Assessment of Dewatering Impacts on Stream Fisheries in the Arkansas and Cimarron Rivers"

ASSESSMENT OF DEWATERING IMPACTS ON STREAM FISHERIES IN THE ARKANSAS AND CIMARRON RIVERS"

Frank B. Cross, Randall E. Moss and Joseph T. Collins Museum of Natural History University of Kansas, Lawrence, Ks.

Introduction

This report concerns the status of fishes in the Arkansas River and streams south of the Arkansas mainstream in Kansas. It is based mainly on visits to 35 sites on the Arkansas River, Cimarron River, and intervening tributaries (Fig. 1) on 16-23 July 1983. Fish collections were made at 23 sites having water; stream beds were dry at 12 sites. Supplementing our collections are other collections made from 1979 through 1983 by O. T. Gorman and D. Wiseman of the University of Kansas, Dr. Robert Clarke of Emporia State University, K. Brunson and other personnel of the Kansas Fish and Game Commission, and Dr. D. A. Distler and students at Wichita State University. Their collections increase the number of localities represented to 46, and provide replicate samples from some of our 35 sites. Our objectives were to locate populations of several species characteristic of the western Plains segment of the Arkansas River basin; to assess the extent to which these fishes are threatened, by comparison of current and historical distributional records; and to examine the relationship between changes in stream flows and changes in the status of each species. The species of "primary concern" are the Arkansas River form of the Speckled chub (Hybopsis aestivalis tetranemus), Flathead chub (Hybopsis gracilis), Emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides), River shiner (Notropis blennius), Arkansas River shiner (Notropis girardi), Plains minnow (Hybognathus placitus), Plains killifish (Fundulus zebrinus with which F. kansae is considered conspecific), and Arkansas darter (Etheostoma cragini). Additional species that were captured in 1979-83 are discussed briefly. The various collections included a total of 42 species of fishes. Records of fishes cited in this report extend from 1853 to the present. Reports by Cragin (1885) and Gilbert (1885,1886) provide baseline information on fishes in the western part of the basin, especially the Arkansas River at Garden City and the Medicine Lodge drainage in Barber County during the early years

1 Nongame Wildlife Contract No. 46, Kansas Fish and Game Commission and The University of Kansas (KU 5400-0705). Field work was conducted by the authors and Kelly J. Irwin of Topeka, and at some sites by Ken Brunson, Kansas Fish and Game Commission. All photographs in this report are by J. T. Collins. Figure 1. Location of all sites visited during this study (1979-1983). Large solid circles represent sites containing water and which were sampled in 1983. Open circles represent sites without water during this survey in July 1983. Small solid circles represent sites sampled by 0. T. Gorman in 1979.

2 of settlement. Jordan's (1891) list of species from the "Arkansas River at 1 Wichita" affords an interesting but less secure baseline on the fauna in the lower mainstream; those fishes may have come from various streams in the Wichita area rather than the single site reported. Data available from a few collections made in the 1920's and 1940's are cited. Most of the collections useful for comparison with the 1979-83 series were made in the period 1951-67 by personnel of the University of Kansas. Sampling methods were similar in those collections

and the 1979-83 series of collections: haul seines of 6-foot to 30-foot length, 1/8 to 3/8-inch mesh, operated by personnel with comparable training. The same persons were involved in many of the collections. Their main objective was to determine species composition at each site. Early collections did not include counts of fishes captured, but the terms "abundant, common, frequent, scarce, and rare" were used in field notes on many of the collections to indicate relative abundance of the species taken. Specimens catalogued into research 1 collections of the Museum of Natural History provide data on minimum numbers captured in several instances critical for determination of changes in the abundance of species within the 30-year period covered by these records. From about 1962 to date, quantitative records accompany most collections (counts of individual fish of each species caught). Results of stream surveys by personnel of the Kansas Fish and Game Com- mission, chiefly in 1974-76, are incorporated into the report where those records seem appropriate. The KFG collections were intensive on short stream segments, involving use of electrofishing gear or toxins as the principal sampling method. Differences in field methods and objectives of those surveys dictate caution in comparing the KFG results with ours. Stream-flow records were obtained from the U. S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Section, through the cooperation of Dr. Paul Jordan of that agency. Our purpose was to explore possible cause-and-effect relationships between historic changes in discharge and changes in the composition of fish faunas throughout the region surveyed. Therefore gaging-station data were selected on the basis of the number of years each station has operated, and its location with respect to sites from which fish collections are available. The results of this project are arranged under the following headings: 1) Hydrologic records; 2) Fish faunas and habitat notes at sites (or stream reaches)for which an historic record is available; 3) Accounts of species of primary concern; 4) Accounts of other species captured in 1979-83; 5) Summary; and 6) Appendix - field notes on collections made in 1983.

3 HYDROLOGIC RECORDS

Analysis of Discharge Rates at USGS Gaging Stations

Records of mean daily discharge, expressed as cubic feet per second (cfs) were examined for the following USGS stream gaging stations: Arkansas River at Syracuse, Hamilton County; Dodge City, Ford County; Great Bend, Barton County; and Wichita, Sedgwick County; Cimarron River at bridge on Highway K-23, Meade County; Crooked Creek near Nye, Meade County; Medicine Lodge River near Kiowa, Barber County; and Ninnescah River near Peck, Sumner County. The records used were summarized in three ways at each station. The first data set indicated the number of days in each water year (ending September 30) in which the mean daily discharge fell within serially arranged classes (discharge ranges). That summary also included flow duration tables giving daily rates of discharge that were exceeded at specified frequencies (10% to 95% of the time), within certain periods of years. The periods selected for comparison were: origin of records through 1942 (or through 1965, if few records existed prior to 1942 at a station); 1943 through 1965; 1966 through 1976; and 1977 through 1982, the last year for which such summaries were available. The second data set consisted of summaries like the first set, organized on a monthly basis rather than annual basis. The third data set listed the peak flows (highest instantaneous discharge rates rather than mean daily rates) recorded in each year together with the dates on which they occurred. Chronological trends at each station are discussed in the following paragraphs. The ranges and seasonal patterns of discharge are described in successive periods of years; then, attention is given to the incidence of high flows, for reasons relating to reproductive requirements of some fishes of primary concern in this report. Syracuse Discharge records at Syracuse are divided into four periods (1904, 1905, and 1923-42 = 22 years; 1943-65 = 23 years; 1966-76 = 11 years; and 1977-82 = 6 years). Figure 2 is a flow duration curve that indicates the percent of time (days) discharge exceeded the values plotted, in each of the four periods. In 1904-42, flows greater than 980 cfs occurred about 10% of the time. At the other extreme, low-flows

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(1) 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percent

Figure 2. Flow duration in the Arkansas River at Syracuse, Hamilton County, Kansas. Rates of discharge that were exceeded 10%, 25%, 50%, 70%, 75%, 90% and 95% of the time are plotted for four successive periods of years. Lines intersecting the x-axis indicate flows less than 1.0 cfs. Data from gaging station records of the U.S. Geological Survey.

5 (those exceeded 90% of the time) were only about 5 cfs; flows less than 3 cfs occurred 5% of the time. The steep incline of this curve reflects the natural variability of discharge rates in the Arkansas River in western Kansas, although the rates recorded may already have been influenced by irrigation diversions, which began more than a century ago Beginning in 1942, John Martin Reservoir in eastern Colorado modified the flow regime by retaining water, chiefly during high flows, for later release to meet irrigation needs. Thus, in the period 1943-65, flows of 10% frequency at Syracuse were significantly reduced -- from 980 to 450 cfs -- but discharge rates of 50% or greater frequency increased (Fig. 2). For example, flows exceeded 75% of the time averaged only 17 cfs prior to impoundment, but increased to 62 cfs for the 23-year period following construction of John Martin Reservoir. The initial effect of the impoundment was to flatten the curve by moderating both extremes (reducing peak flows and increasing minimum flows). In the third period (1966-76) flows of 10% to 90% frequency declined slightly (Fig. 2), but "minimum" flows (95% frequency) dropped from 5.7 cfs to approximately 1 cfs. The most dramatic reduction in discharge rates of the Arkansas at Syracuse occurred in the final period (1977-82; Fig. 2). The incline of the duration curve for 1977-82 nearly parallels that for the original period (1904-42), but the discharge rates at each level of frequency are only one-fourth to one-tenth those in the original period. In 1977-82, flows greater than 165 cfs were recorded only 10% of the time, and flows less than 1 cfs were recorded more than 10% of the time at Syracuse. Seasonal patterns of discharge in the Arkansas River at Syracuse are indicated in Fig. 3. Two levels of discharge frequency were selected (10% or high-flow, and 95% or low-flow) to compare mean daily flows among months and between periods of record. Four periods are plotted: 1904-42, 1943-65, 1966-76 and 1977-82.

6 yr;OC1

500C

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2000 /\

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400 v., 0 s:NN

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Figure 3. Historic changes in flow of the Arkansas River at Syracuse, Hamilton County, Kansas, summarized from U.S. Geological Survey gaging station records for consecutive periods. Upper set of 4 lines = mean daily discharge rates that were exceeded 10% of the time, in each month; lower 4 lines = discharge rates exceeded 95% of the time. Discharge axis on logarithmic scale.

7 High flows have similar seasonal distributions in all the periods of record, being greatest in late spring and summer, least in winter. Because this seasonal variability is embedded in the composite analysis graphed in Fig. 2, it is not surprising that some months have flows considerably higher (and other months lower) than the 10%-frequency discharges shown in Fig. 2. In the period 1904-42, for example, mean daily flows exceeded 3,000 cfs with 10% frequency in June (vs. 980 cfs in Fig. 2), whereas flows in January exceeded 400 cfs only 10% of the time. The monthly high flows diminished from each period of record to the next. In 1977-82, the 10% frequency discharges vary from 4% to 18% of flows recorded for the same month in 1904-42. July is exceptional (Fig. 3) in having 41% of the 1904-42 value, due presumably to reservoir releases for irrigation in that month. The monthly values for 1977-82 vary from 7% to 28% of values recorded in 1943-65 for eight of the months, excluding June through September; for those four months, flows in 1977- 82 were 33% to 82% of the comparable 1943-65 monthly flows. It is noteworthy that the two earlier periods (1904-42 and 1943-65) each included severe droughts, in the 1930's and 1950's. Low flows -- those exceeded 95% of the time -- were affected differently from high flows at Syracuse. In the period 1904-42, monthly low-flow values varied only from 1.3 cfs (in July and October) to 13.3 cfs (in February). The initial effect of John Martin Reservoir was to increase minimum flows in all months (range 2.7 cfs in August to 35.7 cfs in February), as shown by the curve for 1943-65. In the two later periods (1966-76 and 1977-82), low-flows decreased sharply in all months except June. In 1977-82, monthly values were generally lower (range 0.23 cfs in October to 7.3 cfs in June) than in the initial period of record. A further difference is that low flows originally occurred mainly in summer and fall (July through October), whereas flows now tend to be lowest in fall and winter (September through February). Thus the shape of the monthly low-flow graph has been inverted (Fig. 3). During months in which the 95% frequency flows normally decreased in the unregulated river (1904-42) low flows now tend to increase. Under the natural flow regime, discharge was least variable in winter, when the high- and low-flow curves converged. Recently, the channel has been dry or nearly dry (<1 cfs) more than 10% of the time from September through February. 8 The height and frequency of peak flows in summer are important to some Arkansas River fishes because flood-flows trigger their reproductive activity. Therefore records of discharge were checked for the incidence of high mean daily flows in the months of May through August. In the period 1904-42, flows exceeding 2400 cfs occurred in each of those months in at least 9 of the 22 years involved; flows exceeding 6000 cfs occurred in several years. The distribution of high flows was such that no 3-year period lacked flows exceeding 2400 cfs in May-August, prior to 1942. In 1943-65, flows exceeding 2200 cfs occurred on one or more days between May 1 and August 31 in 1947, 49, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, 64, and 65 -- 11 of the 23 years of record. The maximum daily discharge and number of days having high discharge rates were less than in the initial period, but, again, no 3-year period was without at least one instance of flow greater than 2000 cfs. In 1 contrast, no mean daily flow exceeding 2300 cfs occurred between May 1 and Aug 31 in the entire period 1966-76. Flows failed to exceed 590 cfs in those months for five consecutive years. In 1977-82, no flow greater than 920 cfs occurred in May through August at Syracuse; only 10 days had flows greater than 530 cfs in the entire period. It seems unlikely that a species dependent on floods to stimulate spawning activity would have reproduced at Syracuse since 1971. Dodge City Discharge records at Dodge City are available for the water years 1903-06, 1942, and continuously since 1945. Only the records since 1945 are plotted, in three periods: 1945-65, 1966-76, and 1977-82 (Fig. 4). The 1903-06 data represent too short a period to provide a reliable baseline on natural flows in this reach of the river, but it seems unwise to merge those data with the 1945-65 records due to the many changes that ensued in the interim (including impoundment of John Martin Reservoir). Information from the Syracuse Station (Figs. 2 and 3), demonstrates that the natural flow regime of the Arkansas River had been modified considerably by 1945. Flows at Dodge City exceeded 330 cfs only 10% of the time in 1945-65, and exceeded 240 cfs only 10% of the time in 1966-76 (Fig. 4). Those discharge rates are lower than at Syracuse in the same periods, as are discharges at the 25%, 50%, 70%, and 75% levels of frequency. On

9 1000 800

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>, 6 20

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1977-82 1966-76

i0 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percent

Figure 4. Flow duration in the Arkansas River at Dodge City, Ford County, Kansas, in three successive periods. For further explanation, see Fig. 2 on page 5.

10 the other hand, low flows (90% and 95% levels) exceeded those at Syracuse in 1945-65: 21 vs 12 cfs and 10.7 vs 5.7 cfs, respectively. Low-flow levels as well as high flows diminished thereafter. From 1945-65 to 1966-76, flows of 75% frequency receded from 44 to 24 cfs, flows of 90% frequency from 21 to 5.4 cfs, and flows of 95% frequency from 10.7 to less than 1 cfs. In the period since 1976, flows at Dodge City have exceeded 1 cfs only 10% of the time. Virtually all water was diverted for irrigation, principally into canals originating at Lakin, Kearny County. Although this reach of the Arkansas River is now dry most of the time, an examination of peak-flow data shows that significant flow occurred at Dodge City on some dates each year through 1982. The highest discharge rate ever recorded, 82,000 cfs, occurred on 19 June 1965, and instantaneous flows exceeding 1,000 cfs were registered on single days in 1966, 70, 72, 73, and 78. The lowest peak flow measured at Dodge City in any year was 41 cfs, in 1981; the highest flow recorded in 1982 was 109 cfs. It is of interest that peak flows greater than 10,000 cfs were recorded in five years of record prior to 1945 (1903, 04, 05, 06, 42). In 1904, mean daily flows varied from zero (on 46 days) to 11,500 cfs; they exceeded 4600 cfs on 5 days. In 1905, daily flows varied from approximately 2 cfs (14 days) to 19,600 cfs, and exceeded 4600 cfs on 18 days. The Arkansas at Dodge City was then a large river, though an extremely variable one. Great Bend Discharge records at Great Bend are continuous from water-year 1941 through 1982. Flow-duration curves for the periods 1941-65, 1966-76, and 1977-82 are shown in Fig. 5. Flows receded, at an accelerating rate, from each period to the next. High flows (10% frequency) dropped from 820 to 440 to 136 cfs, minimum flows (95% freqency) from 11.8 to 8.2 to less than 1 cfs, as averages for the three successive terms. In the last period (1977-82), flow at Great Bend exceeded 10 cfs only about 50% of the time. Figure 6 illustrates the seasonal distribution of flows in the three periods. The monthly trends in discharge parallel those at Syracuse (Fig. 3). High flows (10% frequency) increased gradually in winter and spring to peak in June, then receded through late summer and

200

1 00 cr) LI- 80

60 1 ?„, R

_c 4 0 I-

e. 0

• 1941-65

0 1966-76 <=)

2 0 1977-82

20 30 40 50 60 70 60 90 100 Percent

Figure 5. Flow duration in the Arkansas River at Great Bend, Barton County, Kansas, in three successive periods. For further explanation, see Fig. 2 on page 5.

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1000 800 \/(3' 600 o / 0 N _ 196 6 — 76 400 , C • • 1941 — 65 '-0/

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• • .--- • 197 7 — 82 ° D Cl ./.\• /o 1966 — 76 ///

0, • 1941 —65 \-0 ■

19 77 — 82

J dl J N D Monts

Figure 6. Historic change in seasonal flows of the Arkansas River at Great Bend, Barton County, Kansas, summarized from U.S. Geological Survey gaging station records for consecutive periods of years. Upper 3 lines = discharge rates that were exceeded 10% of the time, in each month; lower 3 lines = discharge rates exceeded 95% of the time.

13 autumn. Low flows (exceeded 95% of the time) were greatest in winter (or early spring) in the initial periods, receded through late spring and summer, but increased in November and December. In the most recent period (1977-82), however, that seasonal pattern of low-flows has nearly reversed; the monthly average low flows now exceed 1 cfs only in late spring and summer. Thus a principal effect of recent developments on minimum flows, at both Great Bend and Syracuse, has been their virtual elimination from September until late Spring. Similarities in the flow-duration curves at Great Bend and Syracuse are noteworthy in other respects. The 10% frequency (high flow) curve at Great Bend for 1941-65 very closely matches the high flow curve at Syracuse for 1904-42; the flows in each case are approximately 500 cfs in February, 3200 cfs in June, and 530-540 cfs in November (Figs. 3 and 6). The 10% frequency curve for Syracuse in 1943-65 falls substantially below that for Great Bend in 1941-65 (Figs. 3 and 6), but monthly discharges of 10% frequency fall within the same range at both stations in later periods (1966-76 and 1977-82). The range in 1966-76 was 200-500 cfs at Syracuse and 200-600 cfs at Great Bend. The ranges in 1977-82 are about 30 cfs to 500 cfs at both stations. The monthly low-flow curves for Syracuse and Great Bend have similar over-all ranges (between 2 and 50 cfs) in the 1941 (or 1943) to 1965 period. At Syracuse, the low-flow values in that period represented a significant increase over natural low flows in the same months, due to flow regulation at John Martin Reservoir. It is doubtful that flows at Great Bend were similarly affected, although gaging-station records prior to 1941 do not exist to validate the assumption. All other evidence, based on subsequent gaging-station data and descriptions of early explorers (e.g., Sibley in 1825), indicates that the Arkansas was a bigger river at Great Bend than at Syracuse, but fluctuated greatly at both sites. Peak flows recorded at Great Bend have exceeded 1000 cfs in all years of record except the following: 1945, 1954, 1956, 1963, 1964, and 1977. However, the height of peak flows, and the number of times they recurred each year, have tended to decline over the period of record, especially since 1958. Fishes dependent ;AL high summer flows for spawning probably could not have reproduced at Great Bend (or at sites

14 1

between Lakin and Great Bend) in the period from July 1958 to June 1965, with the possible exception of two days in August 1961 and two days in August 1962. Considering the short life span of those species, they probably did not survive that period in the upper Arkansas mainstream. Wichita Records of discharge at Wichita are continuous since 1935. Flow-duration curves for the periods 1935-65, 1966-76, and 1977-82 are compared in Fig. 7, seasonal trends for the same periods in Fig. 8. The flow regime of the Arkansas River has changed very little at Wichita, 1 I insofar as it can be described by these periodic averages. The only trends apparent in the flow duration curves are slight reduction of high flows (10% to 50% frequency) in 1977-82, and modest increases in low flows in the two later periods (1966-76 and and 1977-82, as compared with 1935-65). Low flow values in 1935-65 include effects of major droughts in the 1930's and 1950's, contained in the initial period of record. However, the higher base flow at Wichita may also reflect increasing use of ground water and its release through treatment systems into the Arkansas River, due to recent population growth and industrial development in the reach from Great Bend through Hutchinson and Wichita. Monthly means of flows exceeded 10% and 95% of the time (Fig. 8) 1 suggest somewhat greater change through time than do the flow duration curves. In 1935-65, the 10%-frequency curve (high flows) varied seasonally as expected from seasonal curves at stations upstream and from the usual cycle of seasonal precipitation; the curve rises gradually from January to June, peaking at 6000 cfs, then declines to December. The 10% frequency curves for the two later periods are much less consistent. June peaks diminished (to about 4700 cfs in 1966-76 and 3800 cfs in 1977-82), and were approached or exceeded by high flows

in other months (e.g.., April and October in 1966-76, March and November in 1977-82). These departures from the expected seasonal trend might be an artifact of the brevity of the two later periods (11 and 6 years, as opposed to 31 years in the initial period), rather than a "real" change in the river's flow regime. But, low flow curves on the monthly graph (Fig. 8) are consistently higher, and less variable through the year, in the later periods than in the initial period. They provide fairly persuasive evidence that minimum flows actually have increased and acquired greater stability at Wichita.

15 10000 8000

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Figure 7. Flow duration in the Arkansas River at Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas, in three successive periods. For further explanation, see Fig. 2 on page 5.

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>, 40

J y1 M J J Months Figure 8. Historic changes in seasonal flows of the Arkansas River at Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas. Upper 3 lines = discharges rates that were exceeded 10% of the time, in each month; lower 3 lines = discharge rates exceeded 95% of the time.

17 From a fisheries standpoint, discharge rates at Wichita do not seem to have changed enough to account directly for recent changes in the fish fauna. There has been no succession of years without flows high enough to permit reproduction by flood-dependent species. This pattern contrasts sharply with trends in discharge at gaging stations from Great Bend westward. Little if any water now reaches Wichita from the western part of the basin. Therefore flows at Wichita must now be sustained by water sources nearby, perhaps increasingly by withdrawals from the Equus Beds and Great Bend aquifers. Cimarron River Records of flow in the Cimarron mainstream in Kansas are less extensive than records for the Arkansas River and for some tributaries of the Cimarron. Discharge is now monitored only at the K-23 bridge, Meade County, a gaging station listed as "near Forgan, Oklahoma" in USGS publications. Continuous records at that site date only from 1965, although "peak flow" data exist from 1938 to the present time. Flow-duration curves and monthly high- and low-frequency discharge rates are shown in Figs. 9 and 10 for the two periods 1966-76 and 1977-82. Recent reduction in discharge is apparent in both graphs; for example, flows exceeded 10% of the time declined from 110 cfs to 76 cfs, and flows exceeded 90% of the time from 40 to 31 cfs, from one period to the next (Fig. 9). The most striking feature of these graphs, however, is the remarkably "flat" nature of the discharge curves, seasonally as well as cumulatively over the period of continuous records. Such uniformity, or stability, in discharge rate is unusual in Plains streams, especially those with drainage basins as large as the Cimarron's (8536 square miles above this site). The low variability probably results from two factors -- recent diminution of flows reaching this station from the western part of the basin, and surface exposures of water-bearing Ogallala sands on each side of the Cimarron channel immediately upstream from the gaging station (Geological map of Kansas, State Geological Survey, Lawrence). At the time of our survey in July 1983, strong flow occurred at the K-23 bridge but the river bed was dry less than 30 miles upstream. That condition evidently has existed for most of the period covered by continuous discharge records at the Forgan station.

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F 1

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Figure 9. Flow duration in the Cimarron River at bridge on Ks. Rt. 23, Meade County, Kansas. For further exolanation, see Fig. 2 on page 5.

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• — • 1966 - 76

1977-82 60 1966- 76 ,.. Thets...... • ---0 197 7:_ 82 0.,,,.../------.-- 0 • /0- 0 • ta, .....''N'N • 0 p 20 0-0

M Vontis

Figure 10. Seasonal flows in the Cimarron River at bridge on Ks. Rt. 23, Meade County, Kansas. Unper 2 lines = discharge rates that were exceeded 10% of the time, in each month; lower 2 lines = discharge rates exceeded 95% of the time.

