Hay's Spring Amphipod is only known to exist in one population inhabiting an underground aquifer in an urban area. The animal has been collected for studies from a single spring at the south end of National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. and from four other locations close by in Rock Creek Park, neighboring the National Zoo. The portion of the spring inhabited by this species is less than a 3.28 feet (1 meter) wide. The small size of their habitat makes this species extremely vulnerable to any construction activities or other human or natural disturbance.

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