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Propagation and restoration of rare fishes: keys to success Propagation and restoration of rare fishes: keys to success

Propagation and restoration of rare fishes: keys to success - PowerPoint Presentation

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Propagation and restoration of rare fishes: keys to success - PPT Presentation

Patrick L Rakes and J R Shute Conservation Fisheries Inc Mission Statement   Conservation Fisheries is dedicated to the preservation of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems in the southeastern ID: 255752

amp tennessee conservation wildlife tennessee amp wildlife conservation fish service resources university species madtoms creek abrams restoration agency natural

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Slide1

Propagation and restoration of rare fishes: keys to success.

Patrick L. Rakes and J. R. Shute,

Conservation Fisheries, Inc. Slide2
Slide3

Mission Statement:

 

Conservation Fisheries is dedicated

to the preservation of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystems in the southeastern

United States, concentrating

on the conservation and recovery

of rare freshwater fishes

using captive propagation,

habitat assessment,

and low impact monitoring techniquesSlide4
Slide5

3424 Division Street, Knoxville, TNSlide6

BTM racksSlide7

CFI PARTNERS

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U. S. Forest Service;

U. S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division; National Park Service; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Environmental Protection Agency; Tennessee Valley Authority; Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Arkansas Game & Fish Commission; Kentucky State Game & Fish Division; Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks; North Carolina Wildlife Resources Agency; Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency; Virginia Division of Game & Inland Fishes; The Nature Conservancy; The Tennessee Aquarium; The University of Tennessee; Tennessee Tech University; The World Wildlife Fund; ALCOA; and International Paper.

Slide8

How Do You Recover

Rare Species?Habitat protection!

Habitat restoration!

Stocking

Augmentation

Reintroduction/population restoration

Translocation vs. Propagation

Propagation Purposes:

reintroductions / arks

life history research (sometimes surrogates)

toxicity tolerance

mussel hostsSlide9

How Do You Recover

Rare Species?Who leads?

Who pays / funds?

Who is responsible to whom?

How do you gauge success?Slide10

The “Abrams Creek Story”

Formerly held 67 of GSMNP’s 79 known fish speciesPoisoned with rotenone in 1957 to “reclaim” for trophy trout fisheryOnly 35 species persisted/returned from tributaries; smoky & yellowfin madtoms considered extinct after “reclamation”

CFI—with USFWS, TWRA, USFS, NPS— began attempts to restore four federally listed species in 1986:Slide11

Smoky madtom,

Noturus baileyi

(E)Slide12

Yellowfin madtom,

N. flavipinnis (T)Slide13

Duskytail darter, Etheostoma percnurum

(E) [now Citico darter, E. sitikuense]Slide14

Spotfin chub, Erimonax monachus

(T)Slide15

Justification for Restoration

“Extinct” madtoms & darter rediscovered in Citico Creek ~1980; life histories: UTK M.S. studentsAbrams Crk extirpations = one-time event; habitat relatively undisturbed; mostly “protected” public lands/watershed

Problem: spotfin chub = only sp. with wild source population sufficient for translocations

Madtoms & darter would require propagation to produce numbers sufficient for reintroductions (efforts initiated at UTK in 1986) ‘post-theses’Slide16

Early Abrams release w/ mediaSlide17

Restoration Effort History

Each species produced in numbers dependent on collection permits, life history, and annual collection & survivorship variation:Madtoms ~25-600/yr/sp. (typically 100-200)[3200]Darters 50-750/yr (typically ~200)[3400]

Chubs 0-3500/yr [11,000]

Stocked at 1-5 sites/yr

Chubs translocated 1988-90 (unsuccessfully) Propagated & stocked 1994-2001 (“ditto”)

Madtoms stocked 1

st

fall ‘86-’91 / 1

st

spring ’93--

Stocking ceased after 2001 for darters, 2002 for madtoms… …monitoring only since then:Slide18

Summary / Conclusions

Smoky madtoms, yellowfin madtoms, & Citico darters established, reproducing and expanding population sizes and distributions Success slow– required 20 years for this pilot project, but subsequent restoration efforts with same species have benefited / faster success (Tellico River)

Fortuitous issues:

Abrams pristine/protected

Recovery Plans called for propagation & reintroductions (funding source available)

Abrams in central part of original ranges of spp.

all parties

agreed to effort!

(NEPs required now)Slide19

PARTNERS

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

[$]

U. S. Forest Service

[$ / source]

National Park Service

[site]

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

[$]

The Tennessee Aquarium

[rearing]

The University of Tennessee

[research]

Tennessee Tech University

[research]

The World Wildlife Fund

[$--equipment]

ALCOA

[$]

CFI

[implementation / knowledge]Slide20

Future Plans / Work in Progress

Determine why smoky madtoms are only doing well in lower creek, duskytails only in upper Determine total extent of available habitat and percent occupiedDevelop long-term monitoring program and more quantitative assessments of populations

Compare genetic make-up of restored vs source populations

Develop long-term “fish passage” genetic exchange program between Abrams, Citico, and Tellico populationsSlide21

Additional Information:

 

Shute, J. R., P. L. Rakes, and P. W. Shute. 2005. Reintroduction of four imperiled fishes in Abrams Creek, Tennessee. Southeastern Naturalist 4(1): 93-110.

www.conservationfisheries.orgSlide22

Barrens topminnow,

Fundulus julisia

(BTM)

candidate spp. limited to privately owned springs & headwaters

imperilment recognized since 1970s; Conservation Strategy initiated August 2000

propagated fish stocked at numerous restoration sites

TTU student research confirmed inability to compete with non-native

Gambusia

large number of partners:Slide23

BTM PARTNERS

Arnold Air Force Base

Conservation Fisheries, Inc.

The Nature Conservancy—Tennessee Chapter

Tennessee Aquarium

Tennessee Aquatic Research Institute

Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Tennessee Tech University

Tennessee Valley Authority

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

…and many private landowners…Slide24

Shoal Creek Restoration Effort

stream entirely on private lands; required NEP for endangered species restoration

Clean Water Act recovery example (sewage, heavy metals)

deep biogeographic/taxonomic discussions about appropriate spotfin source

partners:

Boulder darter

Etheostoma wapiti

Spotfin chub

Erimonax monachusSlide25

SHOAL CREEK PARTNERS

Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources

Conservation Fisheries, Inc.

International Paper

Iron City, TN

Shoal Creek Canoe Run

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

USFWS National Fish Hatcheries

University of Alabama & St. Louis University

World Wildlife FundSlide26

Dr. Carol Johnston

Auburn University

Jim Herrig

Cherokee NF

Peggy Shute

TVA

PLR

CFI

Conasauga River Rare Fish MonitoringSlide27

Q U E S T I O N S ?