiver system, and the adjacent Muddy Creek in the Green River drainage, in west central Kentucky, USA (Taylor 2000). A disjunct population has just been discovered in Perry County, Indiana, and is awaiting final confirmation, but appears to be a new population of this species(C. Taylor pers. comm. 2009).The Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of this species has been estimated at just over 1,900 km².

Sources and Credits

(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28859331
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34615542
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34615539
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28859324
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34615540

More Info

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