20 Mean daily flows rarely exceeded 1000 cfs in the months May through August from 1966 through 1976. Daily discharge exceeded 1400 cfs on 2 days in August 1975 and exceeded 1200 cfs on 2 days in August 1976; flows greater than 1200 cfs occurred on one day in June 1972. From 1977-82, mean daily discharge exceeded 1100 cfs on 3 days in May 1977, exceeded 1300 cfs on 3 days in June 1978, and exceeded 380 cfs on 1 day in July 1979 (1100-1300 cfs range). No daily discharge during May-August exceeded 600 cfs at this station from 1979 through 1982. Records of peak instantaneous discharge at this station are available since 1938. Peak discharges greater than 4000 cfs occurred in 16 of the 21 years prior to 1960, but in only 3 of 18 later years. Peak discharges exceeded 2000 cfs in all record years prior to 1960 except 1952. From 1960 to 1969, peak instantaneous discharges exceeded 2000 cfs in 8 years, but from 1970 through 1977 (the last year for which these data are accessible), peak discharges were greater than 2000 cfs in only 4 years. From 1977 to 1982, total annual discharges declined as follows (successiveyears): 36,000; 31,000; 22,000; 18,000; 18,000; 19,000. Crooked Creek at Nye, Meade County. Discharge records at this station extend from 1943 to date. Flows in Crooked Creek have been less stable than those in the Cimarron at highway K-23, as evident in the declivity of the duration curves (Fig. 11). However, the historic trend has been toward less variability: for the three periods 1943-65, 1966-76, and 1977-82, the 10% and 90%-frequency values were, respectively, 54 and <1 cfs; 43 and 1.9 cfs; and 24 and 2.9 cfs. During the months of May through August, mean daily flows greater than 1000 cfs were recorded in most years prior to 1964, and flows greater than 2000 cfs occurred in several years. From 1964 through 1982, no mean daily flows greater than 690 cfs have been recorded in May-August. These data indicate that species dependent on flood-flows for spawning probably maintained populations through 1963 but not subsequently. Instantaneous peak flows exceeded 2000 cfs in all years through 1964, and such flows nearly always occurred in May-August. Since 1964, instantaneous flows greater than 2000 cfs have never occurred in those months, with the exception of May 1, 1978, when a peak flow of 2930 cfs was recorded.

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Figure 11. Flow duration in Crooked Creek near Nye, Meade County, Kansas, in three successive periods. For further explanation, see Fig 2 on page 5.

22 Medicine Lodge River near Kiowa, Barber County. Records at this station cover the years 1938-1950, 1955, and 1960-1982. Flow-duration curves for 1938-65, 1966-76, and 1977-82 are shown in Fig. 12; Monthly 10%- and 95%-frequency discharge values are plotted in Fig. 13. The two graphs indicate only one major historic change in flows at this site: an increase in base or low flows subsequent to the initial period, especially in fall and winter. High flows -- those exceeded only 10% of the time based on mean daily values -- seem not to have changed significantly, in volume or seasonal occurrence (Figs. 12, 13). Examination of daily flows in the three periods indicates that peak flows in the months May through August have changed, however. Mean daily flows greater than 1100 cfs occurred in one or more of those months in 14 of the 20 years of record prior to 1966 (all except 1939, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1955, and 1964). Flows exceeding 2300 cfs occurred in 7 of those years, on one or more days in May-August. Daily flows were within those ranges (> 1100, or > 2300) on at least 57 different dates in May-August. Since 1965, similarly high flows have occurred much less often. Mean daily flows were greater than 1200 cfs on only 3 May-August dates in the 11-year period 1966-76, and greater than 790 cfs on only 5 other dates; no daily flows as great as 2500 cfs were recorded. In 1977-82, daily flows exceeding 960 cfs occurred on a total of 9 dates in May-August; the mean daily flow exceeded 2500 cfs on one day, in July 1982. The incidence of flood flows since 1964 may not have been adequate to sustain species dependent on such flows for reproduction. Ninnescah River near Peck, Sumner County. Records at this station extend from 1939 to the present. Duration curves for three periods are shown in Fig. 14. Monthly distribution of flow, at the 10% and 95% levels of frequency, are shown in Fig. 15 for two periods since 1965. Discharge rates at this station have been modified since 1964 by Cheney Reservoir, on the North Fork of the Ninnescah. Discharge rates of various frequencies differ little among the three periods of record (Fig. 14). Rather surprisingly, the principal

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\o 1966-76 * 1977-82

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Figure 12. Flow duration in the Medicine Lodge River near Kiowa, Barber County, Kansas, in three successive periods. For further explanation, see Fig. 2 on page 5.

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M j S 0 N D Months

Figure 13. Seasonal flows in the Medicin Lodge River near Kiowa, Barber County, Kansas, in three successive periods. Upper 3 lines = discharge rates that were exceeded 10% of the time, in each month; lower 3 lines = discharge rates exceeded 95% of the time.

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Figure 14. Flow duration in the Ninnescah River, Sumner County, Kansas (near Peck), in three successive periods. For further explanation, see Fig. 2 on page 5.

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• n

A S O N D Months

Figure 15. Seasonal flows in the Ninnescah River, Sumner County, Kansas (near Peck), in 1965-75 and 1976-82. Upper 2 lines = discharge rates that were exceeded 10% of the time, in each month; lower 2 lines = discharge rates exceeded 95% of the time.

27 difference between the pre- and post-impoundment averages is reduction of volumes in the central part of the duration curves (50% to 75% levels) in years after impoundment. We lack data on seasonal patterns of discharge prior to 1965. Since that year, both high- and low-flow volumes have tended to increase in spring, decrease abruptly in July and August, and then to increase in fall to volumes approaching the spring peaks. In that respect the Ninnescah seasonal curves resemble those of the Arkansas River at Wichita in years since 1965. The 10% frequency (high) flows vary irregularly within the two relatively brief periods plotted (1966-76 and 1977-82). Inspection of peak instantaneous flows over the full term of records, 1938-1982 plus a value for 1923, reveals no pronounced reduction in maximum discharge since construction of Cheney Reservoir. A discharge rate of 70,000 cfs, recorded in 1923, is by far the highest volume listed. During the 1950's, peak instantaneous flows in late spring and summer varied from about 7,000 cfs to 38,000 cfs in different years. Peak flows in approximately the same range occurred in May or June of 1964, 1967, 1970, 1975, 1978, and 1982. It does not seem likely that the altered flow regime is the direct cause of loss of species from the Ninnescah fauna since 1964.

28 Fish Faunas and Habitat Notes at Sites (or Stream Reaches) for which an Historic Record is Available

Arkansas River

Colorado Line to Garden City (Hamilton, Kearny, and Finney counties). Fishes -- Records for this reach of the Arkansas River extend from 1884 through 1980, involving at least 16 collections from several sites (Coolidge, Syracuse, Kendall, Lakin, Holcomb, Garden City) (Table 1). Full species lists are known for most collections, but in some instances field notes of the collector are not available, and species lists may be incomplete. Gilbert (1885, 1886) and Cragin (1885) published the earliest records from this part of the drainage, based on collections from an "irrigating ditch" and a "small brook leading from the 'Lake' at Garden City to the Arkansas River." Flathead chubs were abundant in the irrigation ditch. The other species (Table 1) were from the brook, and probably were not representative of the river fauna, with the exception of Plains killifish. Cragin (1885) reported the killifish as "extremely abundant (at Garden City) in a meadow brook in the Arkansas 'bottom'", undoubtedly referring to the same stream cited above. The type specimens of the Arkansas darter (Etheostoma cragini) were drawn from this collection. Three of the eight species listed have not since been found in this part of the Arkansas drainage. Presumably they were extirpated before 1950: Arkansas darter, Orangethroat darter, and Redbelly dace. The earliest collection from the mainstream for which we have a full species list was made at Holcomb, Finney County, in 1952 (Table 1). That collection included 11 species. Plains killifish (98) and Sand shiners (5) were abundant, Plains minnows were common, Arkansas River shiners, Red shiners, and Speckled chubs were scarce, and the remaining species were rare (4 or fewer). (Parenthetic numbers indicate numbers of specimens retained and catalogued.) The Arkansas River shiner and Speckled chub have not since been found in this river reach. In the period 1958 through 1960, three collections, at Kendall in Hamilton County and Lakin in Kearny County, included a total of 14

29 Table _1. Fishes reported in or adjacent to the Arkansas River, Colorado line to Garden City. Relative abundances are discussed in text.

01 e--.. e". r-I o o o o ,... P-.. CV o 0 C.-) 0 C-) C.-) 1-.4 • CV G...) C...) ....? ....? • lil 0 if) e-N ,,, ■-■ 0 ,..0 0 1/40 0 0 0 01 C.) I • CO 0 (1.1 0 0 01 0 01 C.-) 0 o ,-.1 r-- 0 —, 0 N.. 0 4.) r-4 4.) ,"4 4J 4■) ...t >1 vC) G...) C11 4-) C11 .4) ,--4 r-.1 >1 r-I r•••1 c0 cn CI) I I 1-1 I ,-4 • o-I 00 •1-1 00 0 • r4 •,-1 co cn 0 (..) ›-t () •1 4 (-) •r4 E 0 E 0 $.1 E E I l et 0 s'••-•' 0 ''.-". E •---.' E C) ea • ,-.4 ca • r-i as os as , ›, ›, --4 .f-i )4 , 4-) • 4-I U M 00 = 01 ,...... , .,.4 ,...... ,-1 s...... r... ,...... • 00 P•7-4, CNI =, CT h- .1-4 10 .1-1 s...... Ln QJ L.() s.-.. Ln ,..../ r••I g g I I e:71 al C...) U C..) • O aN CU i CU i cv A) ,•-I C1) ,- -4 41 r-4 ,...-.■ v-i r-I r..4 00 1/ CO Q) 0 N. GO rn 0 0 0 0 E r-I r-4'.-4 r•-•1‘1"4 rO $.4 0 $-1 4-) 0 0 0 0 GU Q) •?-1 QJ C.) 0 W 0 CO Cri CO Ct Ct/ • r-I 0 U 0 r•-4 •-••■ U M C.) ... 10 00 1:7) U W -ri M 1:1 M n0 U r-I W M W • rl M E as s-i s-• ct $4 • -4 0 ,.W o 0 o 4.-$ 0 ,--i S.4 r-.4 E CD s4 s..4 1.4 co as S-4 ns s-i 0 )-I as 3.4 GI) 4.-I CL) C.1 0 • r-I ›+ 0 c-) = c..) cn g A cn c.D 00 0

Flathead chub x x x x x x Redbelly dace x w c) Fathead minnow x x x x x Black bullhead x x Plains killifish x x x x x x x Green sunfish x x Orangethroat darter x Arkansas darter x Plains minnow x x x x x Speckled chub x Suckermouth minnow x x x x x x Red shiner x x x x x x x x Sand shiner x x x x x x x x x Arkansas River shiner x Stoneroller x x x x x Common Carp x x x x

MN MN ME MN MN I= MO NM • NM MN • • =MEN MI MI • NMI NMI EMI Nall INN 11111 INN NMI NMI NE MN 111111 MIMI I•11 INN IIM NMI

River carpsucker Channel catfish Mosquitofish White sucker Orangespotted sunfish species, three of which had not previously been recorded: River carpsucker, Channel catfish, and Mosquitofish. Sand shiners were the dominant species, Plains killifish were common, Flathead chubs and Red shiners were frequent. Plains minnows and all other species were less numerous than these four, and were regarded as frequent, scarce, or rare. In 1964, Kilgore and Rising (1965) briefly seined the river at Coolidge and Syracuse, and counted the fishes they captured. Plains killifish and Sand shiners were supremely dominant, comprising 95% of the total sample at Coolidge and 100% (with the exception of one Red shiner) at Syracuse. Additional species at Coolidge, in order of abundance, were Fathead minnows, Stonerollers, Suckermouth minnows, White suckers, and Plains minnows. The White sucker was then new to the list. In 1972-73, personnel of Kansas Fish and Game made several collections between Syracuse and Kendall; these were sent to K.U. as three series of specimens, one of which was composited from several sites. These collections as a group included 13 species, including the White sucker and Orangespotted sunfish, the latter new to the list reported from this reach. Based on numbers of specimens received at K.U., Plains killifish and Flathead chubs may have been most abundant, followed by Red shiners and Sand shiners. The most recent collections, by Gorman and Wiseman in 1979 and Clarke in 1980, included six species--Plains killifish, Sand shiner, Red shiner, Fathead minnow, Suckermouth minnow, and Stoneroller, in decreasing order of abundance. We believe the fish fauna of this part of the Arkansas drainage consisted originally of a mainstream fauna comprised mostly of Plains killifish, Sand shiners, Plains minnows*, Flathead chubs, Arkansas River shiners*, Speckled chubs*, and Red shiners; and a riverside spring-brook fauna comprising Black bullhead, Green sunfish, Redbelly dace* (questionably--see account of that species), Fathead minnow, Plains killifish, Orangethroat darter*, and Arkansas darter*. Species marked by asterisks have been extirpated. Their decline probably began prior to 1950, as a result of water diversions for irrigation (increasingly extensive since 1885), and flow-regulation downstream from John Martin Reservoir (since 1942).

32 111111 111111 NEI MI M111 INN MI 111111 MIN MI ME 11E1 11111 11•11 NMI INI1 IIIIN

32 A moderately diverse fish fauna persisted in this reach until 1972-73. However, deterioration of the fauna--linearly downstream as well as temporally--was evident in the composition of three collections by Kilgore and Rising at Coolidge, Garden City, and Pierceville in 1964. Extreme dominance of Plains killifish and Sand shiners had not been apparent in previous collections, and increasing abundance from Coolidge to Pierceville of Red shiners, Fathead minnows, and Stonerollers reflects reduced flows and increasingly eutrophic conditions in this reach in 1964. The Plains minnow persisted only at Coolidge in 1964, and has not since been taken in this reach. The last two collections (1979-80) include only two of the species recorded in 1884 (Plains killifish and Fathead minnows), and fewer than half of the species found in the 1950's. The order of abundance of persistent species has changed since the 1950's. Red shiners and Fathead minnows have increased, as expected with reduced flows, frequent intermittency, and increasing amounts of particulate organic matter. Reduced turbidities may also be involved in these faunal shifts. Habitats -- Where George C. Sibley's survey party crossed the Arkansas River near the present site of Lakin on 25 September 1825, Brown (in Gregg, 1952) described it as "very shallow, not more than knee deep in a low stage of the water." The bed was "altogether sand, and it is unsafe to stand long on one place with a waggon, or it may sink into the sand." The width of the river was not stated, but the crossing was indicated to be very oblique, the landing one-quarter mile above the entrance, implying a considerable stream width. Tomelleri (1984) reported an original channel width of approximately 1200 feet, which was reduced by the late 1930's to 600 feet at the Colorado line, and further reduced to 260 feet in 1965 (at Coolidge) and 97 feet in 1983. On 11 August 1952 Cross described the river at Holcomb as "very low, flowing in sandy channels (several braided channels) 5 ft.-30 ft. wide and 0-15 in. deep, mostly less than 6 in. deep. Water very clear. Bottom 95% sand, 5% gravel and debris. Current slight, no aquatic vegetation." On 16 June 1958, at sites near Lakin and west of Hartland (Kearny County), the river was "murky from rains previous night, bottom sand, channel shallow and braided. Depth 0-3 ft., mostly less than 18

33 Figure 16 A. Kansas: Hamilton Co: Arkansas River at Kendall, Sec. 36, T24S, R39W. 22 July 1983.

Figure 16 B. Kansas: Finney Co: Arkansas River at Holcomb, Sec. 7, T24S, R33W. 22 July 1983.

34 £ in. Current strong, ca. 3 ft./sec;" and at the second site, "Depth 0-2 ft., Bottom sand." At Kendall on 5 September 1959 Cross noted "River at least twice volume of flow as at C-271 (at Lamed on same date), muddy, flowing swiftly over sand bottom, mostly less than 18 in. deep. Braided channels with islands covered by saltcedar. Depth a few inches to 3 ft." Stream widths were not recorded on any of these visits, perhaps because it was difficult to estimate due to the braided nature of the flow. In July 1964, Kilgore and Rising described the river at Coolidge as 20-25 ft. wide in the mainstream, depth 8 inches, bottom sand, banks sand without vegetation, water clear; at Syracuse, the mainstream width was 20 feet, depth 1.5 ft., bottom sand and gravel, water clear. At Syracuse on 5 July 1979, Gorman recorded the stream width as 20 meters, the depth as 5-20 cm (mean 9 cm). The bottom was "sandy with little coarse" and "clay (rare)". Clarke (1980) reported the river to be "very high, flooding into weeds" at Syracuse; 8 miles west, the river was "near flood stage because of released water upstream (from John Martin Resevoir) ... Local farmer said he was riding his motorcycle in this riverbed last year--that it was completely dry." On 22 July 1983 we also found high water flowing swiftly through saltcedar and willow saplings in the channel at Syracuse and Kendall, making seining for fishes impossible. At Lakin, Holcomb, and Garden City the channel was dry (Figs. 16A, 16B).

Garden City to Dodge City Fishes -- We lack collection records adequate to assess changes in the fish fauna in this reach of the Arkansas River. However, it includes the type locality of the Plains minnow (Hybognathus Nacitus), described by Girard (1857) from specimens obtained in 1853 from "sluices of the Arkansas near Fort Makee." (=Camp Mackay, later Fort Atkinson, in present Ford County a few miles west of Dodge City; see Al-Rawi and Cross, 1964:162). Recent collections include only one collection from Pierceville in 1964 by Kilgore and Rising, mentioned above, and a specimen of the Shorthead redhorse, Moxostoma macrolepidotum captured near Pierceville by Dr. T. L. Wenke of Fort Hays Kansas State University in 1974. There is no reason to suppose that the fauna differed from

36 that found in early collections at Garden City, Ford and Kinsley (listed elsewhere). This reach is now dry except for a few isolated pools, such as those described by Clarke (1980). Clarke found seven species at Howell, west of Dodge City, where Fathead minnows made up 87% of the small fish population. At Dodge City and Fort Dodge, Mosquitofish comprised 91% and 85% of Clarke's samples, totaling 7 and 6 species, respectively. Plains killifish and Sand shiners, the persistent sandy-river species, made up less than 4% of these two samples. That faunal composition implies a habitat of small, organically rich pools. Habitats -- On various dates from 10-22 September 1825, Sibley (in Gregg, 1952) described the channel in this reach as diminishing westward from about 350 yards (in Ford County) to about 50 yards wide, including numerous islands some of which were large enough to sustain "Cotton trees." Girard's (1857) reference to "sluices" of the Arkansas River, as the source of type specimens of the Plains minnow in 1853, probably implied segments of a naturally braided channel rather than an early diversion of the river's flow. Tomelleri (1984) stated that the channel width had been reduced to 300 feet at Dodge City by the late 1930's, and that the reach from Garden City to Charleston (Gray County) had been dry for the last eight years (1975-1983). For about six weeks following heavy rains in June 1 1983, however, a stream 22 feet wide flowed at Cimarron (Tomelleri 1984). Kilgore and Rising (1965) reported the stream width at Pierceville as 15-20 feet. Depth was 2 feet, the bottom sand, mud and gravel; banks dirt with rank vegetation; water turbid. In 1980, Clarke found isolated pools in this reach, but in July 1983, we found no surface water from Lakin (Kearny Co.) to Cimarron (Gray Co.). At Cimarron a lengthy, weed-choked pool yielded only Fathead minnows to our limited collecting effort. Seining effectiveness was impaired by the density of vegetation, but the abundance and diversity of aquatic insects present indicated a sparsity of fish (Fig. 17A).

Dodge City to Lamed 1. Ford Ford County (Fig. 17B). Fishes -- The earliest collection available from this locality was made in 1958, when 12 species were recorded (Table 2). These included 7

37 Figure 17 A. Kansas: Gray Co: Arkansas Figure 17 B. Kansas: Ford Co: Arkansas River at Cimarron, Sec. 11, River north of Ford on US T26S, R2811. 22 July 1983. Rt. 50, Sec. 32, T27S, R221.1. 22 July 1983. co

MI MI NMI MII IMO MI NM IMP MIN EMI • MN MIN NM IMO Ell MI MO MI that found in early collections at Garden City, Ford and Kinsley (listed elsewhere). This reach is now dry except for a few isolated pools, such as those described by Clarke (1980). Clarke found seven species at Howell, west of Dodge City, where Fathead minnows made up 87% of the small fish population. At Dodge City and Fort Dodge, Mosquitofish comprised 91% and 85% of Clarke's samples, totaling 7 and 6 species, respectively. Plains killifish and Sand shiners, the persistent sandy-river species, made up less than 4% of these two samples. That faunal composition implies a habitat of small, organically rich pools. Habitats -- On various dates from 10-22 September 1825, Sibley (in Gregg, 1952) described the channel in this reach as diminishing westward from about 350 yards (in Ford County) to about 50 yards wide, including numerous islands some of which were large enough to sustain "Cotton trees." Girard's (1857) reference to "sluices" of the Arkansas River, as the source of type specimens of the Plains minnow in 1853, probably implied segments of a naturally braided channel rather than an early diversion of the river's flow. Tomelleri (1984) stated that the channel width had been reduced to 300 feet at Dodge City by the late 1930's, and that the reach from Garden City to Charleston (Gray County) had been dry for the last eight years (1975-1983). For about six weeks following heavy rains in June 1983, however, a stream 22 feet wide flowed at Cimarron (Tomelleri 1984). Kilgore and Rising (1965) reported the stream width at Pierceville as 15-20 feet. Depth was 2 feet, the bottom sand, mud and gravel; banks dirt with rank vegetation; water turbid. In 1980, Clarke found isolated pools in this reach, but in July 1983, we found no surface water from Lakin (Kearny Co.) to Cimarron (Cray Co.). At Cimarron a lengthy, weed-choked pool yielded only Fathead minnows to our limited collecting effort. Seining effectiveness was impaired by the density of vegetation, but the abundance and diversity of aquatic insects present indicated a sparsity of fish (Fig. 17A).

Dodge City to Lamed 1. Ford Ford County (Fig. 175). Fishes -- The earliest collection available from this locality was made in 1958, when 12 species were recorded (Table 2). These included 7

37 Figure 17 A. Kansas: Gray Co: Arkansas Figure 17 B. Kansas: Ford Co: Arkansas River at Cimarron, Sec. 11, River north of Ford on US T26S, R2814. 22 July 1983. Rt. 50, Sec. 32, T27S, R221.1. 22 July 1933. co

MN NM MIN NW MI I= 11111 Mill NM NM • MO • IIMI •111 MI OM MI 39 species of minnows, plus Plains killifish, two catfishes (Channel cat and Black bullhead), and two centrarchids (Green sunfish and Orangespotted sunfish). The prevalent species were Sand shiners, Plains killifish, and Red shiners. Speckled chubs and Plains minnows were present in 1958, but have not occurred in later collections from this site. In 1976, personnel of Kansas Fish and Game collected fishes at a site approximately 6 miles downstream from the one we used. They listed 8 species, including 4 minnows (Carp, Red shiner, Fathead, and Stoneroller), 2 suckers (River carpsucker and Golden redhorse), one catfish (Flathead), and one centrarchid (Green sunfish). The prevalance of large fishes (Carp, suckers, Flathead catfish, and sunfish) over small minnows (and killifish) may reflect differences between their collecting procedures and ours. In 1979/ Gorman obtained 8 species, with Red shiners strongly dominant among the 5 kinds of minnows, followed in abundance by Mosquitofish and Plains killifish. In 1983, we found 7 species, with Mosquitofish strongly dominant (74%) followed by Red shiners (18%). Habitats -- Sibley (in Gregg, 1952) described the river at this site on 8 September 1825 as being "about 350 yards wide, very shallow, & full of very small Islands." Tomelleri (1984) stated that the channel width at Ford had diminished to 320 feet in 1940. On 13 June 1958, Cross recorded these descriptive notes: "Water slightly high and muddy, flowing swiftly through a rather narrow, brush-lined channel, mostly 3 ft. deep, bottom sand.... Went upstream several hundred yards to seine. There, water was shallower, more quiet, but with shallow riffles over sand and fine gravel along a small sandbar." Stream width was not recorded but a 30-foot seine was used. On 7 July 1976, KFG personnel described the river at their collecting site 6 miles downstream as 8-20 ft. wide (ay. 15 ft.), depth 10 in., velocity 1.2 ft./sec., flow 15 cfs. The substrate varied from silt and gravel in pools to fine sand, gravel, and rubble in riffles. Gorman, in 1979, described the substrate as gravelly-pebbly, with some algae on bottom; velocity ay. 2 ft./sec., depth 5-37 cm., ay. 23 cm. In 1983 we estimated flow as 3 cfs on short riffles where stream width was 4 ft., depth 6 in., velocity 1.5 ft./sec. Water was clear; substrate on riffles gravel-rubble, overgrown by filamentous algae. Substrate in pools (depth 2 ft.) was sand and silt

overlain by organic ooze (black, anaerobic sediments). See next locality (Kinsley) for further discussion.

Table 2. Fishes reported in the P.rkansas k Vet' near Ford, Ford County. Numerals = percent of total catch.

