Question: What made you so interested in Crayfish? Thanks for your time :)

Zara Gladman answered on 13 Jun 2011:

Thanks peachlover, kimanddil, lowne001, laura121, dior101 and kairos! it was fun to chat to you earlier!

Why crayfish? Well… there’s a few reasons:

1. Crayfish live in freshwater ecosystems – lakes, rivers, ponds – which I have always found really interesting, and very beautiful places to work.
2. The main species I study (signal crayfish) is a non-native species. I find non-native species really interesting. Non-native species are species that have been moved from their natural home to a completely new one. The signal crayfish is native to North America but was introduced to the UK in the 1970s. When a species is introduced to a new place, the things that usually keep it under control (e.g. predators, disease) are no longer there. This means that quite often, the non-native species will do extremely well in its new home. It also means that native plants and animals, who can’t compete with the new species or are eaten by it, suffer. It can be really difficult to predict what will happen when you introduce a new species! For example, cane toads were introduced from Hawaii to Australia to try and control a pest called the cane beetle. The cane toads didn’t help control the beetle at all though, and are now a major pest too! Nobody predicted that! I’d like to find out what sort of impact the non-native crayfish will have on our native plants and animals (what do they eat? who do they compete with? etc.)
3. Finally, I think crayfish are cool! They live underwater but can breathe and walk on land. They can survive extreme conditions, like freezing cold. There’s also a huge diversity of species that are all different colours and sizes. The Tasmanian crayfish, for example, which is found on the island of Tasmania, can be over 5 kilograms in weight! It’s enormous! Check it out: