The Kanawha darter and Kanawha minnow: Fishes of the New River

The Kanawha darter (Etheostoma kanawhae) is a New River drainage native species (and endemic to the New River Basin) and is currently listed as lower risk and near threatened under the IUCN Red List (picture above). It is a warm water species and prefers fast currents of riffles and runs in clear, small to medium rivers and streams.



Another endemic and native species to the New River drainage is the Kanawha minnow (Phenacobius teretulus)(Second photo). It too is a warm water species that prefers fast riffles and runs in clear, small to medium rivers and streams. The Kanawha minor prefers habitats consisting of gravel and rubble rather than those of sand, silt or larger substrates. It tends to occur (in the water column) on or near the river bottom of these faster currents. It is currently listed as vulnerable under the IUCN red list.

Images from arkive.org (Noel Burkhead, USGS and Angela Burns)

Fishes of the New R. - muskellunge and largemouth bass

Although perhaps a boring pick (at least if you're into non-game species) I wanted to post the largemouth bass, because it isn't typically found in many areas of a river like the New. Also, muskies are just awesome and I like this picture a lot!

Largemouth bass are habitat generalists, but usually do not tolerate current. They are most often found in lakes and slow moving sections of river, especially near aquatic vegetation. Even though swift current existed at our sampling site, the large amounts of submergent aquatic vegetation (elodea?) favors largemouth. The sampling site is less than 1/2 mile upstream from a large slow section, which is probably home to the source population for the bass shocked in our sampling site.

Muskies in the New River generally are found in stretches with a variety of depths, and large complexity of habitat patches such as vegetation, susbstrate type, and flow velocity (Brenden 2005). In general, muskies locations are positively correlated with submergent aquatic vegetation, though these relationships are usually in lakes. The New River may have sufficient habitat suitable to ambush-predation that association with vegetation is unnecessary (Brenden 2005). Water temperature and flow velocity may play a part in seasonal habitat selection, though with the present low flow and ideal water temperatures that may not have any bearing on depth selection on the day we sampled. As ambush feeders muskies will often select habitat near their preferred prey (castomids and large, soft-rayed fishes in general) once they reach >30 inches in length. As such they are often found in deeper sections of river, especially during low flows, warm weather, and during the day. As apex predators, however, they pretty much go where they please when they are on the prowl for food.

Fishes of the New: Northern Hogsucker and Roanoke Darter

This is a Northern Hogsucker (Hypentelium nigricans). It is a habitat generalist, but is very intolerant of pollution and siltation. It uses a specialized snout to stir up the bottom to feed on invertebrates, mollusks, and algae. Its spawning habitat is over gravel in pools and riffles.













This is a Roanoke Darter (Percina roanoka)...not the best specimen (they can be very pretty).  It is introduced into the New River.  It is a native of the Roanoke river drainage.  Although, not native it thrives in the New. It prefers clear streams with gravel, cobble, and boulder riffles and runs.  It feeds on insect larvae in these areas.

This is the Appalachian darter Percina gymnocephala (right), one of the three endemic darters of the New River drainage and the only endemic Percina. They were only recently described by Beckham 1980 and relatively little is known about these guys. I've collected them in the Blue Ridge province usually in riffles and have never collected them in the Ridge and Valley or Appalachian Plateau. Underwater they can be seen perching on the bottom with intermittent bouts of swimming in the water column especially if I stir up sediments containing their food, macroinvertebrates. Like all Percina, they probably spawn by depositing their eggs into the substrate. This one was collected about a year ago in Chestnut Creek near Galax, Virginia.

This is a picture taken of the rainbow darter Etheostoma caeruleum using a v-shaped contraption for viewing fish. There are some questions as to if this fish is native to the New or not. It was suspected as native but has undergone a population explosion in recent years particularly in the northern parts of the drainage; however, I've collected it as far south as Dismal Creek, a tributary of Walker creek, a system in the middle of the NRD. Like a lot of darters, it is a riffle dwelling, benthic invertevore, that can be found over rock substrate and deposits eggs into the substrate.

Fish of the New River: Black Crappie and Green Sunfish

Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)

The black crappie has been introduced into the New River drainage. They can be found in lakes, ponds, and rivers. In rivers they prefer the lower velocity flows that can be indicated by pools. Their habitat also includes submerged vegetation along with other submerged structures that allow for adequate cover from predation.




(photo: thebirdsnest.org)




Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus)

If I remember correctly, the Green Sunfish is the only native species to the New River drainage from the Centrachidae family. Like the Black Crappie, Green Sunfish prefer slower current that is characterized by pools. During their spawning season they prefer gravel/sand covered bed of the river. They have also been widely introduced in many lakes/resevoirs and ponds due to their ability to tolerate a fairly wide range of environmental conditions.


(photo:utexas.edu)

Fishes of the New River: Smallmouth and Flatheads

Small Mouth Bass: Micropterus dolomieu

Smallmouth bass can inhabit and rivers and lakes. They usually go for gravel or rock substrate with submerged structure such as logs, but in the case of lakes and reservoirs, they can utilize sandy and soft substrates. They do best in cooler water then some other Micropterus.





Flathead Catfish: Pylodictis olivaris

Adult flatheads live in warm, deep slow moving water and can be found in lakes, rivers, canals, reservoirs often with high turbidity. Juveniles can be found in riffles of warm water rivers.




Photo taken from VT aquarium
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/flathead.html

Fishes of the New River: Walleye and Muskie

Walleye: Sander vitreus

Preferes cool, turbid water and usually found in areas with firm bottom such as rock and compacted sand/silt. Not usually associated with vegetation, but will use weeds, rocks, and woody debris for cover from the sun. Can be in still or flowing water.

Muskellunge: Esox masquinongy

Usually in slower moving waters in river or in lakes/reservoirs. Usually in clear waters and around rock outcrops and weeds.

Fishes of Whitethorne-Sept 23

On Thursday I went out with VDGIF to Whitetorne to help in their depletion survey. Unfortunately, I was on one of the runner boats that handled large fish from the shocking boats and then returned the fish to the stream, so I wasn't on at processing long enough to capture any pictures of the fish. However, I am sure Ben will post some later when he add to my list below:

-Largemouth bass: Habitat generalist, but prefers clear quiet water with logs, rocks, and vegetation for cover. They are capable of suriving a wide range of temperatures.

-Smallmouth bass: Usually in clearer water than largemouths and prefers cooler water temperatures. Smallmouths generally inhabit lotic and lentic habitats and also prefer structure.

-Black jumprock: Prefer fast current in moderate gradient streams with large substrate such as boulders and cobble.

- Madtom: In riffles and runs of moderate gradient streams.

-Muskie: Clear, slow waters and particularly in areas of vegetation or rocky outcrops to provide cover.

The Silver Shiner Notropis photogenis

This specimen was captured by boat electrofishing on the New River at Eggleston Virginia September 21 2010.  It is a Silver Shiner Notropis photogenis    It was large, ~ 6 inches.   You can see the bright silver coloration on the ventral part of this specimen.     This species occurs in the Lake Erie drainage, Ohio, Tennessee and New River drainages.     As you can see it is very streamlined and can  be found in fast currents in the mid and upper parts of the water column where it feeds on drifting aquatic and terrestrial insects.    In the bright sunlight and turbulent waters it is well camouflaged and this habitat keeps predation by fishes relatively low.  

Weekend Freshwater Mussel Trip in TN- Day 1

Today we started our weekend trip by conducting a freshwater mussel survey at Horton Ford in Hancock County, TN. We did a quantitative survey of the reach using quadrats and a systematic sampling method. This is part of Hua Dan’s PhD graduate research project. We are taking data to look at the population dynamics of this site, evaluate the success of introducing lab-propagated juveniles (mark-recapture), and to compare Horton Ford’s data to two other sites in which lab juveniles were released (Fugate Ford and Davis Property). In addition to the quantitative survey, we took several habitat measurements. We measured the flow across the left ascending channel, collected water samples (for later analysis in the lab, organic matter, chlorophyll, etc) and water quality data (pH, temperature, D.O., conductivity).

This site is part of the Clinch River. Upstream of the survey reach is a bridge and the road follows along both sides of the river. The river is separated into two channels by an island (containing various vegetation, trees, debris, substrate, shells etc). Our study reach runs along the left ascending channel. The first picture here is of us snorkeling for freshwater mussels. The vegetation in the background you see is the island that separates the two channels. Much of the bank along both channels is degraded by the presence of cows that are allowed to roam free through the area…as you can see in the background of the second picture-one deciding to cross right through our study site…

Even though the cattle may be destructing the banks, and occasionally trampling a mussel or two, this is a great site for freshwater mussels (not saying that it wouldn't be without the cattle too). Some of the more common species we found today include the pheasantshell, Cumberland moccasianshell, and the rainbow mussel. Some of the less common to rare ones include the Cumberland combshell, the shiny pigtoe and the cracking pearlymussel. The first mussel pictured here is a pocketbook (Lampsilis ovata) that was lab-propagated and released into a cage at this site in order to determine growth. The last picture is of a young Appalachian elktoe, which is endangered and not a common find.

Now off to the hotel and round 2 tomorrow at Fugate Ford--the Powell River....

This is a Sharpnose darter (Percina oxyrhynchus) caught in the New River over the summer. Often people think of darters as colorful, riffle dwelling, species but as you can see, it's pretty drab. It occupies runs, pools, and sometimes riffles. Runs and pools are hard to sample for benthic dwelling fish, which has resulted in a lack of information about this fish. This also influences management decisions. The Sharpnose darter was almost listed in the 70's because it is rare (or not very detectable) and was originally thought to have a very small distributional range (originally described as a New River endemic). However, with increased effort it was found to occupy many of the Ohio River drainages. It is interesting in that it very well could be rare all over its range, which theoretically means it may occupy a specific resource niche or perhaps there just isn't a great way to study them. Could that specialized "sharp" mouth be an indicator of specialized feeding behavior? Just food for thought.

Garrett Menichino - CEE - Preferential Flow Paths Field Experiment

Above are construction images of a study site at an un-named tributary to Tom's Creek in Heritage Park. I am inducing a head gradient(via dam construction) to encourage hyporheic flow through a meander bend of the stream. We will be mapping the flow of groundwater through the meander in hopes of being able to develop a 3D image of preferential flow paths. Knowledge of the frequency and location of these preferential flow paths will provide insite to the hydrologic and ecological structure and function of meander bends.

Stream Experience - Powell River, VA

I work in a number of beautiful streams in southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee as part of my job with FMCC.  This is one of those streams, the Powell River.  The Powell flows southwest from the mountains of Virginia to Norris Lake in Tennessee.  It is a third to fourth order stream. Where we work, substrate mostly consists of loose sands and gravel and some cobble.  It is very remote and has mountains all around.  It once was a major tributary of the Clinch River until the dam flooded their confluence in the mid 1930's. 


 Humans have not only dammed the Powell, but also used it as transportation for coal they mined out of the mountains.  Being so remote, coal miners had no access roads to certain mines along the river. So, in order to transport their treasure they would pour it into the water and collect it at shallow fords downstream.  You can imagine what this did to local aquatic wildlife populations (especially those that were benthic).  The river to this day is still known to run completely black with coal fines during high flow events.  Fortunately, a large number of fish and mussels populations have been able to persist.  It is still unknown what kinds of chronic problems this is causing to wildlife populations in the river.  This is one of our mussel holding pens and you can see how coal particles have covered other substrates in just a matter of weeks.