Species C-213 KFG-4 Gorman C-23-83 13 Jun 58 7 Jul 76 4 Jul 79 22 Jul 83

Speckled chub rare Suckermouth minnow rare 1 Red shiner abundant 24 51 18 Sand shiner abundant 9 5 Plains minnow scarce Fathead minnow scarce 6 4 1 Stoneroller scarc,e, 9 2 Channel catfish rare <1 Black bullhead scarce <1 Plains killifish COMNOR 13 Green sunfish rare 14 1 Orangespotted sunfish rare Common carp 19 <1 River carpsucker 14 Golden redhorse 13 Flathead catfish I Mosquitofish 23 74

Total species 12 8 8 7

41 Kinsley, Edwards County (Fig. 18A)

Fishes -- On 23 September 1926 ) C. L. hubbs and L. P. Schultz made a small collection in the Arkansas mainstream east of Kinsley (Hubbs field no. I;ree Ueiv. Nienigdn Nuseum of , nlogy). i specie e obtained Yore ,llifish (dce'Ainnnt nnmeei y), Arka s Riven: hi net srinii, Green suefie. and Bluegille On the same date they found the following species in Coon Creek in Kinsley: Fathead minnow, Red shiner, Sand shiner, Stoneroller, Carp, Black bullhead, Green sunfish, and Orangespotted sunfish. That difference in the faunas of the mainst ream and tributaries within the floodplain is reminiscent of differences implied by Cragin's collections at Garden City in 1884; such differences may have persisted as late as the 1920's. Our first records from Kinsley were obtained in 1967, when 11 species were seined from a mainstream site that probably was the same one sampled by Hubbs and Schultz. Sand shiners, Red shiners, and Plains killifish were abundant ) and Fathead minnows and Black bullheads were among additional species found in the river (Table 3). Arkansas River shiners were no longer present. Later collections from this locality--in 1972, 76, 79 and 83--are also tabulated (Table 3). The increasing incidence of Red shiners (dominant in the most recent collections), Mosquitofish, Stonerollers, and Gizzard shad implies lower flows and organic enrichment. Change in the relative abundance of Plains killifish likewise seems significant: from 84% of specimens catalogued into UMNZ from the 1926 collection to 34% of specimens in our 1972 collection (total counts) to 2% of Clarke's 1980 collection, to absence in our sample in 1983. Sand shiners increased over their original abundance as Arkansas River shiners, Plains minnows, and Plains killifish disappeared or declined in 1926-1976; then Sand shiners declined also in relative abundance. The species- and percentage-composition of Clarke's collections in 1980 from Garden City to Great Bend, compared with our collections in the same reach in 1983, provide further information on changing conditions in this reach of the river (Table 4). The sequential dominance, progressively downstream, of Fathead minnows, then Mosquitofish, then Red shiners was the same in both series of collections, as was the progressive downstream recovery of Sand shiners

42 Table 3. Fishes reported from the Arkansas River near Kinsley, Edwards County.

1 2 2 2 2 } UÆ869 C-548 C-14-7i KFG-3 ClarL.: C-2-83 1 Apr 67 23 Apr 11 Aug 19E0 23 83

Sand shiner 3 abun. 21 42 16 3 Ark. R. shiner 9 Plains minnow 7 frequent Plains killifish 348 abun. 34 <1 2 Green sunfish 3 scarce 2 <1 <1 Bluegill 45 Suckermouth minnow scarce <1 1 <1 Emerald shiner rare 1 Red shiner abun. 44 50 71 58 Fathead minnow frequent 1 2 11 R. carpsucker frequent Channel cat scarce <1 1 <1 Black bullhead scarce <1 Common carp <1 2 Mosquitofish <1 <1 1 10 Stoneroller 8 14 Gizzard shad <1 Orangespotted sunfish <1

Total species 6 11 7 10 9 11

1 numerals = number of specimens catalogued at Univ. Mich. Mus. Zool. 2 numerals = percent of total number of fish captured.

43 Table 4. Relative abundances of prevalent species at successive collection-sites, downstreAri from origin of surface water, Arkansas River, 1980 and 1983. Numerals = % of total catch.

(1983) Howell Do68e City -EI:i:: Dodge Kinsley Lamed Dundee Fathead minnow 87 2 7 2 <1 7 Mosquitofish 1 91 85 1 0 0 Red shiner 6 0 5 71 69 33 Sand shiner 1 0 2 16 18 23 Plains killifish 1 4 1 2 9 3

Cross et al (1983) Cimarron Ford Kinsley Dundee Sterling Fathead minnow 100 1 11 3 11 Mosquitofish 0 74 10 9 1 Red shiner 0 18 58 7 17 Sand shiner 0 5 5 60 47 Plains killifish 0 0 0 9 21

44 and Plains killifish, species characteristic of the natural river fauna. However, "headwater pool" conditions and the faunal transition extended farther downstream in 1983, Habitats -- Siblee (in Gregg, 1952) described the Arkansas River at this locality (.(einsini) As 400-500 ' rr wide, "very much as where cae first saw it (near presene site of Nickerson, Reno Co. ); "Cotton Trees scattered along its banks and upon its little Islands." Tomelleri (1984) quoted newspaper reports that the channel at Kinsley had been reduced to half its original width by 1905, due to irrigation diversions upstream from Garden City. Hubbs and Schultz, in 1926, recorded "Water clear. No vegetation. Clean sand bottom." In 1967, Cross entered these observations in field notes: water clear, low, bottom sand, flow swift. Depth to 3 ft., in several places 2 ft_ in channels and along banks, where debris was lodged (tumbleweeds and beaver cuttings), air temp. 73°F, water 68°F, D.O. 10.5, total alkalinity 282, total hardness 786, pH 8.7. Cross's notes in 1972 stated "water low, clear; bottom sand and small gravel, loose and shifting, generally clean except in few small areas along banks where accumulated debris allowed settlement of organic matter. Dead tumbleweeds lodged against banks. Some filamentous algae growing on these and lodged roots and branches. Channel narrow and fairly deep, 4"-18", sand bottom highl) irregular (forming steep-edged drifts or waves)." In 1976, KFG personnel gave stream width as 10-40 ft., ay. 30 ft.; ave depth 3 in.; velocity 1.2 ft./sec.; discharge 27 cfs; stream bed sand, gravel, and rubble; uniformly shallow (riffles). Clarke, in 1980, gave this description: "Good water flow. Sand bottom, with gravel-cobble riffles. Width varies from 4 to 60 feet and depth from 6 inches to 4 feet." in 1983, we found an average stream width of 25 ft., depth mostly less than 12 in., velocity 1.5 ft./sec.; discharge 5-10 cfs., 2 to 3 times that at Ford; substrate sand and gravel with periphyton indicating high organic load; black (anaeorbic) sediments in backwaters but much less than at Ford. Figure 18 A. Kansas: Edwards Co: Arkansas River south of Kinsley, Sec. 10, T24S, R1914. 23 July 1983.

Figure 18 B. Kansas: Barton Co: Arkansas River near Dundee, Sec. 22, T20S, R1414, 23 July 1983.

46 gotta. •

4P,

47 3. Lamed, Pawnee County

Fishes -- Three collections airord limited information ott fish populations at Laraed (Table 5). The first, by Olund, Metcalf, and

Cross on 5 SeC.embee F.JS recneded 1 3 speeies, of which were captured

only i a t water in t b. i vor (not in Lie Arkansas

mainstream). Relative atunUanr,s WeI for most of these fishes. The Sand shiner was the dominant species, and Red shiners were abundant. River carpsuckers and Channel catfish were listed as common; both were represented mainly by young-of-year. In 1976, personnel of the Kansas

Fish and Game Commission recorded 10 species, for which total counts enabled determination of percentage composition (Table 5). That collection added two species (Carp and Emerald shiner) but failed to include five species found in 1959. In 1980, Clarke reported 8 species from this site, one of which (Stoneroller) had not been taken in the previous collections.

The principal changes in the fauna indicated by these records are 1)

apparent decline or ] Gss at s t.= of the larger fishes (Carpsucker, Channel cat, Centrarcbtds, and Drum) and 2) reduced relative abundance of Sand shiners coupled with ti crease of Red shiners. Habitats: Cross (C-271) described the river in 1959 as "low, braided, clear, depths moily less than one foot" (but > 3' deep in

mouth of Pawnee). I n 1 /b, t.F3 personbc1 recorded stream width as 14-3H ft, ay. 21 ft.; depth 4 in. on riffles, 2.5 ft, in a pool, ay. 1.5 ft.;

velocity 2.5 ft. /sec; discharge 79 cis The streambed was predominantly sand-gravel, with areas of rubble in the pool. Clarke (1980) reported a sand bottom, depths of 6-J8 in.; numerous backwaters or secondary channels around "islands".

48 Table 5 Fishes reported from the írkansas River near Lamed, Pawnee

County. Numerals 2=- percent of toial catch, by number.

Species C 17i \I6-2 C1arke(1980)

Scl) 59 12 Ang 16

Suckermouth minnow rare <1 1.5 Red shiner abundant 50 69 Sand shiner dominant 42 18 Bullhead minnow rare Fathead minnow scarce <1 River carpsucher coma:oft Channel catfish common 1 <1

Plains killifish frequent <1 9 Largemouth bass a <1 Freshwater drum

Mosquitofish'

Green sunfish' x 2 1 Orangespotted sunf sit_

Common carp 2 Emerald shiner 1 Stoneroller 2

Total species 13110) 10 8

1 captured only in backwater in mouth of Pawnee River.

Great Bend to Wichita ( Figs. P-W, 19A, 195) Fishes -- We know of very few collections from this reach of the

Arkansas River. In 1952 ) Cross and Carpenter seined near Dartmouth (Sec. 32, T19S, R12W). That specius list is compared with three relatively recent uollections from Dundee, about 13 miles upstream from Dartmouth, in Table 6. The composition. of these collections differs markedly. Six of the 14 species found in 1952 were absent from the later collections: Speckled chub, Emerald shiner, Arkansas River

49 Table 6. Fishes reported in the Arkansas River near Great Bend, Barton County. Numerals in column 1 number of specimens catalogued; in col3mns 2-4, % of total catch.

YFG-1 Clarke C-25-83 11 1) 2 28 11:1 1980 23 Jul. 83

Gizzard shad 3 1 Common carp 2 <1 Speckled chub 2 Suckermouth minnow 1 2 Emerald shiner 1 0

Red shiner 33 7 Sand shiner 9 66 23 60 Ark. R. shine Ii Plains minnow 7

Bluatnose minnow 1

Fathead minnow 7 3 Smailmouth buffalo 1 River carpsucker 7 3 Channel catfish 6 1 Golden redhorse 8 Black bullhead <1 Flathead catfish <1

Plains killifish 3 3 9 Largemouth bass 1 <1 <1 Green sunfish <1 Bluegill 1 Orangespotteu sunfish 1 White crappie <1 Stoneroller 27 9 Goldfish flosquitofish 9

Total species 14 14 12 10

50 shiner, Plains minnow, Bluntnose minnow, and Smallmouth buffalo. On the other hand, 12 species not recorded in 1952 occurred in thelntter samples. Comparing only our own collections Cross 1932 with Cross at al 1983--only four ag are 2aced of the 20 species recorded in the two samnle3. even more striking cbange ie the fauna is suggested by comparison of he 1952 list w Id she KEG (1975) list, but we suspece that more than one kind of native mifROW (Saud shiner) actually was present in the KEG collection. A rather clear pattern is evident in the species lost and gained in this set of samples near Great Bend. The species lost are, with the exception of Bluntnose minnow (1 specimen), characteristic of large, turbid, sandy streams. The species gained, with the exception of the Plains killifish, are not characteristic of such streams. Downstream from Great Bend, we made collections near Sterling (Rice County), Nickerson (Reno County) and Colwich (Sedgwick County) in 1983. Species lists from these sites are in the Appendix. We have no earlier collections with which to compare the lists. Among the "species of primary- concern" to this project, only the Plains killifish was found in this reach. Plains killifish comprised 21% of the COLLECTION AT Sterling, 12% at NICKERSON, and 2% near Colwich. Nine to 12 species were represented in these samples, with Red shiners and Sand shiners predominant; 57%, 64%, and 94% of all fish at like 3 sites were these ,L species. Habitats -- in the survey that detined- the route of the Santa Fe Trail, Sibley's party intersected the Arkansas River near the present Rice-Reno County line (near the sites of our collections C-4 and C-5) on 18 August 1825. Sibley's journal, as published by Gregg (1952), records the following description of this location: "The Arkansas is here about 500 yards wide from bank to bank, its bed sand, water turbid, current swift, channel full of Sand bars. One of the men waded across, & found it in no place over four feet deep.' At Dartmouth on 11 August 1952 Cross's field notes state "Water muddy, quite low, down from rains a few days previously. Bottom entirely sand. Depth 0-4 ft,, (but) not max. depth of river. Along sand bar on south shore current rather swift over

51 Figure 19 A. Kansas: Rice Co: Arkansas River near Sterling, Sec. 25, T21S, R914. 16 July 1983.

Figure 19 B. Kansas: Reno Co: Arkansas River near Nickerson, Sec. 16, T22S, R714. 16 July 1983.

jf2 sandy-gravel riffle ft. deep inon.- ntrc (restricted). Elsewhere current. 1 fi/sec.." Stream dth wa a not reroreed; my recollection is that it was wider than I could estimate confidently.

At !inridee on '.L c", !, ersonhei oi 1KBG reported the

( width ;: s 25-i5 f U ) 2 ft., velocity 1.i.J ft/sec., disith e Nuch of L LiS 4re,1 v S a i,nol formed by the

Dundee diversion dam, the_ fcmairider d riffle 200 ft long and 35 ft. wide with an average depth of 0 inches. The stream bed was sand and gravel with dispersed pockets of silt. Our collection site in 1983 was below a bridge OD a printipal c CLIiiL i asd : nsiream from the diversion dam. The average stream width was approximately 10 ft., ay. depth 4 inches, discharge less than 5 efs. The volume of flow was significantly less than at Kinsley, presumably because of diversion of water (to

Cheyenne Bottoms) at the dam .i siream. The water was extremely clear, flowing as a th in ribbon aver Sc e.Kpusd sandy bed, in a series of shallow riffles and small_ poois (Fig. 188). The substrate was clean loose sand, some of it coarse. No anaerobic sediments, such as were found at Ford and Kinsley, occurred here.

At Sterling, P;ickccson, Jud CelticS ea 1 8 July 1983, stream width varied from about 50 feet (C-4, Sterling) to 100 feet (C-6, Colwich).

Dq-, ths were generill l ef t han 1 8 i ne:',es, the water clear, the substrate sand ni (Fig. 19A, 108, 2( ).

54 Wichita to State Line.

Fishes--Jordan (1591) li S t ed i sios jLort cur "Arkansas R. at Wichita", but many of the species included are characteristic of

tributaeies inicher a instream, arobably that collects( is compiled 1:rem several IseHi(iss ih i he t i. R,: eees of Sie led chubs and Plains killifish, obtained in the Arkansas River near Oxford in 1925 and 1926, exist in collections of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, but are not accompanied by faunal lists. Mainstream collections with full species lists are available from 1952 through 1 1983, principally at Wichita and Oxford (Tables 1 and 8). Table 7 records species found in comparable seining samples from a shallow, sandy segment of the river within the city of Wichita, by Carpenter and Henderson in 1952 and by R. E. Moss in 1983. The number of species represented was similar (8 vs. 9), but only three species entered both samples and the percearage representation of those three differed between years. The Plains minnow, dominant in 1952, was not found in 1983, not were Speckled chubs, Silver chubs, Emerald shiners, Arkansas River shiners, or Bluntnose minnows. Species predominant in 1983 were Sand shiners, Red shiners and Fathead minnows. Table 8 lists species collected near Oxford in 1955-56, 1967, and 1983. Many more species were recorded in 1983 than in the earlier

samples. The incieased fnunal richness implied is t artly an artifact of differing effort in the various collections. The samples in 1983 were most intensive, involving more people over a longer seining period. More than 5,000 specimens were taken in WSU-11, for example, whereas the samples in 1955-56 or 1967 consisted of only a few hundred specimens. Therefore some, perhaps most, of the species tabulated first in 1983 may

have been present in earlier years. By the same reasoning, the absence or rarity, in 1983, of species taken in the 1950's and 1960's probably reflects a decline in the abundance of these fishes. The Arkansas River shiner was dominant (484 specimens) in 1955, common. (88) in 1956, and abundant (281) in 1967; none were found in 1983, at Oxford or elsewhere

in the Arkansas River. The Plains minnow was abundant as recently as 1967, but was rare in 1983 (4 in C-9 and 4 in WSU-11); this was the only

Arkansas River locality at which Plains minnows were found in 1979-83. The Speckled chub occurred in two of the three earlier collections, but

55 Table 7. Fishes in two small collections from the Arkansas River in

Wichita, 1952 and 1983. Nutherals = % of total catch.

pecies RI_C-1(KU) REM-28-83 20 Aug. 83

Speckled chub 8 Silver chub <1 Emerald shiner 8 Red shiner 9 20 Sand shiner 2 63 Ark. R. shiner 2 Plains minnow 62 Bluntnose minnow 5 River carpsucker 5 1 Suckermouth minnow <1

Fathead minnow 14 Bullhead minnow 1

Plains killifish <1 Mosquitofish 1

56 Table 8. Fishes recorded from the Arkansas River near Oxford, Sumner County, in various years.

1 2 Species C-137, Apr 53 C-550 C-9-7 17 Jul 8J

f1-13,54:a'.; Aui; 56 2 1967 WS! 6 Hoy 85 Speckled chub Emerald shiner x- abundant 9-5 River shiner -5 frequent Red shiner x- abundant 27-44 Sand shiner 22-62 common -33 Ark. R. shiner 484-88 abundant Plains minnow x-8 abundant 1-<1 Bullhead minnow x-1 <1-10 Fathead minnow x-9 1-<1 River carpsucher x- 2-1 Plains killifish x-6 rare <1-3 Arkansas darter 1- Gizzard shad rare 57-<1 Ghost shiner rare Bluntnose minnow rare Channel catfish x 1-<1 Mosquitofish. rare 2-3 Longnose gar Common carp <1-<1 Golden Shiner <1 Suckermouth minnow <1 Slim minnow <1 Stoneroller <1 Smallmouth buffalo <1 Brook silverside <1 White bass <1-<1 Largemouth bass

Figure 20 B. Kansas: Sumner Co: Arkansas River at Oxford, Sec. 12, T32S, R2E. 17 July 1983.

58 59 Figure 21 A. Kansas: Sumner Co: Arkansas River near Oxford, Sec. 12, T31S, R2E. 18 July 1983.

Figure 21 B. Kansas: Cowley Co: Arkansas River near Hackney, Sec. 16, T33S, R3E. 18 July 1983.

60 a,

61 in none of the 1983 samples. The xi,er shiner was found in 1956 and 1967, but not in 1983. The Emerald shiner was abundant (283 specimens) in 1967 but represented only 9% and 5% of samples in 1983. The record of the Arkansas darter in 1955 is based on a single specimen, probably vagrant in that drought ,iear; thus its absence in 1983 seems less significant than the changes cited for oth.er species. Habitats--The volume of discharge in the Arkansas River at Wichita, and downstream at the USGS gauging station at Arkansas City, has changed much less (Fig. 7) during the period of record than have flows at sites farther upstream. High flows —volumes exceeded 10% of the Ame--are only slightly lower than in the past: 1850 cfs in 1977-82 vs. 2400 cfs in 1935-1965. Low flows--volumes exceeded 95% of the time--are now greater than in the past: 140 cfs in 1977-82 vs 53 cfs in 1935-65. It seems unlikely that the changes observed in the fish fauna are attributable solely to changes of this magnitude in flow regime at Wichita. Other factors that may have contributed to the decline of some indigenous species and increased incidence of other species (notably sunfish, Table 8) are: 1) reduced fluctuation in flow; 2) change in water quality associated with cnange in the principal sources of flow, little of which now derives from the western part of the basin; 3) extended effects of regional impoundments, such as Cheney reservoir and the series of reservoirs oil the ,,rkahsas hives in Oklahoma an Arkansas; 4) introductions of several species into the new habitats created by impoundments; and 5) restricted access of plains riverine fishes to the Wichita reach due to dewatering of the channel upstream and barrier dams downstream. Dams as barriers surely account for the disappearance of a few migrant fishes once known from this part of the Arkansas basin, though not in the collections tabulated (e.g., American eel, Skipjack herring); they may explain the al-sence of River shiners (N. b/ennius) from recent collections in this reach as well Figs. 208, 21A, and 218 show stream conditions in the Arkansas near Oxford.

62 1

Cimarron River. Fishes--Sixteen species have been recorded from the Cimarron River in Morton, Grant, Seward, Meade, and Clark counties (Table 9). Two of these are introduced (Red River shiner and Mosquitofish), and the Largemouth bass and Channel catfish may not be indigenous to this area. Nine native fishes occurred in six collections in Morton, Grant, and Seward counties between 1955 and 1964. Arkansas River shiners, Sand shiners, Plains minnows, and Plains killifish were most abundant. Fathead minnows and Red shiners were less common, and Flathead chubs, Green sunfish and Black bullheads were present. Approximately the same fauna occurred in Meade and Clark counties, except that Flathead chubs were not recorded eastward from Seward County, and Channel catfish and Orangespotted sunfish were collected only in Clark county. Red shiners became more common downstream, where they represented at least 10% of the catch. Arkansas River 'shiners comprised at least 20% of the fishes recorded in each collection from the five counties prior to 1965, apart from the Morton County collection in 1964 (Table 9). That species was not taken again until 1983, when it comprised 8% and 1% of our samples from Meade and Clark counties, respectively. Those are the only localities where the Arkansas River shiner is known to persist in Kansas. Other changes indicated by collections since 1970 are possible disappearance of the Flathead chub, probable decline in abundance of the Plains minnow and Plains killifish, and increase in the relative abundance of the Sand shiner, Red River shiner, and Arkansas darter. The principal recent change is the loss of a resident fish fauna where streams have dried from Seward County westward. In Meade and Clark counties, the physical habitats and faunal composition remain more nearly natural than the habitats and faunas of most other treams surveyed. Habitats--The Cimarron has an aggraded channel, broad and uniformly sandy. Along much of its course in Kansas it is a "losing" stream, unshaded, with high rates of evaporation and infiltration, and high dissolved-solids content (conductivity >2000 mhos). Habitats for 1 fishes consist mostly of long shallow "runs" over shifting sand, interrupted by relatively small, shallow pools and backwaters along

63 Table 9. Fishes recorded in the Cimarron River. Counties arranged from west to east, years of collection chronologically. Numerals underlined = number of specimens catalogued, where total counts were not made. Other numerals = percent of total catch. X = present, none counted or retained.

Species Morton Grant Seward Meade Clark 1962 1964 1955 1955-56 '58 '68 '72 '73 '83 1_964 '72 '79 83 062 '79 '81 ;- 1 1 1 Arkansas River shiner X 39 76 124 21 8 20 1 Sand shiner X 4 37 30 60 30 9 30 22 13 35 42 12 16

Fathead minnow X 10 X 9 29 <1 _1 <1 12 _1 11 Plains killifish X 76 94 18 36 15 >5 23 7 1 3_ 19 Red shiner 4 X 2 14 10 17 15 K 14 5 Flathead chub 2 Black bullhead 2 6 1 cn 'Green sunfish ? 5 1 <1 Plains minnow 86 3 43 4 3 54 18 23 7 3 10 Mosquitofish 15 4 <1 <1 5 River carpsucker _1 1 1 Arkansas darter 6 <1 <1 Red River shiner 2 19 32 34 4_ 35

Channel catfish _1 1 Orangespotted sunfish _1 Largemouth bass 1

INN 11111 RN MN MI MN MI MI 111111 In INN MI 11111 NS NMI 111111 OM banks and exposed sandbars. Although segments of the Cimarron have dried naturally throughout historic time, subsurface flow tormerly emerged to sustain pools and stretches of flowing water along its course. Sibley's expedition (Gregg, 1952) followed the Cimarron channel westward from a point south of Ulysses in late September 1825. They found "water standing in pools" where they crossed the North Fork of the Cimarron on 28 September, and on subsequent days recorded along the generally dry Cimarron bed a spring, a "marsh green with bullrushes", "puddles of putrid water", a "pond of pretty good water", "running water sulferous and brackish", "puddles at intervals of 1/2 to 11/2 mile", a "small rivulet of clear running brackish water", and finally "a pretty good spring" near where the river enters the state. At some points the banks were encrusted with salt. In the 1950's and early 1960's we had little difficult-, finding water, usually flowing, in the Cimarron at road crossings convenient for collections (US 54, 83/180, 56, 270, and K-27). The collections were made in April, June, July, and October of various years. In July 1983, however, we found no water in the Cimarron or its tributaries farther west than the US 54 crossing in southeastern Seward County. At that site (Fig. 22B) the stream width was 15 feet, average depth 6 inches, volume of flow less than 5 cfs. Temperatures at different points in the stream varied from 69° to 88° (air 98°) as a result of seepage influx. The conductivity was low (500 whos). Much of the silt/sand substrate was covered by filamentous algae (Hydrodictyon and other forms), and emergent vegetation (water buttercup, watercress, rushes, cattails) was common along the stream margins. Observations in prior years (e.g., C-217, June 14, 1958) indicated the channel was barren sand, :evoid of aquatic vegetation, in this reach and farther upstream. Between the US 54 crossing and K-23 in southwestern Meade County, flow now increases greatly due to intervening exposures of waterbearing Ogallala sands along the riverbanks. At K-23 (Fig. 23A) vegetation was absent in the clean, sandy riverbed, although overhanging grasses and small patches of emergent vegetation clung to a lengthy section of riverbank that was slightly undercut. The water was clear at both sites in 1983.

