Access digital copies of guides and regulations publications from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
Issue link: http://digital.outdoornebraska.gov/i/720963
78 Note: The information in the following sections was compiled from the literature. 180, 183, 188, 228 HABITATS The Red Swamp Crayfish, as its name implies, likes the quiet waters of ponds, swamps, sloughs and slow moving streams. They like waters with abundant vegetation and muddy bottoms. On the other hand, in Missouri, they were most often collected from streams with a noticeable current. They will burrow to escape drying habitats and to overwinter. REPRODUCTION In Illinois, mature males were found in the spring and late summer/fall. One female collected in February had 43 young. Females with eggs or young tend stay in burrows so are seldom collected. The exception to this is after heavy rains when they may come out to feed. In Kentucky, mature males in the spring (May, June) and fall (September, October). No females with eggs or young were found here. Large female Red Swamp Crayfish can produce upwards of 600 young. 111 FEEDING AND SPECIES INTERACTIONS The Red Swamp Crayfish is an omnivore and generalist meaning what they eat depends on what is available. In studies in Spain and Portugal, they ate aquatic vegetation, detritus, insect larvae, snails and other crayfish. 6, 29 Other European studies found that Red Swamp Crayfish had reduced or eliminated aquatic vegetation in many areas. They may have been responsible for converting lakes from clear, vegetation dominated areas to turbid, eutrophic states dominated by phytoplankton. 74 In Missouri, Red Swamp Crayfish are often collected along with White River Crayfish (among others). In Kentucky, they have been collected with Devil Crayfish. PRODUCTION AND GROWTH [Because of their importance in the food trade, there is an extensive literature available on production that is not presented here.]