 As part of the upper Tennessee river system, the Powell likely was once home to as many 45 mussels species.  Now it is home to about half that, and many are endangered species. Some species were extirpated due to the fact that their specific host fish (the paddlefish) could no longer migrate upstream to them due to the dam.  This is an Appalachain Monkeyface found at a site on the Powell.  This river is home to the only remaining population of this species left on earth and it is estimated that their numbers are in the hundreds.




 



 

More info on Josh and Corey's weekend

My work focuses on three very closely related species that occupy the New River. Two are native and the third was introduced and a potential big problem for the natives. As Josh alluded to, this weekend we ventured to two very different parts of the New River drainage. The first stream (Lick Creek) contains the introduced species, the variegate darter. As Josh mentioned its flow regime varies seasonally. Here is a picture of what it looked like in June.

Josh also posted a picture of Sandstone Falls, which is in the New River Gorge. These falls as well as others within the gorge have historically isolated the New River from all other Ohio River drainages. Isolation is one of the main ingredients to speciation, which is represented by the New's eight endemic fish species. However, people like to move and tend to take species with them, which has resulted in the New's high percentage of introduced species (over 50%). More to come later in the semester.

Weekend Stream Experience

Over the summer, I had the chance to experience many streams while helping Cory with his field work as a technician. This past weekend we ventured out to some Blue Ridge streams. To the right is pictured a New River endemic, the Kanawha Darter (Etheostoma kanawhae). They are identifiable by the 6 dark saddles located across their back. They prefer small cobble to gravel substrate and are found in riffles. Adults range in size from 50-65 mm standard length. This picture was taken in Big Wilson Creek while snorkeling on Sunday.

To the right is Lick Creek near Sandstone, West Virginia. This creek is a prime example of how variable flow rates can be in a stream. Earlier this summer in June, this creek had higher discharge rates that it currently does now. This is evident from the picture. This creek is also part of the New River drainage. It is comprised of mostly cobble and small boulders with low embeddedness during normal discharge and the stream is fairly high gradient. This creek is home to Variegate Darters (E. variatum), telescope shiners (Notropis telescopus), greenside darters (E. blennioides), and rainbow darters (E. caeruleum) jsut to name a few species.


The next picture is of Little River in North Carolina another stream that is home to Kanawha Darters. This is a prime example of a Blue Ridge Stream. It has small substrate, with high embeddedness, and has turbidity levels of 2-3 Ntu's. These Blue RIdge streams are also fairly low in gradient. Also, when snorkeling on Sunday the water temperature was around 18 degrees celcius. Downstream of this site, most of the banks had been deforested, with slump banks lining much of the stream.



The last picture I decided to include in my blog is a picture that I took of Sandstone Falls in Sandstone, WV. These falls are located on the New River just downstream of the Bluestone Dam in Hinton, WV. I just thought it would be a good picture to share with the rest of the class even though I do not know much about it. However, the best part of these falls is that on one of the signs near the viewing platform for the falls states that "the dam upstream actually helps the ecosystem". It doesn't say that directly, but that is what we decided they were trying to say and thought it was quite funny.

Stream Experience - St. Croix River, MN

My stream experience comes to you courtesy of the Saint Croix River in the Upper Midwest. The river is a National Wild and Scenic Riverway, bordering Minnesota and Wisconsin before flowing into the Mississippi River. The river is managed by the National Park Service, Minnesota and Wisconsin DNR, and the USFWS. The river is a 5/6th order stream, and averages 100 to 150 meters wide, with coarse gravel and cobble in swifter areas and shifting sand in slower reaches. A hydroelectric dam operates within the Scenic Riverway, and is required to maintain minimum flows, though enforcement and compliance have been spotty.

The stream supports 40 species of freshwater mussels, including two federally endangered species (L. higginsii and Q. fragosa), and more than 65 fish species, 10 of which are listed under species of special concern in the state of Minnesota. The river is heavily used for boating recreation (canoes and kayaks in the upper river, motorized boats in the lower), and fishing is excellent. Increasing urbanization and pressure to build large homes on river bluffs threaten the riverway and its watershed. Recently the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency listed the river as impaired by phosphorus.