65 Figure 22 A. Kansas: Morton Co: Cimarron River, Sec. 4, T34S, R4214. 21 July 1983.

Figure 22 B. Kansas: Seward Co: Cimarron River at US Rt. 54, Sec. 25, T33S, R3214. 21 July 1983.

66 I

1 ,

1 Figure 23 A. Kansas: Meade Co; Cimarron River at Ks. Rt. 23, Sec. 8, T35S, R29W. 21 July 1983.

Figure 23 B. Kansas: Clark Co: Cimarron River at US Rt, 183, south of Sitka, Sec, 20, T34S, R21W. 20 July 1983,

68 I I I I I j

I I

I I I I I I I Changes in the flow regime of the Cimarron are described elsewhere in this report. High flows have diminished in volume and frequency.

That change could have caused depletion of Arkansas River shiner populations, which require flood-flows for spawning. Peak flows exceeding 4,000 cfs occureA in most eers prior 1960 in Meade County, hut have diminise6 pro17esively Ire. 1966 to 1975, the highest mean daily discharge recorded is spring and simmler was less than 1000 cfs with the exception of two days in August 1972. The ,brupt disappearance of Arkansas River shiners in collections subsequent to

1964 could be explained by spawning fail lice in that 10-year period. Additionally, establishment of the Red River shiner, a likely competitor of the Arkansas River shiner, probably contributed to the decline of the latter species. The Red River shiner was found first in 1972, and had largely replaced the Arkansas River shiner by 1979 Eastward retreat of tne origin Cd fiow (to soutneastern Seward County) explains occurrences of the Arkansas darter at Cimarron sites where it was found in 1983; that species had not previously been taken in the Cimarron channel. The reduced volume, variability, and turbidity of flows in the lower mainstream are favorable for Arkansas darters, which characteristically inhabit vegetated springs near headwaters of prairie streams. The channel conditions described at US 54 (C-21-83) approximate "headwaters coLitons pzeeried by tne Arkansas darter, and these extend downstream along the river banks,

70 Crooked Creek Fishes--Our earliest records of t.ishes from Crooked Creek, Meade County, consist of several small collections in 1941 and 1942 by Dr. Claude Hibbard and other personnel of the Museum of Natural History. Most collections are from ponds, marshes, or other sites off the mainstream, obtained incidental to paleontologic-1 investigations in the area. An apparently complete faunal list for one collection from the lower mainstream is tabulated (Table 10, column 1, numerical entries), together with four additional species (as X's) that were catalogued from one or more of the offstream sites. Cross and Nelson (C-215) seined Crooked Creek in Sec. 9, T. 33 S, R. 28 W on 14 June 1958, about a week after a severe flood. Sixteen species were found (Table 10), including three not indigenous to the stream (Carp, Goldfish, Mosquitofish) and others not captured thereafter (River carpsucker, Channel catfish, White crappie). The relative abundances (tabulated as recorded in field notes) as well as the species composition may reflect effects of the flood, which probably displaced fishes from impoundments upstream. Other collections by Cross and Nelson from spring tributaries in June 1958 (not tabulated) included two and nine species, of which only Suckermouth minnows (recorded also in 1941) were not represented in the Crooked Creek collection listed in Table 10 , In 1964, Kilgore and

Rising (1965) seined Crooked Creek under more typical stream CofldiA ions, their collection is treated quantitatively in Table 10, because sil fish except some Plains killifish were counted. The collections in 1960 (Table 10) are a composite of specimens from headwaters sites. The 1979 and 1983 collections are from the present surveys (Gorman and Wiseman in 1979, Cross et al. in 1983). The natural fauna of Crooked Creek probably was dominated by Sand shiners, Plains killifish, Plains minnows, Red shiners, and Arkansas River shiners, in decreasing order of abundance. Arkansas darters, Stonerollers, and Sand shiners were abundant in tributary brooks and marshes near spring sources. Historic changes that we think significant are loss of the Arkansas River shiner, reduced abundance of the Plains minnow, and possible reduction in total species richness. Arkansas River shiners and Plains minnows probably were less abundant, and Arkansas darters certainly were more abundant, in Crooked Creek than in the

71 Table 10. Fishes recorded in Crooked Creek, Meade County. Numerals underlined (and X) = specimens catalogued from collections where relative abundance is not known. Other numerals= percent of total catch. Parentheses indicate captures from springs, ponds, and sm ,311 streams in headwaters (composite collections). Other entries are from lower mainstream.

1941-42 1958 1960 1964 1972-73 1979 19i Red shiner 5 common 4 21 6 Sand shiner 131 common 64 25 52 17 Arkansas River shiner 2 scarce 6_ 3 Plains minnow 49 common 15 (11) 8 Fathead minnow 7 frequent 7 <1 Plains killifish 100 frequent 12 >94 ( ) 18 66 Suckermouth minnow (X) Black bullhead (X) scarce Green sunfish (X) <1 Orangespotted sunfish 60 frequent <1 Common carp common <1 Goldfish scarce <1 River carpsucker scarce Channel catfish rare Mosquitofish scarce 15 (1) White crappie frequent Arkansas darter rare 6 (142) 6 Stoneroller scarce 1 <1 (109) 1 Red River shiner

72 Cimarron River. Although Arkansas River shiners are listed .1s "scarce" in 1958 and "3%" in 1964 (Table 10), catalogued series from those collections contain 30 and 27 specimens, respectively. Habitats--Approximately the upper half of Crooked Creek is an ephemeral stream. Southward from Meade, however, flow is sustained by numerous marshy seeps and springs, some strong enough that they invited establishment of a fish hatchery, many ponds, and one of the first recreational lakes in the region (Meade County State Lake). Thus the drainage contains several distinct habitats: ephemeral muddy pools, dependent upon runoff, in the upper mainstream; relatively stable, cool, clear springs and shallow marshes off the channel downstream; and a lower mainstream that is "permanently" flowing but shallow, sand-filled, exposed, and warm during low-flow periods in summer, and historically highly variable in discharge (Fig. 11). The flow duration curve for Crooked Creek has "flattened" over time, but to a much lesser degree than flows in the Cimarron nearby (Fig. 9). High flows (10% frequency) have receded, and low flows have increased slightly, though variability remains great. Floods formerly were annual events in Crooked Creek, usually in late spring or summer (May-August), when peak discharges of 1500 to 4000 cfs were common. The maximum recorded discharge was 13,600 cfs. In the decade of the 1950's, the mean of peak annual discharges was approximately 6000 cfs; the comparable mean for the 1970's was 1400 cfs. Prior to 1965, no series of three consecutive years lacked peak instantaneous flows greater than 2000 cfs, but the period 1965-1968 had discharge exceeding 770 cfs on only one date--1130 cfs on 12 July 1967. The Arkansas River shiner, last recorded in 1964, may have disappeared in that 4-year period. From 1973 through 1982, the peak instanteous flow exceeded 1000 cfs only in 1978 (2930 cfs on 1 May 1978). The species most affected by reduced flow would be the Arkansas River shiner, Plains minnow, and the larger fishes recorded in early collections (River carpsucker, catfishes, carp, and sunfishes).

73 Figure 24 A. Kansas: Meade Co: Crooked Creek on Ks. Rt. 23, Sec. 14+15, T34S, R2814. 20 July 1983.

Figure 24 B. Kansas: Comanche Co: Mule Creek at US Rt. 160, Sec. 3+10, T32S, R1614. 19 July 1983.

74 1

75 Salt Fork draina_p Fishes—Table 11 lists fishes captured in three collecticas from Mule Creek and one from the Salt Fork, all in Comanche County. The Mule Creek samples were from approximately the same locality, near its intersection with U.S. Highway 160. In 1960 and 1964, the Plains minnow was the dominant species to Mule Creek, followed by Plains KILLIFISH,

Emerald shiners, Arkansas Fiver shiners ; Sand shiners, and Speckled chubs. That species compcsition is highly characteristic of unmodified streams in the western Arkansas basin. In 1983 we found a significantly different fauna in Mule Creek. PLAINS KILLIFISH and Emerald shiners were still common, but Plains minnows, Arkansas River shiners, and Speckled chubs were absent. Stonerollers, Red shiners, and Sand shiners were common in 1983, many Arkansas darters were caught in watercress along stream edges, and Orangethroat darters were present. The Salt Fork had a fauna mneh like that found in Mule Creek IN 1964. The principal differences were greater relative abundance of Red shiners and Sand shiners in the Salt Fork, and the presence of five species expected in pools of a larger stream (Table 11). Habitats--Kilgore and Rising (1965) described the Mule Creak on 18 July. 1964 as having clear flowing water, width 10-15 feet, depth 1 foot, bottom sand and gravel, banks gravel with rank [terrestrial] vegetation. The Salt Foi!a site on Id July 1964 had flowing water Sri DOH 2-3 feet) and pools; depth 25> feet bottom mud, sand, and large rocks; banks sand with sparse vegetation, flowing water clear, pools turbid. Our notes at the Mule Creek site on 19 July 1983 indicate clear water flowing moderately (2 ft/sec in mid-channel) with average depth of 6 inches over a sand bed. Water temperature was 82°F at 8:30 p.m. The channel width was 25 feet, its margins shallow and partially overgrown with watercress. Differences in fauna found in 1964 and 1983 suggest. change from an open, fluctuating stream remote from the source of flow (in 1964) to one (in 1983) with more stable flow sustained by local seepage--hence the marshy banks with watercress, and the substantial population of stonerollers and darters.

76 TABLE 11. Fishes recorded from the Salt Fork Drainage, Comanche County. Numerals = mulhei of spcimens captured of each species.

Mule Creek Salt Fork — 1950 196 c83 1964 Speckled chub 5 5

Emerald shiner 25 85 24 11 Arkansas River shiner 9 24 2 Plains minnow 133 251 66 Stoneroller 1 ,.9 >19 6 Plains killifish 8 >222 56 >326 Red shiner 9 18 88 Sand shiner 42 24 136 Mosquitofish 19 8 Orangethroat darter 1

Arkansas darter >2 Common carp 1 Fathead minnow 16 Black bullhead 14 Green sunfish 57 Orangespotted sunfish 6 Medicine Lodge River Fishes—Twenty-eight species have been reported from the Medicine Lodge drainage. The earliest records are those of Gilbert (1886), who reported to• el of 14 ..i. ecies fcca sitca in Baeber County. Thcse collectl a,. a later .; &LS of Ìecti s tabulated (Table 12).

1Wef---,:re of t:y have been recaptured since 1951; exceptions ace the White crappie, which almost certainly still occurs in the basin, and the Topeka shiner, which has n,t been reported since 1891 anywhere in the Arkansas River system other than the Cottonwood drainage (Butler, Cha -ae, Maci3n, end Lyon counties, 7,ansas). Since 1958 an additional species, the Speckled chub, may have disappeared from the Medicine Lodge drainage. The Arkansas River subspecies was described (as Hybopsis tetranemus) by Gilbert (1886) from the "Elm and Spring creeks, near Medicine Lodge." We captured four Speckled chubs at the type locality in 1951, Metcalf took 13 at Sun City in 1957, and we took four about 10 miles downstream from Medicine Lodge in 1958 (C-211); but Speckled chubs nave not occurred in any later collections, including those by Fish and Game Commission personnel in 1975-76. The Arkansas River shiner, annonbtedly native to the Medicine Lodge River although it was not reported by Gilbert, has not been captured there since 1 Y,8. Cataleved cotlecti.os include one specimen from his Creek in 1951, 34 from Sun City in 197, and 91 from the river 8 miles south and 2 miles east of Medicine Lodge in 1956, Evidently significant populations of Notropis girardi formerly occupied this stream. Several species have been added to the list reported in 1886. The Carp and Mosquitofish became established from later introductions, as did Largemouth bass and Bluegill, which may not have occurred this far west in their native range. The River carpaucker, Channel catfish and Freshwater drum probably have always occurred in the lower part of the basin, but their abundance is limited by scarcity of large, persistent pools. Presumably the Yellow bullhead is indigenous, but rare, in the Medicine Lodge basin. The Arkansas darter, certainly indigenous, inhabits headwaters habitat not represented in most of the collections tabulated.

78 =I NMI ME I= MN I= I= MN MO Ell I= • • =I =I • MO INN

TABLE 12. Fishes reported in comparable collections from the Medicine Lodge Drainage, Barber County.

1 2 Gilbert (1886) C-5-51 C-210,211 G-1,2,3 -13,14,15' (4 sites) (1 site, 1951) (2 sites, 1958) (3 sites, 1979 sites, 1983)

Speckled chub 8 scarce scarce Suckermouth minnow X 0-1-0 Emerald shiner numerous abundant scarce 1-21-10 4-14-14 Red shiner X abundant abundant 13-47-22 28-52-25 Sand shiner 6 common common <1-16-16 6-26-14 Topeka shiner X Plains minnow X abundant 0-6-0 0-1-7 Fathead minnow X scarce scarce 25-0-0 Stoneroller X scarce 4-1-2 0-0-1 Black bullhead A scarce Plains killifish X common abundant 7-8-49 15-5-38 Green sunfish X ra re scarce 2-<1-0 -a Orangespotted sunfish X Lo scarce White crappie X Common carp common X 0-<1-0 0-<1-0 Arkansas River shiner rare common 9 Mosquitofish rare scarce 5-0-0 4-0-0 Largemouth bass rare <1-0-0 Bluegill scarce 13-0-0 Arkansas darter scarce 0-24-0 Yellow bullhead 0-0-1 2-0-2 River carpsucker 9-0-0 Channel catfish 15-<1 -‹i Freshwater drum 2-0-0

:numerals = number reported; X = present, abundance not known a numerals = percent of total fish at each site As an estimate of change in the Medicine Lodge fauna, the list of species reported in 1886 was compared with species lists in later collections (1958, 1979, 1983) using a similarity index. The 1958 set had 72Y, similarty wlLb that to clod uy Gilbert (1886) 2 the 1979 in:t fiT/ and tTie 193 list 55%. Be(- o ,as- s e of the sucis taken receroiy may nave been inresenc wt. overi okeU in li or occur in the late: samples due to introduction, we also determined the percentage of species reported in 1886 that were also represented in the reLent collections. Those values are 78% in 1958, 57% in 1979 and 1983. Four species not listed in Table 12 occur in headwaters of the Medicine Lodge system; numerous records from minor tributaries are omitted from that summary of comparable collections farther downstream. The Orangethroat darter occurs widely in spring-fed brooks in Kiowa, Pratt, and northeastern Barber county, where it has been found repeatedly since our earliest sample from those streams, in 1939. The Redbelly dace, Golden redhorse, and Longear sunfish have been found recently (since 1975)--all three in Thompson Creek, Kiowa County, and the dace in Turkey Creek, Pratt County. Previous collections from other spring-fed streams failed to include those fishes--notably Spring Creek, Kiowa County (6 July 1939), a tributary situated between Thompson and Turkey creeks, and various small streams near Sharon in northeastern Barber County that were seined frequently by Cross and others in the 1950's. Habitats—Descriptions associated with the collections tabulated consistently describe the Medicine Lodge River, and Elm Creek, as clear, uniformly shallow, with moderate current over sand substrate. The water was low in all instances (June and July dates), and flow in the Medicine Lodge was braided. Although the stream is mostly sandy and less than 4 inches deep, small side channels and pools (maximum depth 2 feet) had films of organic sediment, probably including living periphyton. Most fishes were concentrated in the shallow pools and side channels, at depths of a foot or more, in these summer collections. Unlike streams farther west (Cimarron and Crooked Creek), the channel of the Medicine Lodge is now partially shaded by riparian forest along much of its course.

80 Headwaters of the Medicine Lodge River include several brooks sustained by relatively strong springs, less diffuse and marshy than in the Cimarron drainage; channels are more deeply incised, narrow, shaded, and variable in depth and particle size of the substrate. These conditions account for the occurr :Ice of Oran - ethroat darter, Redbel y dace, Lon.gear sunfish, :k)1d:,!, n red.;,,)rb and ai abundanc_ of Stonerollers in a few of these streams, although it is uncertain that all the species named are native to the area. The habitat effects of historic changes in discharge of the Medicine Lodge River are less severe than in the Arkansas and Cimarron rivers. Two trends in the discharge record are noteworthy, however: minimum flows have increased over the period of record (Figs. 12, 13); and the height and frequency of flood-flows have diminished significantly. Peak flows in the last 10 years are generally less than half those in the first decade of record (1938-49), That change might account for loss of Speckled chubs and Arkansas River shiners from the fauna, since reproduction of those species is flood-dependent. Riparian forest is probably more dense, and the stream more shaded than in its original state. Figures 25A and 258 illustrate upper and lower reaches of the Medicine Lodge River in July 1983.

81 Figure 25 A. Kansas: Barber Co: Medicine Lodge River northwest of Sun City, Sec. 34+35, T30S, R150. 19 July 1983.

Figure 25 B. Kansas: Barber Co: Medicine Lodge River, Sec. 20+21, T33S, R110. 19 July 1983.

82 83 Ninnescah River Fishes—Forty-two species have been reocrted from the Ninnescah drainage in 1951-1983, as listed in Table 1 3. Because of the large number of samples, the heml,er 6f 11ecLin3 in which each species occurred :s esbulated, eathee this ,Are ndic,ber of individuals at each siLa. Collections in 1973h7o H,/ personnel of the Kansas Fish and Game Commission are by far the most intensive, representing 13 sites from which 34 species were recorded. We have not seen those collections. They included all species taken in 1 951 except the Freckled madtom, known in the Ninnescah drainage from a single locality (Spring Creek, Sedgwick County, Sec. 35, T. 29 S, R. 1 W), and the Orangethroat darter, common in headwaters west of Pratt as recently as 1958 (188 specimens, KU 3937). Local populations of both species may still exist. The principal change implied by the collections available is increasing diversity of the fauna; 19 of the 42 species listed were not recorded prior to 1964, That increase may he spurious, an artifact of the sites selected, the collecting conditions, and the number of samples taken in various years. Nevertheless, some historic changes in species-composition sod seeeies-abendances are apparent. Walleye and White bass had not been introduced when the earliest collections were made, and impoundment of Cheney Reservoir probably enhanced populations of other species—notably Largemouth bass , Blnegifl, White crappie, and possibly also Flathead catfish, the two redherses and two buffalofishes, Drum, Gizzard shad, Brook silverside, Goldfish, and Golden shiner. Six of the species "of primary concern" in this report inhabit the Ninnescah. The Emerald shiner and the Plains killifish remain moderately abundant; their status may not, have changed significantly within the period of record. We find no evidence of change in the status of the Arkansas darter, which has been taken in the last 5 years at several sites additional to those included in Table 12. The Plains minnow has declined; regarded as abundant in 1958, 1964, and 1967, it was much less c ommon in 1975-76 and 1983. The Arkansas River shiner and the Speckled chub also have declined. Since 1964, Arkansas River shiners were recorded only in 2 of the KFG collections, where they represented 1.4% and 0.07% of total fish. Speckled chubs were captured at all sites i n the 1960s,h with 119 catalogued from one site; they were

84 Table 13. Fishes reported from the NinnescE,h River drainage. Column headings = year and number of samples or sites. Tabulated numbers are the total number of collections in thaL -yc,ar in whih the species occurred. Collect-i.-)cs in column 5 (1925-76 were Kansas Fish and Game Comission, .-.1 11 others by Cross.

Species 1951(5) 1958(2) 1964(3) 1967(1) '75-'76(13) 1983(2) Gizzard shad 1 6 2 Common carp 1 1 2 10 1 Suckermouth minnow 2 2 1 5 2 Emerald shiner 1 2 2 2 Red shiner 5 2 3 1 12 2 Sand shiner 3 2 3 1 9 2 Bullhead minnow 1 1 _-) 1 4 2 Fathead minnow 4 2 2 1 3 2 Plains minnow 1 1 3 1 9 1 Stoneroller 2 1 3 4 1 River earpsucker 1 1 8 1 7 9 Channel catfish I 1 3 9 2 Black bullhead ,,) 1 2 Yellow bullhead 1 Freckled madtom 1 Plains killifish 2 2 1 7 2 Mosquitofish 4 1 3 9 2 Green sunfish 3 I 2 8 1 Orangespotted sunfish 2 2 2 9 1 Arkansas darter 1 1 2 1 Orangethroat darter 1 1 Arkansas River shiner 1 2 2 Quillback 1 2 ? Longnose gar 2 ? 1

Speckled chub 3 i 2 Golden shiner 1 1 Goldfish River shiner 1

85 Table 13 continued

Species 193 (5) 1958(2) 1 9b 1967(1) '75-'76(13) 1983(2) Bluntnose minnow 2 Shorthead re&pyrse 2 Flathead catZlh White crappie 2 3 Slenderhead darter 2 1 Freshwater drum 3. 4 2

Smallmouth buffa o 4 Golden redhorse 1 Brook silverside 1 White bass 2 1 Largemouth bass 8 1 Bluegill 5 Walleye 2 Black buffalo

86 reported at 2 of 13 sites in 1975-76, hat were not 32 onnd in 1983. The KFG reports list an abundance of SpeckIfid chubs at one site surprisingly far upstream in the Ninnescah--a locality approximately 5 miles southwe-i. ) f i T. 25 R :4 i. II tha'a population still . 1 - ts it warte,.t.s1enrru ction, , end ne Soeckled chubs anywhere in tLs: ArkansJs basin b cur 19S3 snL/s Habitats--Collections in 1951 were made at low stage in July from a Pratt County tributary to the South Fork having clear water with slight current over sand bottom and several backwater pools surrounded by rushes; and from a mud-botlomed oeol and gravelly riffle habitat 1 mile west of Pratt, without aquatic vegetation, In October 1951, 3 collections were made following floods on the Ninnescah--from a spring tributary below low-water dams in Sedgwick County, from an overflow pool off-channel (water turbid, no vegetation, bottom mud and sand), and from a mainstream site where depths were 2 to 3 feet, flow swift to calm (below sandbars), bottom entirely sandy, and vegetation absent, In April 1958 the South Fork where seined in Kingman County was relatively high, turbid, flowing strongly over sand bottom, depths to 2 feet but mostly less than 1 foot_ In June ] 958 the site on the South Fork 1 mile W Pratt had flow of about 5 cfs, water clear, bottom sand and gravel, pools up to 2 feet deep, riffles with some large algae-covered stones; - watercress, PoLomoTaton sp, ; or wher, aab 'cuslies grew alongsbore, In late June and July 1964, the matestm ,s where seined in Kinsman, Sedgwick, and Sumner counties was low, cleai in Kingman but turbid in Sumner County, extremely warm (98.5'-99 a F), mostly less than 8 inches deep but with pools having maximum depths of 2 to 3 feet, the bottom loose sand with patches of small gravel in the channel and with organic ooze in pools and calm backwaters along sandbars. Much woody debris was lodged in the sandy bed in Sumner County. In March 1967 the South Fork where seined in Sedgwick County had a broad, shallow, barren sandy channel, the water turbid, flow swift, to a maximum depth of 2 feet in narrow chutes between submerged bars of shifting sand. In July 1983 the South Fork in Kingman County and the combined streams in Sedgwick County had loose sand (rarely gravel) substrate, little cover other than woody detrirus in backwaters, depths averaging about 6 inches except in pools, water clear, and temperature 78°F at noon.

87 Figure 26 A. Kansas: Kingman Co: South Fork Ninnescah River, Sec. 36, T28S, R5W, 17 July 1983.

Figure 26 B. Kansas: Sedgwick Co: Ninnescah River at Ks. Rt. 42, Sec. 14+23, T29S, R314. 17 July 1983.

88 89 Physical habitats LI the Ninaccci. hnsin not changed conspicuously in the pejod e. v u by eu.c coliection, nor has the flow regime been affebted so s vecfz.ly AS la the other . trc.,Ims- described in th reprt. North. Fork and

I. L 964, but high flows near Peck exceeded i0,006 bts in 'j t he 1 3 ye,r,; of leeord since 1964, and fell below 2000 cfs only in 1966 and 1981. Low flows in the Ninnescah are considerably greater than in streams t;.1.rther west in the basin, and probably exceed the neu:mat sdmmer base-f1ovs pblor tu construction of Cheney Reservoir. Figure 26A illustrates habitat conditions in the South Fork of the Ninnescah River. In Figure 26B, looking downstream from the bridge on Ks. Rt. 42, the stream is constricted by that bridge and a former railroad crossing. Most collecting was done upstream of this site. Accounts Gf Sperids of Urimary CCI era

1, Speckled chub, Hybopis aestivalis Collection sites, 1983 ne - e.

