After posting that I did wonder if maybe those were young crayfish you were collecting. Makes perfect sense. Also I agree that the 3" crays grew over winter to > 4". Most of these will die this year as was evidenced by their absence later last fall. I've attach a SS that simulates forage production under attrition. The rates of growth and the attrition rates are average but it gives you an idea. In your pond, I think mortality peaks when they are in the 1.5 to 2" lengths also growth rates are much larger in the beginning. A lower mortality in the beginning or a higher growth rate in the beginning would have the effect of increasing the forage produced. Please note that the mortality must be less than the growth or their could be extirpation. This is why some minimal escape cover is important. Note that there isn't a big difference between growth and mortality and the key to tipping the balance is the predation of the adults.
Last edited by jpsdad; 03/24/2101:06 PM.
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers
