title: Multiple drivers of decline in the global status of freshwater crayfish (Decapoda: Astacidea).
abstract: Rates of biodiversity loss are higher in freshwater ecosystems than in most terrestrial or marine ecosystems, making freshwater conservation a priority. However, prioritization methods are impeded by insufficient knowledge on the distribution and conservation status of freshwater taxa, particularly invertebrates. We evaluated the extinction risk of the world's 590 freshwater crayfish species using the IUCN Categories and Criteria and found 32% of all species are threatened with extinction. The level of extinction risk differed between families, with proportionally more threatened species in the Parastacidae and Astacidae than in the Cambaridae. Four described species were Extinct and 21% were assessed as Data Deficient. There was geographical variation in the dominant threats affecting the main centres of crayfish diversity. The majority of threatened US and Mexican species face threats associated with urban development, pollution, damming and water management. Conversely, the majority of Australian threatened species are affected by climate change, harvesting, agriculture and invasive species. Only a small proportion of crayfish are found within the boundaries of protected areas, suggesting that alternative means of long-term protection will be required. Our study highlights many of the significant challenges yet to come for freshwater biodiversity unless conservation planning shifts from a reactive to proactive approach.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK nadia.richman@ioz.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Nadia I
authors.initials: NI
authors.lastname: Richman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Böhm
authors.affiliation: USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research, 1000 Front St., Oxford, MS 38655-4915, USA.
authors.forename: Susan B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Colección Nacional de Crustáceos, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-153, México 04510 DF, México.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Oklahoma Biological Survey and Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Bergey
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: John J S
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bunn
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Quinton
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Burnham
authors.affiliation: Northeast Natural History and Supply, 24 North Grove St., Middleboro, MA 02346, USA.
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cordeiro
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia Jagabar Environmental, PO Box 634, Duncraig, Western Australia 6023, Australia.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coughran
authors.affiliation: Computational Biology Institute, George Washington University, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA.
authors.forename: Keith A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Crandall
authors.affiliation: Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland 4222, Australia.
authors.forename: Kathryn L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Dawkins
authors.affiliation: Missouri Department of Conservation, 3500 East Gans Road, Columbia, MO 65201, USA.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: DiStefano
authors.affiliation: Bookend Trust and the School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, PO Box 310, Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7006, Australia.
authors.forename: Niall E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Doran
authors.affiliation: Institute of Freshwater Research, Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 178 93 Drottningholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Edsman
authors.affiliation: School of Agricultural, Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA.
authors.forename: Arnold G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Eversole
authors.affiliation: River Ecology and Conservation, Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Leopold
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Füreder
authors.affiliation: Griffith School of Environment and the Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland 4222, Australia.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Furse
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gherardi
authors.affiliation: Upper Canada College, 200 Lonsdale Road, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 1W6.
authors.forename: Premek
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hamr
authors.affiliation: Crayfish Survey and Research, Peak Ecology Limited, Arden House, Deepdale Business Park, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1GT, UK.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Holdich
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Horwitz
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Murdoch University, 90 South St., Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia Marine and Freshwater Research Laboratory, Murdoch University, 90 South St., Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia.
authors.forename: Kerrylyn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.affiliation: James Cook University, School of Marine and Tropical Biology, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia.
authors.forename: Clive M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK.
authors.forename: Julia P G
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Museum of Natural Science, 2148 Riverside Drive, Jackson, MS 39202-1353, USA.
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrated Science and Technology, Marshall University, 1 John Marshall Drive, Huntington, WV 25755, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Wakkanai Fisheries Institute, 4-5-15 Suehiro, Wakkanai, 097-0001 Hokkaido, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Management and Ecology, La Trobe University, Wodonga, Victoria 3690, Australia.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lawler
authors.affiliation: Evolutionary Biology and Population Genetics Laboratory, Universidad de Quintana Roo, Unidad Académica Cozumel, Av. Andrés Quintana Roo con Calle 110s/n, Frente a Col. San Gervasio, Cozumel 77600, Q. Roo, México.
authors.forename: Marilu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López-Mejía
authors.affiliation: International Union for Conservation of Nature, Global Ecosystem Management Programme, 219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Medicina, Circuito Interior, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Universidad 3000, CP 04510. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Biología, tercer circuito s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, México DF CP 04510, México.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pedraza-Lara
authors.affiliation: Trinity College Dublin, 115 Weirview Drive, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Julian D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Alastair M M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne, 30 Flemington Road, Parkville, 3010 Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.affiliation: 305 Boone Way, Richmond, KY 40475, USA.
authors.forename: Guenter A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.affiliation: Environment Agency, Wessex Area, Rivers House, East Quay, Bridgwater TA6 4YS, UK.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sibley
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Université de Poitiers, Equipe Ecologie Evolution Symbiose, UMR CNRS 7267, Poitiers Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Souty-Grosset
authors.affiliation: Prairie Research Institute, Illinois Natural History Survey, 1816 S. Oak, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Midwest Biodiversity Institute, 4673 Northwest Parkway, Hilliard, OH 43026, USA.
authors.forename: Roger F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Thoma
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University Alexandria, 8100 Highway 71 S, Alexandria, LA 71302, USA.
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walls
authors.affiliation: 34 McKenzie St, Lismore, New South Wales 2480, Australia.
authors.forename: Todd S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, University College London, Gower St., London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Collen
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D003400:Astacoidea / Q000502:physiology*; D001315:Australia; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D056727:Endangered Species; D005618:Fresh Water; D005843:Geography; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: IUCN Red List; crayfish; extinction risk; freshwater biodiversity; threatened