— - CUIF tion 5 iteS 1 919-80: JY11,Z. cnub was described (as Hybopsis tetrariemus) by C. H. Cilbert 11886:209) from "Eim and Spring Creeks, near Medicine Lodge" (Barber County). It was later reported under the name H. tatraziemas by Jordan (1891) from the Arkansas River near Wichita, and by Rabba and Ortenburger (J 929) from the Arkansas near Oxford, Sumner County. Hubbs and Ortenberger's specimens were taken by Minna Jewell and Frank Jones on 29 June 1925 (UHMZ 67816 and 67822) and by Jobes on 29 June 1926 (UMMZ 122162). Cross and other IT cc unr obtained specimens at the type locality in duly t951, cal ci.cc-,/hefe a l;iedicine Fiver drainage in 1957 (Sun. City) and 1958 (hcar Cry lane) Speckled chubs were recorded from Mule Creek, Salt Fork di,mihac, C.; eel; !-:onnty, in 1960 and 1964, and from various localities in the Ninnescah drainage (Kingman, Sedgwick, and Sumner cduoLics) ih 1963 ace 964. Speckled chubs occurred in collections from. the Arkansas River- at Wichita, Great Bend (Barton County), and Hal comb (Finney County) in

1952. The species may have dis...ip.pezci. a v:escern reaches of tile river in the 1950's, because it was dot cocci tad. in collections we made in Kearny and Hamilton counties in 1958, 1959, and 1960, nor in Finney County in 1969. Neither was it recorded in several collections by Fish and Game personnel in 1972, 1973, and 1977, or by Gorman and Wiseman or Clarke in 1979 and 1980. 8 a.s. tivhlis persisted in che Arkansas River at Ford (Ford Co.) as late as 1958 but has not since been [bend at that site or others upstream ifWli Wichita. Speckled chubs remained common in the Arkansas :River downstrbam from Wichita and in rise lower Ninnescan, in 1964 (KU catalogued series 01 24, 27 and 119 specimens). In 1967, the species was recorded as scarce in the Ninnescah (Cross field number C-545, four specimens), and are in the Arkansas at Oxford (C-550). Personnel of the Kansas Fish and Game Commission reported one specimen from the Arkansas near Derby, Sedgwick County, and indefinite numbers from the Ninnescah River in Pratt County, in 1975-76. Wichita State

91 the most abundant minnows iu tne lUtihr a Jaa iver and the Missouri River in the 1950's, tnt has e adin either stream in Kansas since 1 909, ilios L c stiitut t ht-, seeffis critical thronhout tne buaia

3. 7: 1 Coiltetion laaatus, 19J. ,I iU,16,17; 945011,12. Collection records, 1979-80 G1,2,3. The Emerald shiner remains .s=kcately i'ante.dai tt. in the Medicine Lodge Ri.V2t, the downstream from Wichita. It comprised 10% to 21% of the fishes captured at 8 of the 15 localities where it aas recoic:nftl in 9 i e nL The original range of the species probably included the full length of the Arkansas mainstream in Kansas; "Old" reco:d et t a Fiastey (in 1967, the most recent feport t)ita .Ia)- toJft,:i. The absence of Emerald si iners. fi-,offl a IS :11to o'i - n'ff d in t h? ', HtiJnsas River upstream from Wichita in l 979-63 reflects a a ii i±cacL change in the status of the species in that stream.

Emerild i nn6bit ;irld lakes; the species was taken. in ( nciin :7 heseivoir in d )/i. Spawning occurs in late spring and early summer, aedi a ca n fi i-dpeatent. The eggs are demersai Lot nonaditles e.

4. River shiner, Notropis blelitts Collection sites 1983: none. Collection sjtes. aote Former records of the i aa afHnao t tnt L, i anona oasin in Kansas are from Oxford downstream te !: mac -lity collections), and ii the

Ninnescah River ; during the pert o :Ha- ice: Absence of the species . from our collections in _1 9S, stat tiem att r : ollettrons by Dirtier and students at War, suggest receuf disappearanct or N. blennius, possibly as an effect of recent ir initiont at Sm. Res-z'toir on the Arkansas mainstream in Kay. Count:7, Otti.ahilc. It ,:aittaids inhabits large rivers, where it schools in the iirtd t e: zmie sO.IIn ! it relatively deep water where currents are slight, The River shiner is a common associate of the Emerald shiner, but evidaTitiy did aot range so tar upstream as the Emerald t;hinef i n

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;7 4 \(. , (k,,\

UPPER: Figure 28 A. Solid circles = historic records for Notrqpis atherinoides in the area surveyed, drawn on base map as in Figure 1. Records shown are pre-1979. LOWER: Figure 28 B. Solid circles records for Notropis atherinoides taken during the 1979-83 survey, rawn on 1 base map as in Figure 1.

101 100 1 - O n . I .,\• '-,, —, / - • , 'S ,14 1, ' ); , •r2 H.. i i (/ ' , \1. 1 ',, • i‘ \ ' • 1 ,, ,..) ( , \ I - \ J.. \ i ,: F ,' T, J

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101 100 V9 9i 95; 95

Figure 29. Solid circles - historic records for Notropj5 blennius in the area surv'eyed, drawn on base map as in Figure 1. The species was not found during the 1979-83 survey.

96 5. Arkansas River shiner, Notropis girardj Collection sites, 1983: C18,20. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. Arkansas River shiners were found at two lecalities in 1983, both in the Cimarron River: Clark County at bridre. on US 183 south of Sitka (4 specimens, <1% of total catch); and Meade County at bridge on K-23 southwest of Meade (38 specimens, 8% of total catch). Cross, Gorman, and Haslouer (1983) discussed the recent decline of this species, which formerly inhabited the main channels of the Arkansas and Cimarron rivers and the larger sandy tributaries between those rivers The earliest report of Arkansas River shiners in Kansas accompanied the original description of the species (Hubbs and Ortenburger, 1929). Listed as paratypes were 9 specimens (UMMZ 94947) captured by Hubbs and Schultz in the Arkansas River 2 miles east of Kinsley on 23 September 1926. Other fishes in this collection were Sand shiners (3), Plains minnow (7), Plains killifish (348), Green sunfish (3), and Bluegill (45). Habitat notes associated with the specimens state "water clear, no vegetation, clean sand bottom." Notropis girardi was recorded in the Arkansas River at Holcomb (Finney County), Great Bend, and Wichita by Cross and KU students in 1952. Probably it inhabited the full length of the Arkansas mainstream at that time, although its decline may already have begun due to irrigation diversions and regulated flows downstream from John Martin Reservoir, constructed in eastern Colorado in 1942. The series catalogued from Holcomb consists of 41 specimens (KU 2651), from Great Bend 11 specimens (KU 2662), and from Wichita 4 specimens(KU 2007). Subsequently, Arkansas River shiners were found in nearly all collections made at Wichita and downstream from Wichita through 1967. This was the most abundant species at Oxford in 1955 (C-137, KU 3472, 484 specimens), and it remained abundant at Oxford through 1967 (C-550, KU 12192, 281 specimens). Upstream from Wichita, however, the Arkansas River shiner was not taken in collections from Ford and Kearny counties in 1958, nor has it occurred in any later collections from the Arkansas River mainstream west of Wichita, to our knowledge. Our records indicate that western populations were decimated first, that the species sustained or increased its abundance in the lower Arkansas River for 10-15 years longer, but then collapsed in the east. 97

lv? 101 100 99 9n ---- 97 99 95 1 i 1 I I T-• 1 _ __._ 4( - 7" ) 1 -- ' ' \ 11 ■ . S \: ' ' . I (I J -- (- ri -, • \ ' \ \ \ \'''' \ •• 1 ' :-1; ..',/ f :;\ ; , , ' --. ''''7 --'' ' \ , Z —- ,. — ■ C' ,, ' \ ; 1\\. ) 9 ( \ _ . 1. , \,\ , \ \ , , \ j( ),* / \,,I,,S, I, . , ■ . \ . -- , 1 \ , -,,l , ' \- V'1, i i , , ( , -\ 7' - \ " 'I „__ , - ,,.;' ,,r )1„, ) , ','1,) 1 L 1' - \ r,. ,f , \ ) i// , ., , s.- • 1 - .--- , ------: ,*,.\\ ?'',,, ‘\\,(:k,V`, \\ '-'' : ' ' 1 i ''‘.1 I Y,fi, , ',-, i ..' -, \ ' 1 - - --- \ 1 1 1 I' ' \ A , ,1.1 ,, ' i ,1) ,1 ,) , ' R 'S . \)''',"S. , 'K ' L : R : T 9- ' I ' I ' ' \ \ ' '` ' ,. 1 i ''' 1 I ' .() 1 L 6 Q \ \; I IRi '''-', ,/ 1 •1 \:-‘\ \ / , \ ) 1 , . : ' ' (.2 \. I 2;('-7‘1\ R K ' \ "\ \ / T-R I 1 . \ .. .. 1 (' 1( L ''' ' '-.'$ i 1) Of „, ,,, ,\\ ' . i T ( 1 \ I ,), I ,, ,I (", iL ., 1 -- ' ) HO( '1 ■ ' ‘, II \\ ' ) ) ' ) '• ' 1 ( 'i i. I L I --..„ \ ' -- ' V. -."1. l ,. ( -'1 I ) i s .. .k: \ i '\'',\.''' '' \ ' Ii \ ?IT 9 - -, --'1' \ ....L.0 1 -- 1 r ) r .. , 1 , I , - r " , r. /V., ' 1 ' $, / 1 \ ■, '''' ' " - • l' . \ l . - \ '•L - \ -/. , .. \'

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7 ,7

UPPER: Figure 30 A. Solid circles - historic records for Notropis girardi in the area surveyed, drawn 5n base map as in Figure 1. Records shown are pre-1979. LOWER: Figure 30 B. Solid circles = records for Notropis girardi taken during the 1979-83 survey, drawn on base map as in Figure 1.

98 South of the Arkansas River, N. GIRARDI was recorded from Crooked Creek (Meade County) in 1941, and many times thereafter in that stream, the Cimarron, Medicine Lodge, Mule Creek and Salt Fork, and Ninnescah rivers through 1964. The localities of collection are more numerous than in the Arkansas proper, as are the years of collection--1941, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1962, and 1964. After 1966, none of our collections from this part of the basin included N. girardi, except the two in 1983 that are cited above (Cimarron in Meade and Clark counties). Fewer collections are involved in the period since 1964, and several of them were incidental samples not accompanied by field notes or full species lists. Nevertheless, it seems significant that series of 6, 24, 27, 27 and 174 specimens were obtained from five streams (Salt Fork, Mule Creek, Ninnescah, Crooked Creek, and Cimarron, respectively) in 1964, whereas no specimens of N, girardi occurred in collections made from these or other streamsof the area in 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1979, or 1981. In 1975, personnel of the Kansas Fish and Game Commission reported N. girardi from two of 13 sites sampled in the Ninnescah drainage (South Fork near Cairo in Pratt County and near Cheney in Sedgwick County). The species may persist in that stream as well as the Cimarron, and possibly the Salt Fork watershed. It has never been recorded from the Chikaskia drainage in Kansas. Streams inhabitated by Arkansas River shiners have aggraded channels, with braided, highly fluctuating flows over sand substrates. The streams are unshaded, so water temperatures as well as discharge fluctuate widely, and total dissolved solids are high (conductivity often greater than 2500). Under natural conditions, streams where N. GIRARDI was abundant had peak flows several hundred times to several thousand times their minimum flows, which subsided to intermittency in some reaches during drought. Ecological adaptations of the Arkansas River shiner to the stream conditions described may leave the species especially vulnerable to change in the natural flow regime. Populations of N. GIRARDI CONSIST mainly of young and yearlings; it seems unlikely that many individuals live beyond age 2. Yearlings are mature and constitute the bulk of the reproductive stock. Females develop 1500-3500 eggs of uniform size in spring, but retain them until waterlevels rise abruptly. Evidently the

99 full complement of eggs is spawned at flood stage. The buoyant eggs drift on strong currents in midstream for 2-4 days to hatching. Little else is known of the spawning behavior or of movements by the young or adults. Probably spawning is communal, however, and confined to brief intervals coincident with flood flows each year. The progeny of each spawn must be dispersed far downstream by passive transport during their development. They must sometime return upstream, to restore populations at the original spawning sites. The extreme fluctuation of High Plains streams, with both maximum and minimum discharge occurring in summer (Fig. 2), may facilitate dispersal of juveniles. At low-flow stages, which commonly followed flood-flows within days or weeks in the natural flow regime, the volume of habitat shrinks to a small fraction of that during flood flows. Population pressure may then cause active dispersal along the uniformly shallow channels. Movements during prolonged low-flow stages may distribute these fish through continuous areas of shallow, sandy habitat, including river reaches and tributaries where reproduction may not have occurred. If that assumption is correct, populations throughout extensive stream systems might derive from relatively few spawning sites. That assumption, though speculative, could explain the general depletion of Arkansas River shiners in Kansas. Disappearance from the Arkansas River west of Great Bend, ahd from the Cimarron drainage west of Meade County, is understandable because those streams are now dry (or nearly so) most of the time. Possibly those mainstream reaches were the principal source of stocks throughout the two drainages. The collapse of populations in the Arkansas River downstream from Wichita, and in tributaries from the Ninnescah westward to the Medicine Lodge, is not readily explainable on the basis of altered height and frequency of peak flows, alone. Changes in the flow regime of the lower Ninnescah River accompanied impoundment of Cheney Reservoir, however, at a time just preceding the decline of N. girardi in that stream. And, the character of the Arkansas River downstream from Great Bend has changed considerably. Flows now originating in the eastern part of the basin must differ in quality from the flows formerly derived from western sources. Minimum flows at Wichita and Arkansas City are now significantly higher than in the past, due perhaps to increased municipal water use and release from disposal systems. Alterations of water quality, such as salinity and/or various pollutants, have not been investigated in this regard. Another possible causal factor is competition with several kinds of fishes now resident in the lower Arkansas and Ninnescah rivers which were not found there when N. girardi and other typical Plains fishes dominated the fauna. In the Cimarron drainage, introduction of the Red River shiner, Notropis bairdi, probably has had a particularly adverse effect on N. girardi. The status of the Arkansas River shiner is of concern because the range of the species is limited to the Arkansas River basin, chiefly its western part. It has virtually disappeared from the Arkansas mainstream, where there are no recent records from Arkansas (Robison, pers. comm.) or Colorado (Behnke, pers, comm.), and only one recent record in Oklahoma (needing confirmation, J. Pigg, pers. comm.). The species is absent from the Cimarron drainage in New Mexico, and continues to decline in that stream in Oklahoma (Pigg, pers. comm.). Pigg informed us that N. girardi is now rare in the North Canadian River in Oklahoma. The species remains abundant only in the South Canadian River in Oklahoma (Pigg and Matthews, pers. comm.); in the New Mexico portion of the South Canadian basin, N. girardi has been extirpated upstream from Conchas Reservoir and is rhreatened by planned diversions downstream from that impoundment (Sublette, pers. comm.).

6. Plains minnow, Hgbognathus placitus Collection sites, 1983: C7,9,14,15,17-21; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: G2,9,10,11. The Plains minnow was found at one site (Oxford) in the Arkansas River, where it comprised 1% of our collection in 1983, and less than 1% of the more intensive collection by Distler (WSU11). In the Ninnescah the Plains minnow was taken at one of two localities in 1983 (1% of that collection), and at 2 of 13 localities collected by Fish and Game personnel in 1975-76. Plains minnows were present at most localities we seined in the Cimarron and Medicine Lodge drainages in 1983. The species comprised from 3% to 23% of fishes caught in the Cimarron mainstream (4 collections from 3 sites), 1% to 8% in Crooked Creek, and 1% to 7% of 4 collections in the Medicine Lodge basin.

, IL ' Ill 100 9,1 -.4n 97 96 95 • ?, ' • V ' 1 7 . ,, \ - i ‘ ' s / ) . ■../1., 7 - ' ' - 1 M ‘ '', ,11 ' s : \ ,. I\Lt " 1 ,-.7 . ■ ,r r • , 1 1 / : ( ,s -"— s' II \ ) ',(' '1 \ t - 0 1 ' 1' 1' -ii( , \ ,,. \ ) , - , \ t (')' ' '1' . 's' I , \I,\), i' s. ;) .),L ) ) ., :li-s -__•,,t ,,, ,s ,s s, .., 3, 1 ' — _. , \ , 1 ■ It -, , , 'sA , ' ,•, I 1 ',,, 's s . 1 ) _, ' t: ‘ ,.' .; ' (V ' s .-, • ) ,.___, , I y1 , I( ' I/ \ ,,,,, 1, : 11 ,1 ;'') 111 ' \ '-', I I, , y, , ? ?, ; 4 ' , ,„ ' ' ' ,, , (-) 01 // ' , I,, , - -is. ' ' \ L ' • '1 2'\,' I I' '', 1 I.. \ 'I V, ','-' - .,,i), ' il:; ' :, :,.. ,,; : )` - — - , ri / , t , ■ 7) -- —,

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UPPER: Figure 31 A. Solid circles - historic records for Hybognathus placitus in the area surveyed, drawn on base map as in Figure 1. Records shown are pre-1979. LOWER: Figure 31 B. Solid circles - records for Hybognathus placitus taken during the 1979-83 survey, drawn on base map as in Figure 1

102 The distribution and abundance of H. placitus have receded demonstrably, from a range that included the entire Arkansas mainstream and nearly all its southern tributaries in the 1950's. Former records in the Arkansas River include Kearny County (near Kendall) in 1958, 1960, and 1972; Finney County (Garden City and Holcomb) in 1951 and 1952; Ford County (Fort Atkinson, the type locality of the species, in 1853, and near Ford in 1958); Edwards County (near Kinsley) in 1926 and 1967; Barton County (Great Bend) in 1952; and Sedgwick County (Wichita) in 1952 and 1964. Several records were obtained in the Ninnescah in the period 1951-1967. The decline of this species in the Arkansas River may have begun prior to 1960. Whereas it was taken at nearly all sites visited in the early 1950's, its occurrences were much less regular thereafter. It was absent from collections at Lamed and Kendall in 1959, as were the Speckled chub and Arkansas River shiner, Lwo common associates of the Plains minnow. In 1960 it was captured at Kendall, but was much less abundant than the Sand shiner and Red shiner, species that the Plains minnow formerly equalled or exceeded in abundance. The last record from that part of the river, in 1972, consisted of 7 specimens in one of three series of fishes collected in Hamilton and Kearny counties by personnel of the Fish and Game Commission and sent to KU. A collection by KFG personnel from Kearny County in 1977 failed to include the Plains minnow. In the lowermost part of the river, Plains minnows still occur at Oxford (as cited above) but are less numerous than in the past; they were recorded as abundant at Oxford as late as 1967. The numbers of Plains minnows in the Cimarron and Salt Fork drainages have declined also. In 1955 H. placitus was the most abundant fish in the Cimarron in Grant County, followed by the Plains killifish and the Arkansas River shiner. In Seward County it was third in abundance, after the Sand shiner and Arkansas River shiner, in 1956, and was recorded as abundant, along with the Arkansas River shiner, in 1958. Plains minnows were last recorded in Seward County in 1973. Not far downstream, where the Cimarron intersects highway K-23 in Meade County, Plains minnows remain common, representing 18% of fishes taken by Gorman and Wiseman in 1979 and 23% of our collection in 1983; this is the only locality at which the species exceeded 10% of the fish populations found in surveys of the Arkansas basin since 1979. The range of H. placitus extends from the Rio Grande to the Missouri River basin in Montana, but the species is essentially limited to Plains rivers having exposed, shallow, sand-filled channels. It was the principal "herbivorous" minnow in the indigenous fauna of the western Arkansas basin -- feeding on diatams, other microorganisms, and finely-divided detritus that. accumulated in pools and calm, shallow water along sandbars; that trophic position accounted for great abundance. Although its reproductive habits are not well understood, the Plains minnow has been captured with gonads in a fully developed state from April to August. Miller and Robison (1973:62) state that "the eggs are slightly demersal and nonadhesive, and gently bounce along the bottom during most of their development." Thus reproductive behavior may be most like that of the Emerald shiner, and less dependent on extremely high flows than reproduction by the Arkansas River shiner and the Speckled chub. Its decline parallels that of the latter two species but has been less rapid and less extreme.

7. Plains killifish, Fundulus zebrinus Collection sites 1983: C4-10,12-16,18-21,25; M28; WSU11,12. Collection sites, 1979-80: G1-4,6; E1-8. The Plains killifish remains widely distributed in tha western Arkansas River basin, occurring at 17 of the 22 sites we saL4led in July 1983. In the Arkansas mainstream, it comprised 45% of Gorman's collection at Syracuse in 1979, and 72% of Clarke's collection from the site in 1980. At Lakin, where flow is diverted for irrigation, Plains killifish made up 41% of Clarke's collection in 1980. Downstream from Lakin the abundance of Plains killifish declined precipitously, ranging from less than 1% to 9% of the populations Clarke found at six sites from Howell to Great Bend. Our findings in 1983 were similar to Clarke's but more extreme. Plains killifish were absent from our samples at Cimarron, Ford, and Kinsley. At Kinsley in 1926, Plains killifish represented 84% of the collection made by Hubbs and Schultz, and ranked second in abundance at Kinsley as recently at 1967; at Ford in 1958 F. zebrinus ranked second in abundance to the Sand shiner. Downstream from Kinsley in 1983 the species increased again, comprising 9% of our collection at Dundee and 21% in Rice County; it then declined

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UPPER: Figure 32 A. Solid circles - historic records for Fundulus zebrinus ( formerly F. kansae) in the area surveyed, drawn on base map as in Figure 1. Records shown are ore-1979. LOWER: Figure 32 B. Solid circles = records for Fundulus zebrinus taken durinn the 1979-83 survey, drawn on base map as in Figure 1.

105 to 13% in Reno County, and to 4% or less in each of seven collections (including Moss and Distler's) from Wichita downstream. South of the Arkansas River, Plains killifish remain abundant in the Cimarron, Crooked Creek, Medicine Lodge River, and Mule Creek, comprising from 15% to 65% of fishes captur.sA at those sites in 1983. In the Ninnescah, F. zebrinus made tul - of our collections in 1983 -- less, we believe, than in years preceding impoundment of Cheney Reservoir, although previous samples (1958-64) were not quantitative. Plains killifish were taken at seven cf 13 localities sampled by Kansas Fish and Game personnel in thn NisnsseA in 1975-16. This species has always diminished in abundance from west to east, as streams become larger, less fluctuating, and less saline. The distribution of F. zebrinus correlates strongly with salinity (or total ions), being greatest where conductivity exceeds 2000 pmhos. The reduced abundance of Plains killifish in the middle reach of the Arkansas River (Garden City to Great Bend) may reflect changes in water quality as well as loss of flow. This species has withstood changes in flow patterns better than other fishes characteristic of High Plains streams (e.g., Speckled Chub, Arkansas River shiver, Plains (iiiinow), Like those species, the Plains killifish spawns in late spring and summer, but unlike those species it reproduces at low-floe stages, depositing its demersal eggs in the sand of shallow ) 0()

8. Arkansas darter, Etheostoma craginl Collection sites, 1983: C7,16,17.18. •-) Collection sites, 1979-80: G1,4.

The Arkansas darter occurrd at AM the Cimarron, Salt Fork, Medicine Lodge, and Ninnescah drainages. These streams are the core of the species' present range. Isolated, relic populations persist in Colorado (Behnke, pers, comm,) and in the Neosho drainage in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma; these indicate a formerly extensive distribution in the Arkansas River system, where E. cragini is endemic. Since its original description from "the brook" at Garden City in 1885, E. cragini has not been reported from any Kansas tributary of the Arkansas River west of Rattlesnake Creek, Stafford County, where Arkansas darters were found repeatedly from 1926 until recent years (but not in our most recent col-

3See footnote at end of account.