I spent 3 full summers and part of another researching freshwater mussels on the St. Croix. The work involved excavating quadrats to assess long-term population changes in mussels, implementing a new sampling design to effectively estimate populations of rare and patchy species, and attempting to quantify microhabitat factors for endangered mussel species (sediment coarseness, shear stress, river velocity, organic sediment matter, etc). We also did some research with mussel host fish, and video documentation of nighttime mussel displays. I spent approximately 20 hours a week underwater, using SCUBA to accomplish our goals.

I learned a great deal about the river during my research, from seeing many fish and mussel species firsthand while diving, to learning about cooperative management strategies and difficulties.

Post a story of stream, stream habitat, or fish or other aquatic life here

For this week I would like to learn more about your river and stream experiences.   Use the "Post a Comment"  below to post a description of one stream you are very familiar with and the characteristic habitats or aquatic life .

Two projects

Though I took a few classes as an undergrad and jammed a few words and terms in my head, but my experience with stream habitat management really revolves around two projects.


1) I attended a small private college and my Environmental Studies program was based largely on problem based learning. As a freshman, I was enrolled in a class where the problem was to create a stream restoration plan for about one mile of Mechumps Creek, a small stream that flows through the small town of Ashland, VA. As you can see from the picture, the stream was heavily eroded due to poor stormwater management and it also has problems with fecal coliform bacteria. The channel is deeply incised, consists mostly of shallow riffle habitat, and thus few deep pools for fish habitat. About a month ago I shocked the stream and found about five different species, redbreasted sunfish, creek chubs, creek chubsuckers, mudminnows, and rosyside dace, so it has pretty low diversity given that just outside of the town diversity nearly triples with the additioanl of numerous chain pickerel, bowfin, and pirate perch.

Throughout the year we surveyed stakeholders, measured aspects of geomorphology, quantified the macroinvertebrate community, and worked closely with an environmental engineering firm to create a stream restoration plan which called for movement of the stream channel and installation of numerous instream structures. Of course, those things arn't cheap, and so I subsequently wrote a US Fish and Wildlife grant for $100,000 which was approved in 2008. It has been 4 years since the beginning of the project, and construction will be starting within the month. There is no real glory in this stream restoration project. Threatened and/or endangered fish do no inhabit it, there is no chance to stock it with sport fish, and it is largely hidden in the woods behind fast food chains. However, it is a good example of how stakeholders can be educated on the topic and then push for it through completion.

2) My undergrad experience also included a lot of summer research, including a trip to Colorado during the summer before my senior year to study the longterm effects of habitat manipulations in Colorado streams. The streams I worked in were remotely located, first0rder, and largely composed of brook trout, but some streams had brown, rainbow, and cutthroat. As part of my advisor's Ph.D. work in the late 1980's, he installed log drops in 6 streams and then monitored the changes in habitat and trout abundance. The idea behind installing log drops was that historically all of the riparian vegeation surrounding the streams was removed during logging, and so there was little woody debris in the streams and woody debris is a major component in salmonnid habitat. The addition of logs would, in theory, create a dam pool upstream, a scour pool downstream, and provide overhead cover.

The short story is that the logs increased both habitat and abundance by over 100%, and it was the first study to conclusively determine the effects of log drops. However, since the 1990's there has been a lot of controversy and conflicting literature as to the efficacy of these features. So, we went back out 20 years after log installation to see if the effects still persisted. I'm working on getting that paper published, but the results show that log drops were still effective at increasing trout abundance and habitat. The other side of that story is that it is clear that the effectiveness is really site specific, so as part of that research I did a in-depth review as to why the streams I studied saw an effect but other streams don't. A lof ot it comes down to fish behavior as well as the physical attributes of the streams.