Meeting Abstract

127.7  Monday, Jan. 7  Fifty states of grey market: Assessing the pet trade for parthenogenetic marbled crayfish, Marmorkrebs, in North America FAULKES, Z.; The University of Texas-Pan American zfaulkes@utpa.edu

The parthenogenetic marbled crayfish, Marmorkrebs (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis), was discovered by European pet owners in the mid-1990s. The feature that makes Marmorkrebs scientifically interesting to researchers as potential model organisms– asexual reproduction – greatly increases the risk of Marmorkrebs establishing populations if they are released into the wild, and makes them attractive to pet owners. Many species have been introduced into non-native ecosystems because pets were released, accidentally or otherwise, and it would be useful to know how widely distributed Marmorkrebs are in the North American pet trade. Non-native crayfish have caused substantial ecological and economic damage, and several states and provinces have passed laws prohibiting the import or ownership of crayfish. Much of the pet trade is a grey market, however, and documenting the sale of animals, particularly invertebrates, is challenging. An online survey and monitoring of Internet websites shows that Marmorkrebs have been available in North America since at least 2003 (the year Marmorkrebs first appeared in a scientific publication). Marmorkrebs are kept as pets in at least 38 American states and five Canadian provinces, and this is probably an underestimate of their distribution. It seems likely that almost every state and province in North America either has, or soon will have, someone keeping Marmorkrebs as pets. Of eight states and provinces with laws that would prohibit owning Marmorkrebs, six had Marmorkrebs owners, who were apparently breaking local laws by keeping these crayfish. There are no confirmed cases of Marmorkrebs populations in natural North American habitats, but the pet trade creates a significant risk that this crayfish will be introduced.