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/ ' 1 , ' ' i 0 1 • . ' 1; '„' • . _ ; 1) - ' ''''''' •Th. ' ' .' I I ) (i ' ( / .4 I 1 lection from Rattlesnake Creek, (;-5, 1979). The species has been found twice in the Arkansas River near Oxfera, S occer Counly, the only mainstream locality from which it has been recorded. Single individuals were taken there in 1955 (Cros- Jad 1 . (ftitthn arts 'McDaniel, 1983). Both are regarded on t. e s u Lr l'etvcr nearby. fheir occurrence implies that C. 1..ri verifie habitats, and may use them as routes of dispersal. Occurrences of Arkansas darters at three sites in the Cimarron River in 1983 (C-18, C-20, C-21) have special iate.L. est, E. cragini did not occur in any of our collections from T ee Cimacrou meiasteream prior to 1980. The first records of the species in the Cimarron drainage in Oklahoma were obtained in 1983 (J. Pigg, pers. comm,). We believe its recent establishment in the Cimarron downstream from US 54 in Seward County is explainable by the fact that "contiouw," flew now ori rate,; in this reach (see Figs. 9, 10). For practical purposes, Cho Cimarroa is now per dry throughout its course in Morton, Stevens, Crante Haskell, and most of Seward counties. Originally, the Cimarron probably was too large, and too variable, a stream to accommodate Arkansas darters in the reach they now occupy.

The habitat of E. cragini dlffer:. grv ly from the habitats preferred by other species of "primary concern" in this report. Those species occur mainly in large streams with widely flect O4ne discharge and barren, sandy riverbeds. The effect of "dewattnine,' ebe es :fiffers correspond- ingly. The Arkansas darter inhabits springs at the source of flow in tributaries, and seeps along the banks or Tareef streams -Where groundwater enters their channels. Stream flow was in-fei,asiug at all hut one of the sites where we found E. crogyi.i.. - most 1 nvariably associated with watercress or other streamatie vegetarian or detritus where small springs emerge. Thus the reduced flows that have so widely decimated populations of Hyboptiis aesuivalis, H, .gracilis, and other large-river fishes have not affected E. cragini adversely in the "core" area of its present range. Westward and northward from this compact region, the Arkansas darter has disappeared as springs dried due to receding water tables. Based on these historic trends, turthar diw.rsions of surface water and lowering of the water table would have these predictable effects on the

Arkansas darter: 1) south eastward reLfcat of its range; 2) initial increase in its incidence of occurrence along the westetn (or upstream) edges of the

107 region where it persists; and 3) gradual extirpation, or possible extinction, if drying of marshy springs continues from west to east.

The Arkansas darter has twice -3 in ti o Arkansas River near Oxford, the only mainstream locality from which it has been recorded. Single individuals were taken there in 1955 (Cross, 1967) and 1978 (Matthewsand McDaniel, 1983). Both are regarded as waifs that may have entered the river from tributaries nearby, such as the Ninnescah. Their occurrence implies that F. cragini has some tolerance of riverine habitats, and may use them as routes of dis- persal_ This may explain the widespread occurrence of the species, based on the cumulative record of 30 years sampling effort, in numerous tributaries where locally favorable habitats existed at the time the samples were taken. Some of the most recent tributary records, obtained by Kansas Fish and Game personnel and Kansas Department of Health and Environment personnel, are not shown in Figure 33 A-B.

109 Accounts of other species captured in 1979-1983

1. Longnose gar, Lepisosteus osseus Collection sites, 1983: C8,9 Collection sites, 1979-80: none Longnose gar were taken rarely in the lower Ninnescah and Arkansas rivers (near Oxford). These are precisely the areas in which the species occurred prior to 1967, at the western edge of its native range in Kansas. No change in its status is apparent.

2. Gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepedianum Collection sites, 1983: C5,6,8,9,10,11,24; M28; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: none Gizzard shad were taken in the Arkansas mainstream as far west as Kinsley, Edwards County, and in the Ninnescah. The species was abundant at C9 and C11, near Oxford and Hackney, Sumner and Cowley counties, where it comprised 57% and 58% of our total catch in July. Shad represented less than 1% of the Wichita State (WS1111) sample at Oxford in November. We suspect that shad populations in the lower Arkansas and Ninnescah rivers now exceed the populations before construction of Cheney and Kaw reservoirs. Elsewhere, shad represented no more than 2% of total samples at sites visited in 1983. Records prior to 1967 extend farther west than those obtained in 1979-83--into the Chikaskia drainage and to Dodge City in the Arkansas River. Occurrences of shad are now limited by discontinuous flow.

3. Carp, Cyprinus carpio Collection sites, 1983: C4,5,7,9,14,17. Collection sites, 1979-80: G1,5,6; E4,8. Carp were found westward to the limits of water in the Arkansas mainstream, and westward to the Medicine Lodge River south of the Arkansas. The species never exceeded 1% of the total catch in our samples. Prior to 1967, records extend westward to Crooked Creek, Meade County, and throughout the Arkansas River into Colorado. The species was introduced about 1880. Carp are restricted by loss of flow in the Arkansas River, but no decline is apparent in the area still occupied.

110 4. Goldfish, Carassius auratus Collection sites, 1983: C25. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. One large goldfish inhabited a pool in the Arkansas mainstream at Dundee, Barton County. Isolated records prior to 1967 occur in the Ninnescah, Rattlesnake Creek, and Crooked Creek (Arkansas basin). The species was introduced prior to 1914. No change in its status is apparent.

5. Golden shiner, Notemigonus crysoleucas Collection sites, 1983: C7; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: G7. Golden shiners comprised less than 1% of the fish obtained in the Ninnescah sample and in one of the several collections from the Arkansas River downstream from Wichita in 1983. In 1979, golden shiners made up 6% of a collection from Bluff Creek immediately below Clark County State Lake. Records of Notemigonus prior to 1967 imply that it did not occur naturally west of 99' longitude in the Arkansas basin. Subsequent records often are associated with impoundments, where golden shiners may be introduced as bait. The species is not abundant anywhere in the region.

6. Southern redbeliy dace, Phoxinus erythrogaster Collection sites, 1983: Cl?, Collection sites, 1979-80: none. The Redbelly dace now occupies a few small tributaries of the Medicine Lodge River and adjacent headwaters of the Ninnescah River in Kiowa and Pratt counties. These populations were discovered only recently (since 1975). We do not know whether they represent relic populations or result from introductions. We have no early fish collections from Thompson Creek and Turkey Creek, two headwater tributaries of the Medicine Lodge where Phoxinus now occurs. Several early collections from other, similarly spring-fed, streams in the Medicine Lodge drainage failed to include Phoxinus. The nearly simultaneous discovery of the species in three streams, including one (Ninnescah near Pratt) that had been seined frequently, suggest

111 introduction. So does the fact that one of the streams (Thompson Creek) is on land operated by a large ranching operation that also operates ranches in the northern Flint Hills where Redbelly dace are abundant. Personnel are transferred from one ranch to the other, and some are fishermen. Factors segesting relict (natine) status are the presence of P. erzithrogaster in the lowermost, Ozarkian part of the Arkansas River system; an 1885 literature record from the Arkansas River at Garden City (believed erroneous by Cross, 1967), and recent records of the species in eastern Colorado where it had not been found previously. Whatever the origin, the populations now seem well established.

7. Suckermouth minnow, Phenacobius mirabilis Collection sites, 1983: C4,5,7,8,10,12,24,25; M28; WSU11,12. Collection sites, 1979-80: G1,6; E1,26,7,8.

The Suckermouth m meow OCCUrS now, and was reported prior to 1967, at numerous localities throughout the area surveyed. The Cimarron River is exceptional; no Phenacobius has been reported there, although the species has been taken in a tributary of Crooked Creek, Meade County. No change in its status is apparent.

8. Bluntface shiner, Notropis camurus Collection sites. 1983: C12. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. The Bluntface shiner was found only in the Chikaskia River. This species is common in upland streams draining areas with limestone exposures east of the Arkansas mainstream. West of the Arkansas channel--west of 97 0 longitude--the Chikaskia is the only stream in which N. camurus has ever been reported, with notable exceptions: an unconfirmed record from the Ninnescah system in Kingman County, and 19th century records from the Arkansas River at Wichita and at Fort Lyons, Colorado (Jordan and Meek, 1884; Jordan, 1891). Gilbert (1978) speculated that the type locality was wrongly indicated as Fort Lyons, Colorado; he suggested that Lyons, Kansas, or more likely Lyon County, Kansas, was the actual locality of capture for the type specimens of N. camurus. The status of the Bluntface shiner in the region covered by this report has not changed appreciably in recent years, but the possibility that the species was originally more widespread in the western part of the Arkansas Basin cannot be discounted.

112 9. Red Shiner, Notropis lutrensis Collection sites 1983: all sites except C22. Collection sites 1979-80: all sites except G8 and E3. The Red shiner is ubiquitous in the region, and comprised more than half the fishes taken it. 10 sites. The three sites from which it was not recorded were small pools in otherwise-dry channels (Arkansas River at Howell and Cimarron, Bear Creek in Clark County). The Red shiner has always been among the most abundant Plains fishes, but field notes on many of our early collections indicated that it was originally less prevalent than it is now. In the Arkansas River at Holcomb on 11 August 1952 the Red shiner was recorded as "scarce", whereas the Sand shiner and Plains killifish were listed as "abundant" and the Plains minnow as "common". At Oxford on 6 April 1955 Red shiners were less abundant than Arkansas River shiners; seemingly that was also the case at Oxford and Wichita in 1952, but in 1958 and all subsequent years of record Red shiners exceeded Arkansas River shiners in abundance at these sites and all others in the Arkansas River. At Kinsley in 1926, the Red shiner was not among the species taken by Hubbs and Schultz from the Arkansas mainstream, but it was the dominant species at that locality in 1967 and 1972. In our collections from the Arkansas in 1958 and 1969, Sand shiners equalled or exceeded Red shiners in abundance at Lamed, Lakin, and Kendall; at Lakin, Plains killifish, Flathead chubs, and Plains minnows were at least as numerous as Red shiners. In the Cimarron drainage, Red shiners generally ranked second to fifth in abundance among Plains minnows, Plains killifish, Arkansas River shiners, and Sand shiners, in several collections for which field notes are available for the period 1955-1958. In other instances--as Elm Creek, Barber County on 21 July 1951 and Arkansas at Ford on 13 June 1958--the Red shiner was recorded as the most abundant species, even in the earliest years for which our data allow estimation of relative abundance. At the 10 sites where Kilgore & Risings collections in 1964 included total counts of fishes captured, Red shiner ranked second in one case, 3rd in 6, and 6th to 8th at the remaining three localities. Certainly the Red shiner has not been affected so adversely by altered flows in the Arkansas and Cimarron drainages as have other species with which it was associated in southwestern Kansas. Notropis lutrensis is an exceedingly widespread fish that benefits from increased

113 organic loading of streams. It is tolerant of intermittent flow, and is opportunistic in reproductive behavior, using highly variable sites for egg deposition throughout spring and summer. Its absolute numbers, as well as its abundance relative to other members of the fish communities, have increased in the last two or three decades.

10. Sand shiner, Notropis stramineus Collection sites, 1983: all except C9,22. Collection sites, 1979-80: all except C7,8; E4. The Sand shiner was second to the Red shiner in abundance and number of localities of capture. It represented more than 50% of all fishes taken at five sites, more than 20% at 14 sites. Like the Red shiner, it was least common at sites having only isolated pools--Bear Creek in 1979, the Arkansas channel at Howell in 1980, and the Arkansas at Cimarron in 1983. Sand shiners were not found in Bluff Creek immediately below Clark County State Lake. Although N. stramineus has withstood flow reduction better than most Plains fishes, its populations have not increased to the extent Red shiners have increased recently. Whereas Sand shiners were generally more numerous than Red shiners in the Arkansas, Cimarron, and other shallow sandy streams 20-30 years ago, Red shiners were more numerous than Sand shiners at 27 of 40 stations where both were taken in 1979-83. The exceptions were exposed channels with shallow flow of nearly uniform velocity, such as Gorman's sites in the Cimarron drainage and Cee Arkansas at Syracuse in 1979, and our sites in the Arkansas from Dundee to Wichita in 1983. Red shiners regained dominance from Wichita downstream in 1983. It seems significant that Sand shiners usually were scarce, and Red shiners abundant, at sites where Gizzard shad occurred. Both the latter species are favored by high levels of suspended organic matter.

11. Red River shiner, Notropis bairdi Collection sites, 1983: C18,19,20. Collection sites, 1979-80: G9,10. The Red River shiner is a recent invader of the Arkansas River basin from the Red River system, where it was endemic. Its status was

114 discussed by Cross, Gorman, and Haslouer (1983). Subsequent to that publication we discovered that two juvenile specimens (KU 15107) captured in the Cimarron River at highway K-23, Meade County, in October 1972, and identified originally as hybrids, Notropis stramineus X N. girardi, are instead N. bairdi. We think uhat the Red River shiner was introduced between 1964 and 1972, because none of the many collections In 1964 or prior to that year included the species, whereas nearly all collections since 1972 have contained N. bairdi. So far as known, N. bairdi has not extended its range beyond the Cimarron drainage in the Arkansas system. It was the dominant species at two of our sites on the Cimarron in 1983 (C18 and C20), where it represented 32% and 35% of all fishes captured. We found it in Crooked Creek also (C19), where it was scarce (7 specimens, 1.3% of total sample). The Red River shiner is the sister species and ecological equivalent of the Arkansas River shiner (N. girardi). Probably its establishment in the Cimarron contributed importantly to the precipitous decline of N. girardi in the Cimarron, but does not explain the comparable decline of that species in the Arkansas River, the Ninnescah, and elsewhere.

12. Fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas Collection sites, 1983: ali except C13,16,19. Collection sites, 1979-80: all except G2,3,4,7,10,12. The Fathead minnow occurs throughout the region, but its abundance exceeded 25% of the total catch at only three sites: Arkansas River at Howell (87%), Arkansas at Cimarron (100%), and Bear Creek (73%). Those sites consisted of isolated pools, where only 7, 1, and 3 species were found, respectively. Apart from those localities, Fatheads comprised more than 10% of the catch at only 8 of the 36 locations where they were taken. Historical records exist throughout the region, indicating that the Fathead minnow has always been present, but generally scarce except in highly intermittent streams. This species is an indicator of low-diversity, unstable stream conditions; it is also very tolerant of organic pollution.

115 13. Bullhead minnow, Pimephales vigilax Collection sites, 1983: C7,8,9,10,12; H28; WSU11,12. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. Bullhead minnows were taken in the Ninnescah, Chikaskia, and most sites in the Arkansas River from Wichita .l ownstream. The species never comprised more than 1% of the total catch, except at Oxford where it made up 10% and 17% of the two WSU collections. This result agrees well with former distributional records apart from a 1959 record of the species at Earned. The Bullhead minnow probably ranged farther west in the Arkansas mainstream under unmodified flow conditions than it does at present.

14. Slim minnow, Pimephales tenellus Collection sites, 1983: WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. One specimen of P. tenellus, presumably vagrant from a nearby tributary, was among the more than 5,000 specimens in WSUll, collected below the low dam on the Arkansas mainstream just upstream from Oxford. This is the first record of the species from the Arkansas River; there is only one record farther west, from the Chikaskia River.

15. Bluntnose Minnow, i.- 12ephales not o.us Collection sites, 1983: C12, Collection sites, 1979-80: 67. The Bluntnose minnow was taken only in the Chikaskia, and in Bluff Creek below Clark County State Lake. It has formerly been found in the Arkansas River at Oxford, Wichita, Great Bend, and Ford, as well as the Ninnescah and Chikaskia drainages. Bluntnose minnows were never common in the western part of the Arkansas Basin, but may have been more widespread in the past than they are now.

16. Stoneroller, Campostoma anomalum

Collection sites, 1983: C4,5,7,12 2 15,16,17,23,24,25; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: G1,2,3,4,7,11,12; E3,4,6,7,8. Stonerollers occur widely in the region, but their populations exceeded 10% of the total catch at only a few sites: Turkey Creek

116 discussed by Cross, Gorman, and Haslouer (1983). Subsequent to that publication we discovered that two juvenile specimens (KU 15107) captured in the Cimarron River at highway K-23, Meade County, in October 1972, and identified originally as hybrids, Notropis stramineus X N. girardi, are instead N. bairdi. We think that the Red River shiner was introduced between 1964 and 1972 9 because none of the many collections in 1964 or prior to that year included the species, whereas nearly all collections since 1972 have contained N. bairdi. So far as known, N. bairdi has not extended its range beyond the Cimarron drainage in the Arkansas system. It was the dominant species at two of our sites on the Cimarron in 1983 (C18 and C20), where it represented 32% and 35% of all fishes captured. We found it in Crooked Creek also (C19), where it was scarce (7 specimens, 1.3% of total sample). The Red River shiner is the sister species and ecological equivalent of the Arkansas River shiner (h. girardi). Probably its establishment in the Cimarron contributed importantly to the precipitous decline of N. girardi in the Cimarron, but does not explain the comparable decline of that species in the Arkansas River, the Ninnescah, and elsewhere.

12. Fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas Collection sites, 1983: all except C13,16,19. Collection sites, 1979-80: all except G2,3,4,7,10,12. The Fathead minnow occurs throughout the region, but its abundance exceeded 25% of the total catch at. only three sites: Arkansas River at Howell (87%), Arkansas at Cimarron (100%), and Bear Creek (73%). Those sites consisted of isolated pools, where only 7, 1, and 3 species were found, respectively. Apart from those localities, Fatheads comprised more than 10% of the catch at only 8 of the 36 locations where they were taken. Historical records exist throughout the region, indicating that the Fathead minnow has always been present, but generally scarce except in highly intermittent streams. This species is an indicator of low-diversity, unstable stream conditions; it is also very tolerant of organic pollution.

115 13. Bullhead minnow, Pimephales vigilax Collection sites, 1983: 07,8,9,10,12; 1128; WSU11,12. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. Bullhead minnows were taken in the Ninnescah, Chikaskia, and most sites in the Arkansas River from ''ichita nownstream. The species never comprised more than 1% of the total catch, except at Oxford where it made up 10% and 17% of the two WSU collections. This result agrees well with former distributional records apart from a 1959 record of the species at Lamed. The Bullhead minnow probably ranged farther west in the Arkansas mainstream under unmodified flow conditions than it does at present

15. Bliintnose Minnow Pimaphelea notLiis Collection sites, 1983: C12, Collection sites, 1979-80: Gi. The Bluntnose minnow was taken only in the Chikaskia, and in Bluff Creek below Clark County State Lake. It has formerly been found in the Arkansas River at Oxford, Wichita, Great Bend, and Ford, as well as the Ninnescah and Chikaskia drainages. Bluntnose minnows were never common in the western part of the Arkansas Basin, but may have been more widespread in the past than they are now.

16. Stoneroller, Campostoma anom?ium Collection sites, 1983: C4,5,7,12,15,16,I7,23,24,25; Wain. Collection sites, 1979-80: 01,2,3,4,7,11,12; E3,4,6,7,8. Stonerollers occur widely in the region, but their populations exceeded 10% of the total catch at only a few sites: Turkey Creek

116 (Pratt County), the Arkansas mainstream at Kinsley and Dundee, Mule Creek (Clark County), and perhaps Thompson Creek (Kiowa County) and Bluff Creek (Clark County) where total counts were not recorded. The StonProller was present af. polluted sites n the Arkansas channel (doweil and Dodge City, Fe,), as well a, in neadwater tributaeies with permanent flow. Stonerollers infiaLit areas having high primary productivity, and are relatively pollution-tolerant if the water remains clear and well oxygenated. In our earliest records from the Arkansas River (1950's and 1960's), Stonerollers occurred in most collections from Ford westward, but not farther downstream. The species now seems most common from Ford to Great Bend.

17. Black buffalo, Ictiobus niger Collection site, 1983: C8. Collection sites: 1979-80: none. One adult Black buffalo was taken in the Ninnescah River. Our only previous records are from the Arkansas River at Oxford, and from a farm pond in Reno County (1952).

18. Smallmouth buffalo, Ictiobus bubalus Collection site, 1983: WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: none Smallmouth buffalo were taken in the large WSU sample from the Arkansas mainstream near Oxford. We have former records from the Arkansas at Wichita and the Ninnescah in Sedgwick County.

19. River carpsucker, Carpiodes carpio Collection records, 1983: C5,6,7,8,9,10,13,19; M28; WSU11,12. Collection sites, 1979-80: E8. The River carpsucker is the most widespread Catostomid in the region. In the present series of collections, the westernmost locality from which it was recorded in the Arkansas mainstream was Dundee (Barton County), whereas old records exist from Edwards and Kearny counties. Carpsuckers comprised more than 3% of our total catch at one site, in the Medicine Lodge River, where 9% of the sample consisted of C. carpio.

117 20. Quillback, Carpiodes cyprinus Collection sites, 1983: C6. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. The Quillback was rah-a at one ( fli,r two Ninnescah collection sites in 1983. Previous reords, the CL iest in 1958, are from the Ninnesc-h, ChiKaski Aransas River at Oxford.

21. Golden redhorse, Moxostoma arythrurum Collection sites, 1983: C17. Collection sites, 1979-80: E8. Golden redhorse were taken in Thompson Creek, Kiowa County, and (by Clarke) in the Arkansas at Dundee. In 1975 and 1976, personnel of the Kansas Fish and Game Commission reported this species from Dundee and Ford on the Arkansas. Previously, we had records of Golden redhorse in this region only flom the Chikaskia drainage, where it is common, and from the Arkansas at Wichita, where it was recorded in the 1880's.

22. Shorthead redhorse, Noxostoma macrolepidotum Collection sites, 1983: C5,10. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. Shorthead redhorse occurred in the Arkansas River in Reno County and Sumner County in 19:3 , cVayr1sing less than 1% of our total catch at those sites. We also have a record of the species from the Arkansas River in Finney County (near Pierceville)--KU 16044, 2 specimens, obtained by Dr. T. L. Wouke of Fort Hays State University on 23 June 1974. Previously this species was known only from the Ninnescah and Chikaskia drainages within the region covered by this report. The recent increase in the incidence of capture of this redhorse and the Golden redhorse, cited above, in the Arkansas mainstream implies that water conditions are now more favorable for these fishes than in the past--probably because of reduced fluctuation in discharge and lower turbidity.

23. Black bullhead, Ictalurus melas Collection sites, 1983: C24,25. Collection sites, 1979-80: E3,4.

118 Black bullheads were taken only in the Arkansas River, at sites where flow commenced east of the dry segment of the channel: Howell and Dodge City in 1979, Kinsley and Dundee in 1983. The species comprised no more than 1% of fishes captured at any site. This is a pollution-tolerant, "pioneer" species, most characteristic of intermittent streams. Previous records exist throughout the region surveyed.

24. Yellow bullhead, Ictalurus natalis Collection sites, 1983: C10,13,15 Collection sites, 1979-80: G3. The localities of capture are all in the Medicine Lodge drainage except for one locality (C10) in the Arkansas River downstream from Wichita. Yellow bullheads comprised no more than 2% of any collection. All previous records of this species in the region were in the Ninnescah and Chikaskia basins. Only Black bullheads had previously been reported from the Medicine Lodge drainage and the Arkansas mainstream. I. melas and I. natalis were found at a total of eight sites--four each, none jointly--in these surveys. They were abundant nowhere.

25. Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus Collection sites, 1983: C4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13,14,15,17,18; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: G6; E6,7,8. Channel catfish were consistently present but not abundant (2% or less of total fish) from Ford downstream in the Arkansas River--throughout the reach having continuous flow. They were not found west of Ford in the three years of these collections (1979, 1980, 1983). Channel catfish formerly occurred throughout the Arkansas mainstream westward into Colorado. We have records of them in Kearny County as recently as 1972, and assume they still inhabit the western part of the river when flow exists. Channel catfish were taken in most streams south of the Arkansas, westward to Meade County. This species now seems more common than either of the bullheads.

