Endangered Protection Program (ESPP) pacifica pacifica Syncaris Threatened species The U.S.Environmental The Californiafreshwatershrimp Program (ESPP)willhelp Endangered SpeciesProtection Protection Agency’s(EPA) Endangered speciesare not jeopardizethesurvivalof numbers aresolowthatthey becoming extinct. plants andanimalsthatare may becomeendangeredinthe in immediatedangerof is anendangeredspecies ensure thatpesticideusedoes and animalswhosepopulation listed species. future. Female fr California Female eshwater shrimp with egg are plants, s, courtes . y of Larr y Serpa Endangered Spec Endangered as endangered(( other legged crustaceanbelongingtothe Range Appearance Critical Status Description andEcology common inthe low-elevation perennialfreshwater become partofthedisguise. and theundercutbank.Even thevisible internal organs effect shadestheirformsinto theshadowsofroots,branches greater range fromdarktolightandviceversa. Thecreated to darken simultaneously orgradually, but the femalehasa tan dorsalband.Bothmalesandfemaleshave theability be darker brownoralmostpurple,andmighthave abroad underwater detritus.Females have similarcoloration butmay outline ofthebody. Assuch,theyappeartobejustmore holding cells)thatclusterintopatternsdisguisethe nearly so, withsurfaceandinteriorchromatophores(pigment shrimp againsttheirhabitat.Malearetransparent or 1.5 inches.Coloration varies andworkstocamou eye orbittothetipoftail,whilemalesrange from1.2to deeper bodiedandrange from1.3to1.8inchesthe California freshwater shrimparesmall.Females areusually (corpus). angled articulationofthesecondchelaewith“wrist” by ashortspineonthebodyabove theeye andaparticular mouths. Californiafreshwater shrimparefurtherdistinguished for sweepingfoodparticlesoffsurfacesandintoward their tips ofthe their pincer-like claws(chelae)andthebristles(setae)at anatomically distinguishedfromothershrimpbythelengthof marine environment duringtheJurassic period.Theyare These specieswerebelieved tohave beenisolatedfroma to beextinct(Pasadena shrimp( which onceinhabitedcoastalstreamsinCaliforniaisbelieved and Alabamacave shrimp( Office ofPesticide Programs (7507P) California FreshwaterShrimp atyid membersinNorthAmerica,twoarealsolisted Californiafreshwater shrimpmay once have been Endangered,listedOctober31,1988. first twochelae.Thesebristlesareespeciallyuseful TheCaliforniafreshwater shrimpisa10- Not designated. alabamae Syncaris pasadenae atyid Palaemonias ganteri family. Ofthethree fl age these age )) andone )). ) Syncaris pacifica pacifica Syncaris http://www.epa.gov/espp/ U.S. EnvironmentalProtectionAgency Habitat uplift andrisingsealevel. shrimp wereonceconnected,butlaterseparated bygeologic It isthoughtthattheisolatedstreamsharborthese brackish waters, theyareunabletotolerate oceansalinities. California freshwater shrimpinlaboratories cantolerate and 4)streams the Paci Ocean, 2)coastalstreams Russian River drainage, that into fourdrainage units:1)tributarystreamsofthelower streams. Thedistributionoftheshrimphasbeenseparated in allthreecountiesbutmuchfewernumbersand of Marin,SonomaandNapacounties.Theyarestillfound shrimp and ladenwithsuspendedsediment,Californiafreshwater In thewinter, rainy season,whenstream shrimp usesmicrohabitatvariations dependingontheseason. and theexposedlive rootsystemsofwilloworalder. The banks, overhanging plantssuchasblackberry, woodydebris, suitable reachesarecharacterized bysubmergedundercut inhabited bytheCaliforniafreshwater shrimp, themost ies find protectionbeneaththeundercutbanksamidst fic Ocean,3)streamsdraining intoTomales Bay, Withinthelowelevation-low gradient streams flowing southward intoSanPablo Bay. While Facts flowing westward directlyinto flow westward tothePaci flow ishighandfast February 2010 Courtes y of Larr fi c y Serpa California Freshwater Shrimp

exposed roots or dense, overhanging vegetation. In the prey for a number of native fish, and introduced fi sh such summer when flow is low they retreat to isolated pools as the mosquitofish, and green sunfish. with minimal cover but more opaque water. Largely absent Recovery Plan The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now, at one time debris dams may have been important (FWS) developed a recovery plan for the California feeding and resting places. These dams would have freshwater shrimp in 1998. Recovery plans outline Habitat for California freshwater shrimp, Lagunitas Creek/Larr y Serpa gathered the detritus (shrimp food) and leaf litter that reasonable actions that FWS believes are required to would become more detritus, and would have sheltered recover or protect listed species. FWS prepares recovery the shrimp during high flows. The optimal depth for plans, sometimes with the assistance of recovery teams, California freshwater shrimp is 1—3 feet. contractors, state agencies, and others. Recovery plans and Behavior While not everything is do not necessarily represent the views nor the official known about the reproduction of California freshwater positions or approvals of any individuals or agencies, other shrimp, insight from the ecology of other freshwater than FWS, involved in the plan formulation. Approved and marine shrimp, and observations suggest that recovery plans are subject to modification as dictated they breed once a year in late summer, immediately by new findings, changes in species’ status, and the following the last molt of the female. Egg-bearing female completion of recovery tasks. California freshwater shrimp have been noted in autumn California Freshwater Shrimp (September-November). Fifty to 120 eggs adhere to the swimming legs on the abdomen (pleopods), and are cared Information Sources for and protected there through the winter, high-water Primary Reference Beacham, Walton, Castronova, season. The young are released in May or early June, the Frank F., and Sessine, Suzanne (eds.) 2001. Beacham’s Courtes y of Larr y Serpa most favorable time of the hydrological cycle. Guide to the of , Gale Newly hatched young are only about 0.2 inches long, but Group, New York. Vol. 3, pp. 1413–1418. grow rapidly to 0.8 inches by early autumn. Growth slows Listing Notice US. Fish and Wildlife Service 1988. through autumn, winter, and spring, but resumes during Federal Register 53, No. 210, pp. 43884-43889. October their second summer. At this time the size difference be- 31, 1988. http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/federal_register/ tween males and females is apparent, and both are sexu- fr1497.pdf ally mature. They may live more than three years. Recovery Plan U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California freshwater shrimp are described as collectors. Portland, Oregon. 1998. California Freshwater Shrimp They feed on fine organic material, fecal matter, under- (Syncaris pacifica Holmes) Recovery Plan. 94 pp. http:// water plants, free-floating algae and algae attached to ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/980731a.pdf underwater surfaces, zooplankton, and similar materials. They also scavenge on dead and shrimp. Species Account U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2007 http://www. Although these freshwater shrimp are able to remain fws.gov/sacramento/es/animal_spp_acct/ca_freshwater_ nearly motionless for large periods of time, a likely survival shrimp.pdf Courtes y of Larr y Serpa strategy, they can swim forward and backward and “skip” over the water surface when disturbed. They likely are