ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter, Larson and Olden raised the point there were many good reasons for studying and collecting crayfi sh. They provided a review of the literature and detailed methods for fi eld sampling of crayfi sh across their range. Rightly, they stop short of describing methods for the transportation, holding and sampling of crayfi sh on the laboratory side, which we cover below. This chapter is not intended as a formal review of the literature, rather it refl ects a combination of published information and our own experiences in the laboratory. The reader should use this chapter as a way of considering more widely potential pitfalls and improvements in transporting animals and obtaining samples, but not necessarily adhere strictly to the sampling methods described. Diff erences in laboratory capabilities, availability of consumables and overall cost as well as storage capacity for samples will ultimately determine what is feasible.