119 26. Mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis Collection sites, 1983: C4-10,I3,17-21,23-25; 1128; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: G1-4, 6-8; E3-6. The mosquitofish no occurs in low to moderate abundance throughout the region, with important exceptions. it is extremely abundant at localities where flow originates in the Arkansas channel downstream from the dry reach of the river. Clarke's findings in 1980 and ours in 1983 are remarkably similar in that respect. In 1983, the first water we found east of Lakin was at Cimarron, Gray County, where only Fathead minnows were taken in the shallow, weed-choked pools. No surface water was located from that site downstream to Ford, where Gambusia comprised 74% of all fish captured. At sites successively farther downstream (Kinsley and Dundee), the numbers of mosquitofish declined to 10% and 9% of our collections; these percentages still exceeded the percentage represented by Gambusia at all other sites sampled. In 1980, Clarke found the uppermost pools in the channel to be at Howell in Ford County. There, Fathead minnows comprised 87% of his collection, but Gambusia comprised 91% and 85% of the fishes Clarke captured slightly farther downstream at Dodge City and Fort Dodge, then declined to 1% at Kinsley. In 1979, Gorman and Wiseman took mosquitofish in lower abundance at Ford, Bear Creek (an isolated pool), and one site on Elm Creek, in percentages ranging from 17-28% of total catch. Elsewhere, Gambusia never represented more than 8% of the fish population, usually much less. Mosquitofish and Plains killifish were complementary in abundance. At sites where either one represented more than 25% of the population, the other was absent or rare. They were found in approximately equal numbers only where both were scarce relative to other species. Gambusia is an excellent indicator species, attaining great abundance only in waters rich in organic matter, subject to oxygen stress, and therefore having low faunal diversity. Those conditions in the reach from Dodge City to Kinsley in 1980 and 1983 evidently resulted from the fact that water there emanates mainly from sewage treatment plants. The Mosquitofish is not native to this part of the Arkansas Basin. It was not found by Hubbs and Schultz in their collections from the

120 Arkansas River and Coon Creek at Kinsley, or from Rattlesnake Creek in Stafford County. Neither was it recorded by Jewell or Jobes in the Arkansas River near the mouth of the Ninnescah in 1925 and 1926. f!:videntl'i the species was first introduced as a forage fish into ponds at the State fish hatchery on the Ninnescah east of Pratt, probably in the 1930's. Dolf Jennings captured mosquitofish in the lower Ninnescah in 1942, and Jewell reported mosquitofish there in 1944-46. The species spread rapidly across the southern part of the State, becoming established in most areas where it is now known in the Arkansas Basin by the 1950's.

27. Brook silversides, Labidesthes sicculus Collection sites, 1983: WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. Eight specimens of the brook silversides were taken in the Wichita State collection near Oxford on 6 November 1983. This species was reported from the Arkansas at Wichita by Jordan (1891). It has since been recorded from the Chikaskia and Ninnescah drainages, including Cheney Reservoir. Probably Labidesthes has always been rare, and remains rare, in the area surveyed.

28. White bass, Morone chrysops Collection sites, 1983: C7,9; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: none. White bass, introduced into Cheney Reservoir and subject to escape from hatchery facilities near Pratt over a longer period, were captured in the Ninnescah and near Oxford on the Arkansas River in 1983. They represented 1% or less of the total sample at each site.

29. Largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides Collection sites, 1983: C7,24,25; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: G1,7,9; E8. Largemouth bass occurred in low numbers in the Arkansas River at Kinsley and Dundee, the Ninnescah, Bluff Creek below Clark County State Lake, Big Sandy Creek near its confluence with the Cimarron in Clark County, and Elm Creek in Barber County. Previously, largemouth bass had

121 been recorded in the Arkansas River at Lamed in 1959, and in most streams south of the Arkansas from Bluff Creek eastward. The species has long been propagated in hatcheries near Pratt and Meade, and stocked id impou,dmens _,I -ohghout the region. Micropterus was not list, d among fishes found at Garden City and at several localities in Barber County by Cragin (1885) or Gilbert (1885, 1886), by Jordan at Wichita (1891), or by Hubbs and Schultz in the Arkansas and Coon Creek at Kinsley, or Rattlesnake Creek near St. John, in 1926.

30. Green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus Collection sites, 1983: C6,7,10,12,13,14,18,23,24,25; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: G4,8; E4,5,6. Green sunfish occur throughout the region, now as in the past. They were found most frequently in small tributaries and other "headwater" situations, such as the isolated pools in Bear Creek, Clark County (Gorman's 1979 survey), and at Dodge City and Fort Dodge in Clarke's 1980 series of collections from the Arkansas mainstream. Their presence in Clarke's Kinsley collection and our samples from Ford, Kinsley, and Dundee is consistent with this habitat preference. The relative abundance was greatest in Bear Creek (9%) and at one of our NinnesLah sites (4%); elsewhere green sunfish comprised 2% or less of fishes captured in the 1979-83 collections.

31. Orangespotted sunfish, Lepomis humilis Collection sites, 1983: C8,24; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: E8. Orangespotted sunfish were found less often than green sunfish in these collections, but are indigenous throughout the region. L. humi/is has been taken in the Arkansas River in Hamilton, Kearny, and Finney counties as recently as 1972-73, and in the Cimarron, Seward County, since 1965. The species seems most common in the Ninnescah and Chikaskia drainages.

32. Longear sunfish, Lepomis megalotis Collection sites, 1983: C12,17. Collection sites, 1979-80: G7.

122 The Longear sunfish was taken in the Chikaskia River and in Bluff Creek, Clark County--localities fully consistent with former records of its distribution in the region. The species is most characteristic of clear streams with limestone riffle and pool habitats. Longear sunfish probably are native to the Chikaskia drainage, but populations farther west may result from introductions into impoundments such as Clark County State Lake. Ponds and other small impoundments may also facilitate dispersal of Longear sunfish through streams of the area, by modifying rates of runoff and turbidities in streams. Longear sunfish inhabit Thompson Creek, Kiowa County, either as an isolated relic population or as an introduction (as in the case of the Redbelly dace).

33. Bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus Collection sites, 1983: C13,WSUl1. Collection sites, 1979-80: G7. Bluegill were captured at Oxford in the Arkansas River, in Bluff Creek below Clark County State Lake, and at Medicine Lodge where this species comprised 13% of the total sample in 1983. This species probably is not native to the region, although it was recorded as early as 1926 (by Hubbs and Schultz in the Arkansas River near Kinsley), and as far west as Morton County (in ponds along the Cimarron River) in 1964. Dyche (1914) reported bluegills in farm ponds at least as far west as Meade County prior to 1910. No 19th century records exist from streams west of the Verdigris drainage.

34. White crappie, Pomoxis annularis Collection sites, 1983: C8; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: G7. We have no records of white crappie from the Arkansas River west of Wichita, but the species has been captured sporadically in many streams south of the Arkansas. Gilbert (1886) reported white crappie from a branch of the Medicine River (Barber county), and KU collections include specimens seined in Meade County in 1941. Thus P. annularis may have occurred naturally throughout the region. Most records other than those from the Chikaskia are from impoundments or from streams having impoundments, however, and introductions of some centrarchids are known

123 to have occurred prior to 1886. Crappie remain scarce in streams of this area.

35. Slenderhead thrter, Percina phoxocephala Collection site, 1983: C7. Collection site, 1979-80: none. Slenderhead darters occurred in one of our two collections from the Ninnescah River. That drainage and the Chikaskia are the only streams west of the Arkansas mainstream in which P. phoxocephala is known in Kansas. No change in its status is apparent.

36. Orangethroat darter, Etheostoma spectabile Collection sites, 1983: C12,16,17. Collection sites, 1979-80: G4. Orangethroat darters were found in the Chikaskia River and in headwater tributaries of the Medicine Lodge and Salt Fork drainages (Thompson Creek, Turkey Creek, Mule Creek). These were the only sites sampled that had habitats suitable to orangethroat darters--shallow, open riffles with relatively coarse substrate (small gravel as well as sand) free of filamentous algae and bacterial films. Many locality records for E. spectabile have accumulated in the Chikaskia and Ninnescah basins since 1950, but few records exist west of those streams, and none are farther west than the Medicine Lodge River. Therefore the record by Cragin (1885) and Gilbert (1886) of orangethroat darters in a brook on the Arkansas flood plain at Garden City holds special interest. Formerly, this species must have occurred more generally in the western Arkansas Basin in Kansas. Populations still exist in Colorado. Its extirpation from most western tributaries may have followed quickly on settlement and cultivation of the area. We find little evidence of change in its distributional status within the last 30 years, however.

37. Freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens Collection sites, 1983: C8,9,13; WSUll. Collection sites, 1979-80: none.

124 We found a few drum in the Ninnescah, the lower Arkansas mainstream, and at one locality in the Medicine Lodge River. Drum were known previously from the Arkansas River at least as far upstream as Lamed (C-271, 1959). They have been taken also from the Chikaskia drainage and from impoundments as far west as Clark County. Drum probably do not occur so far upstream in the Arkansas River as they did before its flow was diverted, but the status of the species has not changed notably south of the Arkansas mainstream.

125 SUMMARY

Most streams in southwestern Kansas have aggraded channels situated on deep, stream-deposited sands and gravels accumulated since Oligocene time. The river beds were unstable, their sands btloyant and shifting due to the high waterbearing capacity of the substrate and the widely fluctuating discharge. Flow was braided during low stages by relatively barren bars, although some persistent islands maintained stands of cottonwoods. Riparian forest was poorly developed or absent.

Tomelleri (1984) compiled historical information on channel form, flow characteristics, and riparian vegetation along the Arkansas River from the Colorado line to Ford County. Prior to settlement of the valley in the last quarter of the 19th century, the channel was relatively straight, approximately 400 meters wide, and extremely shallow. Melting snows in the Colorado headwaters accounted for most high flows, which usually exceeded 10,000 cfs as they passed through western Kansas in May and June. Due to the erosible riverbanks, peak flows expanded the channel width and the river rarely overflowed its banks. The Arkansas was a "losing" stream across the plains of eastern Colorado and western Kansas during high flows, when much of its volume infiltrated the sandy alluvium comprising the river valley. At subsequent low-flow stages, the Arkansas became a "gaining" stream along much of its length, as groundwater reentered the channel from the adjacent valley soils.

In various years prior to 1910, peak annual rates of discharge recorded at U.S.G.S. gaging stations on the Arkansas River varied from 9600 to 87,000 cfs at Syracuse, 11,500 to 19,600 at Dodge City, and 2400 to 39,000 cfs at Wichita. Great fluctuation in flow is apparent in records prior to 1942 at the Syracuse station, where discharge rates greater than 2000 cfs and less than 10 cfs were about equally frequent in the same months (May through August). The rapidly fluctuating flows were accompanied by continuous erosion and deposition in the streambed, high turbidity, and high concentrations of dissolved solids (or salinity) due to summer evaporation from the shallow, sundrenched, windswept channel. Similar conditions characterized most rivers of the Plains.

The volume and periodicity of flows have been altered drastically in the century since settlement of the region, most severely in the Arkansas River west of Great Bend during the last 20 years. At Dodge City, discharge rates exceeded with 10% frequency were 330 cfs in 1945-65, 240 cfs in 1966-76, and 1.3 cfs in subsequent years. At present the Arkansas is usually dry for more than 100 miles downstream from Lakin, due to discharge control at John Martin Reservoir and

127 diversion of the entire volume released for irrigation usage. The Cimarron and its tributaries have suffered serious, though less extreme, reduction in flow. Flows in the Medicine Lodge River fluctuate less than in the past, and flows of the lower Ninnescah are partially controlled by Cheney Reservoir.

Seventy kinds of fishes have been reported from the Arkansas River, the Cimarron River, and their tributaries in southwestern Kansas. Twelve of these are introduced (Northern pike, Carp, Goldfish, Red River shiner, Mosquitofish, Striped bass, Smallmouth bass, Redear sunfish, Rock bass, Black crappie, Walleye, Yellow perch), and four others may owe their presence to introductions (Quillback, White bass, Warmouth, Bluegill). The remaining 54 species probably are native; approximately 36 of these were recorded before 1891, in literature that is discussed below. The 18 species not reported in the earliest collections from the region include two fishes that were not recognized taxonomically at the time (Arkansas River shiner and Spotted bass), 15 species that occur mainly in the easternmost part of the basin, some only rarely (Paddlefish, American eel, Goldeye, Skipjack herring, Golden shiner, River shiner, Slim minnow, Black buffalo, Shorthead redhorse, Yellow bullhead, Freckled madtom, Flathead catfish, Blackstripe topminnow, Slenderhead darter, and Freshwater drum), and one species, the White sucker, that enters this part of the Arkansas basin only through dispersal downstream from Colorado. Three fishes -- the Plains minnow, Hybognathus placitus, the Arkansas darter, Etheostoma cragini, and the Speckled chub, Hybopsis aestivalis tetranemus -- were described from streams in southwestern Kansas. None of the three has been found recently at localities where their type specimens were taken. 1

Nineteen kinds of fishes had been reported by 1886 from various sites in the western part of the basin -- the Arkansas River near Dodge City, Garden City, and Ford, and/or the Cimarron and Medicine Lodge drainages (Girard, 1856, 1858; Cragin, 1885; Gilbert, 1885, 1886). That fauna consisted of 11 minnows, one catfish, one killifish, four sunfishes, and two darters. Ecologically some of those species occur mainly in small spring-fed streams: Redbelly dace, Suckermouth minnow, Topeka shiner, Stoneroller minnow, Arkansas darter, and Orangethroat darter. Others inhabit the open, sandy channels of higher-order streams: Flathead chub, Speckled chub, Emerald shiner, Sand shiner, Plains minnow, and Plains killifish. (Belonging to this group also is the Arkansas River shiner, not recognized by collectors before its description in 1929.) The remaining species are pool-inhabitants that are not restricted by stream size, although

128 many of them are characteristic of intermittent streams: Red shiner, Fathead minnow, Black bullhead, Green sunfish, Orangespotted sunfish, White crappie, and Largemouth bass. The last two species were being stocked prior to 1885, and may not have been part of the natural fauna of the southwesternmost streams, though they inhabited the basin farther east.

Geographically, three of these fishes (Arkansas River speckled chub, Arkansas River shiner, and Arkansas darter) are endemic to the Arkansas basin, chiefly its western tributaries. Four other species are confined TO PRAIRIE streams west of the Mississippi (Flathead chub, Topeka shiner, Plains minnow, and Plains killifish). The remaining 14 species range widely through forested regions east of the Mississippi as well as the western plains.

Jordan (1891) reported 26 species from a collection "made for us at Witchita (sic) by Mr. Sherman Davis"; the fishes were listed by Jordan under a single locality -- "Arkansas River at Wichita" -- but it seems likely that some were taken from tributaries rather than the mainstream. The species involved are: Black bullhead, Channel catfish, Smallmouth buffalo, River carpsucker, Golden redhorse (or possibly instead the Shorthead redhorse), Stoneroller, Plains minnow, Fathead minnow, Bluntnose minnow, Bullhead minnow, Sand shiner, Blacknose shiner, Bluntface shiner, Red shiner, Redfin shiner, Topeka shiner, Suckermouth minnow, Silver chub, Speckled chub, Gizzard shad, Brook silverside, Orangespotted sunfish, Green sunfish, Longear sunfish, Logperch, and Orangethroat darter. All but the Blacknose shiner (Notropis heterolepis) and the Topeka shiner have been found in later collections from streams near Wichita, and most still occur there. Jordan's account indicated the relative abundance of some species; those reported to be common, numerous, abundant, or very abundant were River carpsucker, Plains minnow, Sand shiner, Black- nose shiner, Bluntface shiner, Silver chub, Brook silverside, and Orange- spotted sunfish.

Previous to Jordan's report, a few fishes had been reported in nonspecific terms from the lower Arkansas River: buffalo, catfish, sturgeons (presumably Shovelnose sturgeon) and gars (presumably Longnose gar or shortnose gar or both) (Handel, 1932, based on fishes captured by seining on 2 July 1857).

Since those 19th-century records were published, habitat conditions and the regional fish fauna have changed considerably. Habitat alterations that seem most important are: Reduced stream flows, to zero discharge for extended periods in long reaches

129 of the Arkansas and Cimarron rivers; Modified flow regimes, involving reduced fluctuation and altered seasonal patterns of flow -- changes apparent in the lower Arkansas mainstream and in tributaries south of the Arkansas River; Altered sources of water in the lower Arkansas and Cimarron rivers, due to failure of surface flows formerly delivered by the western parts of their basins; and Altered proportions of lotic to lentic habitats, due to impoundments constructed throughout the region and to prolonged intermittency in some streams (reducing them to isolated pools along the channels). Factors that brought about these habitat changes include: Cultivation, coupled with other land-management practices that affect the quantity and quality of runoff; Diversion of surface water and removal of groundwater for irrigation -- surely the most important factor decimating stream flow; Impoundments, which modify rates of discharge in streams, reduce their turbidity, and increase plankton density; and Urban influences on water quality and flow regimes, stemming from the greatly increased proportion of stream flow that passes through municipal water systems along the stream courses. Additionally, the fish fauna has been affected by introductions of species not native to the region.

The first impact of these changes on native fishes was extirpation or reduction in range of species characteristic of small spring-fed streams and marshes. The Blacknose shiner and Topeka shiner have been extirpated, probably early in this century, certainly before 1950. The Blacknose shiner was listed as abundant at Wichita by Jordan (1891), and was reported by others in the Smoky Hill drainage, but has not been found anywhere in Kansas since 1900. The Topeka shiner was recorded before 1900 from the Salt Fork and Medicine Lodge drainages and the Arkansas at Wichita (by Jordan; more likely from a nearby tributary, perhaps the Walnut River, where it was also known then). In the Arkansas basin the Topeka shiner persists only in tributaries of the Cottonwood River (Neosho basin). The Arkansas darter, Orangethroat darter, and Redbelly dace have not been found in the Arkansas River floodplain since they were reported by Cragin and Gilbert at Garden City, the type locality of the Arkansas darter. Arkansas darters and Orangethroat darters persist in several tributaries south of the Arkansas river.

130 Redbelly dace have been found recently in headwaters of a few streams in Kiowa and Pratt counties, either as relict populations or as recent introductions.

The usual habitats of these species have several similarities. The Blacknose shiner inhabits "quiet clear, weedy bays and quiet streams, ...primarily shallow water with sand or gravel bottom" (Scott and Crossman, 1973). The Arkansas darter prefers low-gradient streams with seepage pools, emergent vegetation, and sluggish flow over sand or fine gravel. The Redbelly dace is found in cool, clear pools sustained by seepage, often where detritus or organic sediment accumulates. The Topeka shiner inhabits sunlit pools of small, spring-fed prairie streams. The Orangethroat darter inhabits gentle riffles over fine gravel substrate, but also occupies shallow pools. Of these species, the Blacknose shiner seems most habitat-sensitive, the Orangethroat darter least sensitive, from an ecological perspective on their distributional histories.

If one accepts the 19th-century records at Garden City and Wichita as evidence that all these species did occur along the Arkansas River valley, their habitats probably consisted of persistent weedy pools sustained by the water table in low swales, and joined to the river by shallow sandy runs. Tomelleri (1984) cites evidence from other sources for such habitat, referring (p. 64) to wet meadows and sloughs along the valley. His conclusion (attributed to McLaughlin, 1943) that "the Arkansas originally had a gaining base flow from the alluvial aquifer for most of the year..." (excepting high flow stages) identifies the mechanism that would sustain these habitats, exemplified by the "brook" at Garden City where Cragin collected fishes in 1884. The extent of such habitat is unknown, but it must have disappeared rapidly as the bottomlands were converted to agri- cultural use. This habitat and its fish community would have been sharply distinct from those in the turbid, sand-filled river channels.

The second major impact on the native fish fauna of the region was the decline or disappearance of several species characteristic of shallow, sandy river channels. These impacts have become obvious only in the past 10 to 20 years. Fishes affected adversely are the Flathead chub, Speckled chub, Arkansas River shiner, Emerald shiner, River shiner, Plains minnow, and Plains killifish. The Flathead chub was abundant in the Arkansas at Garden City in 1885, and occurred as far downstream as Ford. The last known capture of that species was in 1977, in Hamilton and Kearny counties. Flathead chubs also occurred in the Cimarron River, downstream as far as Seward County, but have not been found there since 1968. The Speckled chub inhabited the Arkansas River from Holcomb downstream to the Oklahoma line

131 in 1952, but was absent from later collections (1958 to date) west of Great Bend; it was last reported from the lower mainstream near Derby (Sedgwick County) in 1975. Speckled chubs originally inhabited most sandy streams south of the Arkan- sas, west to the Medicine Lodge (the type locality) and Salt Fork, but were not found at any of the sites seined in 1979-83. The Arkansas River shiner occurred at three widely-separated sites in the Arkansas River, seined in 1952, in declining numbers from Holcomb to Great Bend to Wichita. It had been taken previously at Kinsley, and must originally have inhabited the full length of the Arkansas mainstream in Kansas. It disappeared thereafter at sites west of Wichita, but remained (or became) abundant in the Arkansas downstream from Wichita from 1955 through 1967, then disappeared from the lower mainstream as well. South of the Arkansas River, the Arkansas River shiner was present, often abundantly, in the Cimarron, Salt Fork, Medicine Lodge, and Ninnescah basins in the 1950's and '60's. It was found in the present series of collections (1979-83) only at two sites on the Cimarron (Meade and Clark counties), where its populations were greatly reduced. The Emerald shiner has been reported in the Arkansas channel westward to Finney County, but has been captured only downstream from Wichita in recent years. Emerald shiners still occur in the Salt Fork, Medicine Lodge, and Ninnescah drainages, all streams from which they were previously known. The Plains minnow, formerly known throughout the Arkansas River, was found only downstream from Wichita in 1983, where it was scarce. It was found in Kearny County as recently as 1972, but its decline probably began much earlier, based on collection records during the 1960's. The Plains minnow certainly has been extirpated from its type locality, near old Fort Atkinson in western Ford County. South of the Arkansas River, this species survives, at a fraction of its former abundance, in most streams where it originally occurred. The River shiner, known only from the lower part of the basin, has not been recorded since 1967. The Plains killifish persists at most sites where flow occurs in the Arkansas channel, but in diminishing numbers; only in the seasonally regulated discharge from John Martin Reservoir, west of Lakin, is it found in numbers approaching those formerly recorded along the Arkansas mainstream (in 1885, 1926, 1950's). Plains killifish remain abundant in many streams south of the Arkansas River, from Meade County eastward.

The Arkansas darter disappeared long ago from its type locality in the river valley at Garden City. Only single, vagrant specimens found at Oxford in 1955 and 1978 (Matthews &McDaniel, 1980 have since been taken from the Arkansas

132 mainstream. This "headwater" species persists at many localities south of the Arkansas, from the Cimarron drainage eastward to the Ninnescah, and in Rattlesnake Creek (Stafford County). Significantly, the Arkansas darter now inhabits the Cimarron mainstream in parts of Seward, Meade, and Clarke counties and adjacent localities in Oklahoma. This species had not been recorded in the Cimarron prior to 1980. That distributional change is as indicative of altered flow conditions as is the depletion of most riverine fishes in the Cimarron fauna.

Altered flows in the larger rivers have not affected all native fishes in the same way. Red shiners have increased, probably as the result of reduced fluctuation and turbidity, increased lentic habitat, increased particulate organic matter including plankton originating in impoundments, and reduced competition from native species that declined. Sand shiners remain abundant wherever shallow flow persists and the substrate remains sandy. Fathead minnows and Stonerollers are locally abundant -- more so than in the past -- at sites where surface water first appears, as pools rich in organic matter, in otherwise dry riverbeds. Introduced species, especially the Mosquitofish, are now widespread, and abundant in the same "headwater" habitat as the Fathead minnow. The known ranges of several sunfishes -- together with Gizzard shad, Redhorse and other suckers, Freshwater drum, and other fishes characteristic of moderately large streams -- have expanded westward, probably as the result of higher minimum flows and reduced turbidity in the eastern part of the basin, coupled with introductions into impoundments throughout the watershed.

The riverine species that have declined most precipitiously are those whose native ranges were confined to prairie streams. Species that have sustained or increased their abundance all range eastward into trans-Mississippi, forested watersheds. The composite effects of habitat alteration in streams of this region have "caught in a crunch" those species best adapted to highly unstable Plains rivers. The climatic and edaphic conditions which caused highly variable flows, unstable streambeds, high turbidity and salinity, and rapidly fluctuating stream temperatures were negated by "dewatering" of the western part of the basin. Obviously the true prairie species and other fishes disappeared where stream channels dried. Where flow resumes in the eastern part of the basin, the "Plains river" habitats are no longer attenuated downstream, due to loss of the western drainage, coupled with extensive impoundment of the eastern streams. The more stable aquatic habitats that result allow westward encroachment of various

133 "eastern" fishes, at the expense of species that evolved structural, physiological, and behavioral traits specifically adaptive to the harshly demanding environment of Plains rivers.

The Freservation of some species of primary concern in this study will be difficult. If, for example, the survival of the Arkansas River shiner and the Speckled chub require an annual succession of extreme high- and low-flows, their needs directly oppose the usual human objectives in water management. All of the indigenous prairie fishes still exist, however, so opportunities remain for their conservation. Localities where they are known to occur in Kansas have been identified.

It seems significant that the areas which retain the best representation of the original Plains fishfauna include two large ranching operations: the Anchor D (Robbins) Ranch in Kiowa Co. and the XIT (Adams) Ranch in southwestern Meade County. Stable, conservative land use as well as fortuitous location with respect to aquifers account for the retention of habitats favorable to native fishes in streams at those sites. We commend the owners of those properties for their management of the land in ways that are biologically sound as well as economically successful.

134 Literature Cited

Al-Rawi, A. H., and F. B. Cross. 1964. Variation in the Plains minnow,

Hybognathus placitus Girard. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 67: 154-168.

