Orconectes sanbornii

This species inhabits the Little Kanawha River system in West Virginia, southern Ohio and adjacent areas of Kentucky, USA (Fetzner 2008, Thoma and Jezerinac 2000, Jezerinac et al. 1995).

The Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of this species has been estimated to exceed 232,000 km².

endemic to a single nation

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)) It occurs in the middle Ohio River drainage from northeastern Kentucky upstream to the Fishing Creek drainage of northern West Virginia (Jezerinac et al., 1995). In Ohio, it also occurs in Lake Erie tributaries in the north-central portion of the state (Thoma and Jezerinac, 2000). Fitzpatrick (1967) listed range as east of the 81st meridian and south of the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin Glacier in tributaries of the Ohio River; with erratic occurrence in the Lake Erie drainage in Ohio from between the Sandusky and Huron Rivers to, but not including, the Grand Rvier.

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Freshwater

Habitat Type: Freshwater

Comments: It can be found amongst rubble or underneath undercut banks in small, medium and large sized streams and pools (Jezerinacet al., 1995).

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: > 300

Comments: Widespread in central Ohio throughout Muskingum basin, parts of Scioto, and Lake Erie tributaries from Sandusky Bay to the Cuyahoga River (Thoma and Jezerinac, 2000). Jezerinac (1986) lists Scioto Brush Creek in Scioto River drainage, Scioto Co., Ohio. In Kentucky, it has a limited distribution occurring commonly in the Tygarts and Grassy Fork Creek drainages and the Ohioi River in Carter, Lewis, and Greenup Cos. in the extreme northeastern portion of the state; and a single specimen was collected in the Ohio River in Trimble Co. in 1998 (Taylor and Schuster, 2004). In West Virginia, it is present throughout portions of the Kanawha River system, southwestern Ohio River basins, and southern portions of the Ohio River direct drains (Loughman and Welsh, 2010).

Unknown

Comments: It has been found in densities ranging from 0.2-1.8 individuals per sq. m (Jezerinac et al., 1995). This species is common in suitable habitat, however where it is coming in contact with O. rusticus, it is showing large declines in population size.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

There are 2 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1

Year Assessed

Assessor/s

Reviewer/s

Contributor/s

Justification

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Reasons: It occurs in the middle Ohio River drainage from northeastern Kentucky upstream to the Fishing Creek drainage of northern West Virginia (Jezerinac et al., 1995). In Ohio, it also occurs in Lake Erie tributaries in the north-central portion of the state (Thoma and Jezerinac, 2000). This species is relatively widespread and common. However, in Ohio and West Virginia, O. rusticus is causing rapid declines and displacement of this species through competition. Should this invasive species continue to spread to other states, it will become a problem to this species. Control of bait collection would help prevent this invasive species spread to adjacent basins.

Intrinsic Vulnerability: Unknown

Environmental Specificity: Unknown

Population

Population Trend

Global Short Term Trend: Relatively stable to decline of 30%

Global Long Term Trend: Increase of 10-25% to decline of 30%

Degree of Threat: Medium

Comments: In parts of the Ohio range and in West Virginia, it is declining as the range of Orconectes rusticus expands (Thoma and Jezerinac, 2000; T. Jones, pers. comm., 2009). However, at present this is not a major threats to this species but may become problematic in the future.

Major Threats

Conservation Actions

Global Protection: Unknown whether any occurrences are appropriately protected and managed