Endangered
Stygobromus pecki
Stygobromus pecki
Stygobromus pecki is a crustacean in the family Crangonyctidae (order Amphipoda), recorded as Endangered.
Appearance
The S. Pecki collected from Hueco springs were found to be white. The color of some amphipods is often dependent on their diet, that includes carotenoids produced by plants, algae, and likely bacteria.
Stygobromus pecki is a small, aquatic organism reaching up to 10.5 millimetres (0.41 in) in length.
Range and habitat
S. Pecki primarily reside in spaces of hollowed out limestone found in spring underground aquifers. Gravel, rocks, and associated debris (leaves, roots, and wood) have been found directly in or near springs, seeps, and upwellings of Comal Springs and Landa Lake. Because S. Pecki has only been found near or within spring systems, it is likely a phreatobite and does not disperse well in downstream gravel beds.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet and breeding
Even though the life history of S. Pecki is unknown, most amphipod species complete their life cycle (from egg to adult) in one year. S. Pecki is known to be an opportunistic feeder, meaning that it feeds on a large variety of prey and have the ability to adapt to whichever foods are available.
Generally, its diet consists of bacterial biofilm, debris, and smaller invertebrates. As mentioned earlier, the diet of S. Pecki has a great influence on body color, that can range from white to orange depending on the carotenoids ingested.
In crisis
It is a federally listed endangered species in the United States and is also listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. As of April 2022, there is no available 5-year review, Species Status Assessment, or recovery plan for the species. Only four individuals of S. Pecki have been found in Miller's Cave and two individuals from Thompsons Meadow Spring aquifer have been reported since their listing as an endangered species.
From this distribution information, it can be concluded that large populations of the species are probably not present. This species is threatened by lowering water levels in the Edwards Aquifer, that feeds the S. Pecki inhabited springs.
Stygobromus pecki is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Stygobromus pecki, Wikidata item Q3932475. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
