Ohio State Ph.D. student Mael Glon is conducting a study on burrowing crayfishes. These crayfishes are adapted to life in habitats such as roadside ditches and vernal ponds that occasionally flood, but are dry for several months out of the year. To survive in these habitats, burrowing crayfishes burrow down to the water table. Although no native burrowing crayfishes have ever been documented in Maine, these crustaceans are enigmatic and often go unnoticed. One tell-tale sign of their presence is a mud chimney, which consists of mud pellets individually lifted out of the burrow as the crayfish digs.

If you travel in Maine and happen to see something that resembles a mud chimney, please take a photo of it and send it to Mael along with GPS coordinates.