An invasive species, native to the southern United States, Europe, New Zealand and Asia, has been located by researchers in a creek near Airdrie.
Guy Woods has been studying aquatic entomology in the Bow River watershed for over 30 years and earlier this year, for the first time in his Nose Creek research, Woods discovered a crayfish, also known as crawfish or crawdads.
The species live under rocks, and within moments of his initial find, Woods had overturned several stones and discovered enough crayfish to fill a bucket.
Crayfish have been classified by Alberta as invasive, a categorization for all non-native invertebrate and crustaceans which have been proven to successfully reproduce in the province.
Woods says the young crayfish he collected prove the species is procreating.
The main concern with crayfish appearing in local waterways is food supply competition. Fish native to the region and crayfish have similar diets, and that could mean problems downstream.
“One of my concerns as a fly fisherman and a naturalist is if crayfish that are apparently abundant in Nose Creek here, slowly migrate down into the Bow River system,” says Guy Woods, Bow Valley Habitat Development. “There may be a negative impact to the balance, the natural ecology of the river.”
Woods believes the crayfish in Nose Creek may be the result of someone emptying their home aquarium into the creek.
With files from Kevin Fleming
