Abstract

The red swamp crayfish and white river crayfish occupy similar natural short-hydroperiod wetland habitats in the coastal areas of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Both species are cultured by establishing sustaining populations. in shallow earthen ponds managed to provide water during the cool period of the year, simulating the natural hydrological cycle. The red swamp crayfish is the commercially preferred species but is often displaced by white river crayfish in ponds. Study of the two species shows that the red swamp crayfish spawns spontaneously throughout the year while the white river crayfish spawns during a restricted period in the autumn. Thus, they have different population "survival" strategies. Timing of pond flooding seems to account for the dominance of one species over the other. White river crayfish are apparently more robust than red swamp crayfish. This favors them when prolonged dry periods restrict both species in the same pond to emerging simultaneously from burrows with their young.

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