Bandel, E. 1932. Frontier life in the army, 1854-1861 (edited by

R. P. Bieber). Southwest Historical Series, 2: 1-330. Arthur H. Clark

Co., Glendale, Calif.

Clarke, R. F. 1980. Herptiles and fishes of the western Arkansas River

in Kansas. Unpubl. report to U.S. Corps Engrs., Albuquerque district.

25 pp., 2 tables, 20 figs.

Cragin, F. W. 1885. Preliminary list of Kansas fishes. Bull. Washburn

Lab. Nat. Hist., 1: 105-111.

Cross, F. B. 1967. Handbook of fishes of Kansas. Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat.

Hist., Misc. Publ. 45: 1-357.

Cross, F. B., 0. T. Gorman, and S. G. Haslouer. 1983. The Red River shiner,

Notropis bairdi, in Kansas with notes on depletion of its Arkansas

River cognate, Notropis girardi. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 86: 93-98.

Dyche, L. L. 1914. Ponds, pond fish, and pond fish culture. State

Dept. Fish and Game, Kansas. Bull. 1, viii + 208 pp.

Gilbert, C. H. 1885. Second series of notes on the fishes of Kansas.

Bull. Washburn Lab. Nat. Hist., 1: 97-99.

Gilbert, C. H. 1886. Third series of notes on Kansas fishes. Bull.

Washburn Lab. Nat. Hist., 1: 207-211.

Gilbert, C. R. 1978. Type catalogue of the North American cyprinid fish

genus Notropis. Bull. Florida State Museum, 23: 1-104.

Girard, C. 1856. Researches upon the cyprinoid fishes inhabiting the fresh

waters of the United States, west of the Mississippi Valley. Proc.

Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 8: 165-213.

Girard, C. 1858. Fishes (in general report on zoology). U. S. Pacific 135 Railroad Surveys, 10(4): 1-400.

Gregg, K. L. 1952. The Road to Santa Fe. (The journal and diaries of George

Champlin Sibley and others pertaining to the surveying and marking of

a road from the Missouri frontier to the settlements of New Mexico,

1825-1827). Univ. New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. viii + 280 pp.

Hubbs, C. L., and A. I. Ortenburger. 1929. Fishes collected in Oklahoma

and Arkansas in 1927. Publ. Univ. Oklahoma Biol. Survey, 1: 45-112.

Jordan, D. S. 1891. Report of explorations in Colorado and Utah during

the summer of 1889, with an account of the fishes found in each of

the river basins examined. Bull. U.S. Fish. Comm., 9: 1-40.

Jordan, D. S., and S. E. Meek. 1884. Description of four new species of

Cyprinidae in the United States National Museum. Proc. U.S. Natl.

Mus., 7: 474-477.

Kansas Fish and Game Commission, Pratt. Upper Arkansas River Basin Kansas

Stream Survey. vi + 38 pp., May 1977.

. Lower Arkansas River Basin Kansas Stream Survey.

128 pp., May 1978.

. Cimarron River Basin Kansas Stream Survey.

vi + 22 pp., May 1979.

Kilgore, D. L., and J. D. Rising. 1965. Fishes from southwestern Kansas.

Trans. Kansas Acad. Sc., 68: 137-144.

Matthews, W. J., and R. McDaniel. 1981. New locality records for some Kansas fishes, with notes on the habitat of the Arkansas darter (Etheostoma cragini). Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 84: 219-222. Miller, R. J., and H. W. Robison. 1973. The fishes of Oklahoma. Oklahoma State Univ. Press, Stillwater. xii + 246 pp. Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fish. Research Board of Canada, Bull. 184, xi + 966 pp. Tomelleri, J. R. 1984. Dynamics of the woody vegetation along the Arkansas River in western Kansas, 1870-1983. Unpublished Master of Science thesis, Fort Hays State Univ., Hays, Kansas.

137 APPENDIX - FIELD NOTES

Kansas: Rice Co.: Arkansas River 3 Miles W., 0.5 mile S. of Sterling Sec. 25, T21S, R9W 15 July 1983 1:45-2:50 p.m. Air Temp.= 30.0C. Water Temp.= 24.4 C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin (FBC-4-83) 9.14 and 4.57 m seines.

N % Common Carp Cyprinus carpio -4- -60.5 Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis 17 02.0 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 143 16.7 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 400 46.6 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 90 10.5 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 10 01.2

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 1 00.1

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 182 21.2

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 11 01.3

Total= 858

Clear water over sand-gravel. Moderate to fast current, no cover. Width from 15.2 to 22.9 m. Depth 0 to .38m.

Area sampled (6.86m x 32.3, 38.4, 41.8) + (3.43 x 29.9, 18.6, 26.5) = 1029 ml.

139 Kansas: Reno Co.: Arkansas River S. of Nickerson Sec. 16,T22S, R7W. 16 July 1983 3:40-5:00p.m. Air Temp.= 31.7°, Water Temp.= 26.1°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin (FBC-5-83) 9.14 and 4.57 m seines.

Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum -60.7

Common Carp Cyprinus carpio 7 01.3 Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis 3 00.6 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 179 32.2 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 171 31.7 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 51 09.5 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 1 00.2

River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio 8 01.5 Shorthead Redhorse Moxostoma macrolepidotum 2 00.4

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 4 00.7

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 68 12.6

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 41 07.6 Total= 539

Clear water over sand-gravel. No cover.

Area sapled (6.86 m x 30.8, 59.4, 42.4) + (3.43m x 24.7, 15.2, 13.4) = 1092m .

140 Kansas: Sedgwick Co.: Arkansas River Sec. 31, T25S, R1W o o 16 July 1983 7:00-8:00 p.m. Air Temp.= 28.9 C, Water Temp.= 27.8 C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin. (FBC-6-83) 9.14 and 4.57m seines.

Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 2.86 81.2 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 45 12.8 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 2 00.6

Quillback Carpiodes cyprinus 2 00.6 River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio 5 01.4

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 1 00.3

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 7 02.0

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 1 00.3

Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 3 00.9 Total= 352

Clear water over sand. No cover. Moderate current. Width approximately 30.5m. Depth mostly less than .46m.

Area apled (6.86 x 49.7, 44.8, 36.3) + (3.43 x 17.7, 22.9) = 1037m .

141 Kansas: Kingman Co.: S. Fork Ninnescah River, 6 miles S. of U.S. Hwy 54 Sec. 36, T285, R5W. 17 July 1983 10:50 a.m.-12:00p.m. Air Temp.=28.9°C, Water Temp.= 25.6°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin (FBC- 7-83) 9.14 and 4.57m seines.

Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum Ti1.0

Common Carp Cyprinus carpio 5 00.9 Golden Shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas 1 00.2 Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis 1 00.2 Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides 56 09.7 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 365 63.1 Sand Shiner Notropis strawineus 30 05.2 Plains Minnow Hybognathus placitus 1 00.2 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 14 02.4 Bullhead Minnow Pimephales vigilax 3 00.5 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 7 01.2

River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio 5 00.9

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 1 00.2

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 19 03.3

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 31 05.4

White Bass Morone chrysops 4 00.7

Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides 3 00.5 Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 24 04.1

Slenderhead Darter Percina phoxocephala 1 00.2 Arkansas Darter Etheostoma cragini 1 00.2 Total= 578

Clear water over loose sand, rarely gravel. Little cover, but detritus in backwater areas. Current slow to moderate. Width 30.5m. Depth .15m.

Area sampled (6.86 x 50.0, 36.0) + (3.43 x 11.0, 16.8, 6.7, 20.4) = 778m. 1

142

KANSAS: SEDWICK CO.: NINNESCAH RIVER ON K-42 HWY. S.W. OF WICHITA SEC. 14 + 23, T29S, R3W 17 JULY 1983 1:00-2:00 P.M. AIR TEMP= , WATER TEMP= F.B. CROSS, J.T. COLLINS, R.E. MOSS, K.J. IRWIN (FBC-8-83) D.14 AND 4.57 SEINES.

LONGNOSE GAR LEPISOSTEUS OSSEUS -2- -61.2

GIZZARD SHAD DOROSOMA CEPEDIANUM 3 01.8

SUCKERMOUTH MINNOW PHENACOBIUS MIRABILIS 3 01.8 EMERALD SHINER NOTROPIS ATHERINOIDES 2 01.2 RED SHINER NOTROPIS LUTRENSIS 107 65.2 SAND SHINER NOTROPIS STRAMINEUS 12 07.3 FATHEAD MINNOW PIMEPHALES PROMELAS 14 08.5 BULLHEAD MINNOW PIMEPHALES VIGILAX 1 00.6

BLACK BUFFALO ICTIOBUS NIGER 1 00.6 RIVER CARPSUCKER CARPIODES CARPIO 4 02.4

CHANNNEL CATFISH ICTALURUS PUNCTATUS 4 02.4

PLAINS KILLIFISH FUNDULUS ZEBRINUS 5 03.5

MOSQUITOFISH GAMBUSIA AFFINIS 1 00.6

ORANGESPOTTED SUNFISH LEPOMIS HUMILIS 1 00.6 WHITE CRAPPIE POMOXIS ANNULARIS 1 00.6

FRESHWATER DRUM APLODINOTUS GRUNNIENS 3 01.8

TOTAL = 164

SAND SIIHSTVATE,RELATIVELY CLEAR WATER.

AREA SAMPLED (6.86 X 21.9, 37.5) + (3.43 X 19.2, 20.4, 16.8) 2 = 601M

143 Kansas: Sumner Co.: Arkansas River at Oxford Sec. 12, T32S, R2E o 17 July 1983 5:00p.m. Air Temp.= 32.9°C. Water Temp.= 28.3 C F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin (FBC-9-83) 9.14 and 4.57m seines.

Longnose Gar Lepisosteus osseus -2- 00.4

Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum 266 56.7

Common Carp Cyprinus carpio 1 00.2 Emerald Shiner Notropis Atherinoides 43 09.2 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 127 27.1 Plains Minnow Hybognathus placitus 4 00.8 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 4 00.8 Bullhead Minnow Pimephales vigilax 1 00.2

River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio 7 01.5

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 3 00.6

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 1 00.2

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 7 01.5

White Bass Morone chrysops 2 00.4

Freshwater Drum Aplodinotus grunniens 1 00.2 Total = 469

Murky water over sand substrates.

Hiodon and Ictalurus furcatus are caught here (stocked in Kaw Reservoir), personal communication-- Marty Capron.

Area sampled ( 6.86 x 20.4, 38.1, 50.3, 47.9) + (3.43 x 8.2, 11.3, 17.4) = 1202m2.

144 1 Kansas: Sumner Co.: Arkansas River at Thompson farm Sec. 11, T31S, R2E 18 July 1983 10:45 a.m.- 12:00p.m. Air Temp.= Water Temp.= F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin, D.A. Distler, (FBC-10-83) B. Williamson 9.14 and 4.57m seines.

Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum -60.8

Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis 5 01.0 Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides 99 20.1 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 142 28.9 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 127 25.8 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 70 14.2 Bullhead Minnow Pimephales vigilax 2 00.4

River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio 4 00.8 Shorthead redhorse Moxostoma macrolepidotum 1 00.2

Yellow Bullhead Ictalurus natalis 1 00.2 Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 7 01.4

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 1 00.2

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 22 04.5

Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 7 01.4 Total = 492

Murky water over sand plus aufwuchs.

1 Area sampled ( 6.86 x 32.3, 33.2) + (3.43 x 15.5, 28.7, 34.7, 9.1, 34.7, 24.7) = 955m2.

145 Kansas: Cowley Co.: Arkansas River W. of Hackney Sec. 16, T33,s_ R3E 18 July 1983 2:30 p.m. Air Temp.= 35.6°C. Water Temp.= 31.7°C. F.B. Cross, J.T.Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin, D.A. Distler, (FBC-11-83) B. Williamson, M.C. Thompson. 9.14 and 4.57m seines.

- Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum 3-39 57.8

Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides 10 01.7 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 219 37.3 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 12 02.0 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 3 00.5

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 4 00.7 Total = 587

Murky water over sand plus some silt. Area sampled ( 6.86 x 41.8) + (3.43 x 22.6, 26.5, 32.9, 13.1, 25.6) = 701m2.

146 Kansas: Sumner Co.: Chikaskia River at Haughton farm Sec. 36, T33S, R3W 18 July 1983 5:30-6:15 p.m. Air Temp.= 35°C. Water Temp.= 32.2°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin. (FBC-12-83) 1.83, 4.57, and 9.14m seines.

- Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis 01.7 Bluntface Shiner Notropis camurus 26 07.4 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 177 50.4 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 122 34.8 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 1 00.3 Bullhead Minnow Pimephales vigilax 2 00.6 Bluntnose Minnow Pimephales notatus 1 00.3 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 3+ 00.9

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 6 01.7

Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 1 00.3 Longear Sunfish Lepomis megalotis 1 00.3

Orangethroat Darter Etheostoma spectabile 5 01.4 Total = 351+

Clear water over sand and shale bedrock. Loose shale sides provide cover. Temp. on dry sand 45.60C. and on wet sand 35°C.

Area sampled ( 6.86 x 28.0) + (3.43 x 12.2) = 234m2.

147 Kansas: Barber Co.: Medicine River W. of Medicine Lodge Sec. 4, T32S, R12W 19 July 1983 9:30 a.m. Air Temp.= 28.9°C. Water Temp.= 25.°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E,, Moss, K.J. Irwin. (FBC-13-83) 1.83 and 4.57m seines.

Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides -64.3 Red Shiner Notropis lutrenSis 13 27.7 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 3 06.4

River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio 4 08.5

Yellow Bullhead Ictalurus natalis 1 02.1 Channel Catfish IdtalUrus pUndtatus 7 14.9

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 7 14.9

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 2 04.3

Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 1 02.1 Bluegill Sunfish Lepomis macrochirus 6 12.8

Freshwater Drum Aplodinotus grunniens 1 02.1 Total= 47

Clear water over sand. Detritus in channel. Depth less than .3 m.

Area sampled (3.43 x 21.0, 22.9, 13.1, 18.3) + (1.37 x 1.4, 1.4,9.8) = 276m2.

148 Kansas: Barber Co.: Medicine River Sec. 20 + 21, T33S, R11W 0 19 July 1983 10:10 a.m. Air Temp.= 28.9°C. Water Temp.= 30.0 C. F.B Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin. (FBC-14-83) 1.83, 4.57, and 9.14m seines.

N % Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides -3-4 1.3.9 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 126 51.6 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 63 25.8 Plains Minnow Hybognathus placitus 2 00.8 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 3 01.2

River Carpsucker Cyprinus carpio 1 00.4

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 1 00.4

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 13 05.3

Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 1 00.4 Total = 244

Clear water over sand. Detritus scarce. Depth mostly less than .3, but to .91m.

Area sampled (6.86 x 19.5, 29.3) + (3.43 x 18.9, 29.9, 35.4, 41.5) = 766m2.

149 Kansas: Barber Co.: Medicine River N.W. of Sun City Sec. 34 + 35,T30S, R15W ° 19 July 1983 6:20-7:30 p.m. Air Temp.= 36.7 C. Water Temp.= 32.8°C. F.B Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin. (FBC-15-83) 1.83 and 4.57 m seines.

Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides T06 14.1 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 185 24.7 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 102 13.6 Plains Minnow Hybognathus placitus 55 07.3 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 1 00.1 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 5 00.7

Yellow Bullhead Ictalurus natalis 13 01.7 Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 00.1

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 282 37.6 Total = 750

Murky water over sand. Cover was holes along channel edge. Hybognathus in such water, never in riffle areas.

Area sampled (3.43 x 21.6, 32.9, 32.9, 39.3, 6.1, 7.6, 38.7, 3.0) = 625m2.

150 Kansas: Comanche Co.: Mule Creek on Hwy. 160 Sec. 3 + 10, T32S, R16W 19 July 1983 6:05 p.m. Air Temp.= 31.1°C. Water Temp.= 27.8°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin, (FBC-16-83) K. Brunson, B. Todd. 1.83 and 4.57m seines.

Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides 2-4 16.7 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 18 12.5 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 24 16.7 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 19+ 13.2

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 56 38.9

Arkansas Darter Etheostoma cragini 2+ 01.4 Orangethroat Darter Etheostoma spectabile 1 00.7 Total = 144+

Clear water over sand. Watercress at edges. Moderate current (.6) m (sec). Channel width 7.6 m. Depth mostly .15 m. Several Campostoma and Etheostoma cragini in 1.83 m sets in watercress.

Area sampled (3.43 x 15.8, 22.3, 21.9, 15.8) + (1.37 x 3.0) = 264m2.

151 Kansas: Kiowa Co.: Thompson Creek Sec. 15, T29S, R17W 20 July 1983 9:00 a.m. Air Temp.= 28.3°C. Water Temp.= 18.3°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin, (FBC-17-83) K. Brunson, B. Todd. 1.83 m seine and Smith-Root backpack electrofisher.

Common Carp Cyprinus carpio Southern Redbelly Dace Phoxinus erythrogaster 14 Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides 4 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 3 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 11 Plains Minnow Hybognathus placitus 11 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 2 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 14

Golden Redhorse Moxostoma erythrurum 1

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 1

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 1

Longear Sunfish Lepomis megalotis 1

Arkansas Darter Etheostoma cragini 1+ Orangethroat Darter Etheostoma spectabile 6

Total = 73+

Clear water over sand and gravel. Current .15 to .46 m/sec. Channel width 3.05 m. Depth approximately .2 m.

No sampling area determined.

Sample selective. Valid only for species list.

152 II Kansas: Clark Co.: Cimarron R. on U.S. 183 S. of Sitka Sec. 20, T34S, R21W o 20 July 1983 1:00-1:35 p.m. Air Temp.= 35°C. Water Temp.= 32.2 C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin, (FBC-18-83) K. Brunson, B. Todd 1.83 and 4.57 m seines.

1 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 97 16.3 Red River Shiner Notropis bairdi 209 35.1 Arkansas River Shiner Notropis girardi 4 00.7 Plains Minnow Hybognathus placitus 58 09.7 1 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 64 10.8 River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio 4 00.7

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus 3 00.5

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 114 19.2

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 10 01.7 1 Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 2 00.3 Arkansas Darter Etheostoma cragini 2 00.3 Total= 595

Sand Substrate. Detritus and undersut banks for cover. Less than .15 misec. current. Discharge less than .03 m /sec. Depth mostly less than .10m and width from 1.8 to 6.1 m.

Area sampled ( 1.37m x 3.7, 8.5, 5.5, 11.9) = 41m2. 1

153 Kansas: Meade Co.: Crooked Creek on KS- 23 Sec. 14 + 15, T34S, R28W 20 July 1983 5:00 p.m. Air Temp.= 37.8°C. Water Temp.= 32.2°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin, (FBC-19-83) K. Brunson, B. Todd. 1.83 and 4.57 m seines.

Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 29 -65.5 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 87 16.5 Red River Shiner Notropis bairdi 7 01.3 Plains Minnow Hybognathus placitus 3 00.6

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 346 65.6

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 22 04.2

Arkansas Darter Etheostoma cragini 33 06.3 Total = 527

Sand substrate with grassy banks, little detritus. Current approximately .3 m/sec. Channel width 7.6 m and depth .15 m.

Area sampled (3.43 x 19.5, 16.8, 21.3,21.9, 24.7) + (1.37 x 1.83) = 360m2.

154 Kansas: Meade Co.: Cimarron R. on KS Hwy 23 Sec. 8, T35Š, R29W 0 21 July 198i 10:50 a.m. Air Temp.= 31.10C. Water Temp.= 26.1 C. F. B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R„E, Moss, K.J. Irwin, (FBC-20-83) K. Brunson, B. Todd, J. Lillie. 1.83 and 4.57 m seines.

- Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 67 15.0 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 60 13.4 Red River Shiner Notropis bairdi 143 31.9 Arkansas River Shiner Notropis girardi 38 08.5--(8.0) Plains Minnow Hybognathus placitus 102 22.8 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 1 00.2

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 30 06.7

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 2 00.4

Arkansas Darter Etheostoma cragini 2+ 00.4

Notropis bairdi x Notropis girardi 3 00.7 Total = 448+

Clear water over sand. Depth less than .08 m. Etheostoma cragini collected at 25.6°C.

Area sampled (3.43 x 39.3) + (1.37 x 3.0, 1.4) = 141m2.

155 Kansas: Seward Co.: Cimarron R. on U.S. 54 Sec. 25, T33S, R32W 21 July 1983 3:10-3:50 p.m. Air Temp.= 36.7°C. Water Temp.= 31.1°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin, (FBC-21-83) K. Brunson, B. Todd. 1.83 and 4.57 m seines.

N % Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 75-6 13.5 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 126 30.4 Plains Minnow Hybognathus placitus 11 02.7 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 118 28.5

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 62 15.0

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 16 03.9

Arkansas Darter Etheostoma cragini 25 06.0 Total = 414

Clear water over sand plus silt. Conductivity 500 micromhos. Much algae. Discharge less than .14 m3/sec. Width 4.6 m and depth .15 m. Algae was Hydrodictyon. Aquatic plants included water buttercup (Ranunculaceae), some watercress, rushes and cattails at water edges. Spring seeps were 26.1°C. and 20.6°C.

Area sampled (3.43 x 29.6) + (1.37 x 1.8, 10.7, 5.2, 9.1) = 138m2.

156 Kansas: Gray Co.: Arkansas River at Cimarron II Sec. 11, T26S, R28W ° 22 July 1983 4:10-4:30 p.m. Air Temp.= 36.7°C. Water Temp.= 28.9 C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin. (FBC-22-83) II 1.83 m seine.

N % 7 Too. II Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas Total = 7

Sand-silt substrate. Current nearly zero. Abundant algae and emergents. II Width 1.2 m and depth 0 to .46 m. Algae, weeds and herbaceous detritus so fill water where it is more than .1 m that seining is nearly impossible. Aquatic insects were super abundant-- indicative of few fishes. I No sampling area was determined.

II Kansas: Ford Co.: Arkansas River N. of Ford on U.S. 50 Sec. 32, T27S, R22W 22 July 1983 6:00 p.m. Air Temp.= Water Temp.= F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J.> Irwin. (FBC-23-83) 1.83 and 4.57 m seines.

N % Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 1.39 17.8 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 37 04.8 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 5 00.6 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 15 01.9

Black Bullhead Ictalurus melas 1 00.1

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 578+ 74.2

Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 4 00.5 Total = 779+

Clear but murky with much benthic algae. Current to .46 m/sec. on riffles and discharge .08 to .14 m3/sec. Width 1.2 m and depth .1.5 m with pools to .61 m.

Area sampled ( 3.43 x 7.0, 12.8, 14.9, 9.4, 12.5) = 194m2.

158 Kansas: Edwards Co.: Arkansas River S. of Kinsley Sec. 10, T24E, R19W 23 July 1983 8:40a.m. Air Temp.= 26.1°C. Water Temp.= 22.8°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin. (FBC-24-83) 4.57 m seine.

- Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum 2- '60.2

Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis 1 00.1 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 554 58.0 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 51 05.3 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 108 11.3 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 136 14.2

Black Bullhead Ictalurus melas 2 00.2

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 95 09.9

Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides 1 00.1 Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 2 00.2 Orangespotted Sunfish Lepomis humilis 4 00.4 Total = 956

Sand and gravel substrate. Clear water. No cover. Riffle current .46 m/sec. Width 7.6 m and depth mostly less than .3 m. Discharge .14 to .28 m3/sec. Substrate with epiphytic growth indicating high organic load. Some gravel- rock riffles and broad shallow flats. Silt blackened, but much less than at Ford. Flow 2x to 3x amount at Ford (FBC-23-83).

Area sampled (3.43 x 13.1, 24.4, 15.5, 28.3, 15.5) + (1.37 x 3, 3) = 340m2-

159 Kansas: Barton Co.: Arkansas River near Dundee Sec. 22, T20S,R14W 23 July 1983 10:45 a.m. Air Temp.= 33.3°C. Water Temp.= 26.7°C. F.B. Cross, J.T. Collins, R.E. Moss, K.J. Irwin. (FBC-25-83) 4.57 m seine.

Goldfish Carassius auratus 00.3 Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis 7 01.9 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 26 07.1 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 220 60.1 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 11 03.0 Central Stoneroller Campostoma anomalum 34 09.3

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 31 08.5

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 33 09.0

Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides 1 00.3 Green Sunfish Lepomis cyanellus 2 00.5 Total = 366

Clear water over clean sand with no cover. Current 0 to .46 m/sec. Width 3.0 m. and depth .1m. Discharge approximately .06 m/sec. Less water but much cleaner than at Kinsley (FBC-24-83). Clean loose sand and coarse sand, shallow riffles and pools with ribbon of flow through exposed sandy bed.

Area sampled (3.43 x 17.7, 18.9) + (1.37 x 1.4) = 127m2.

160 Kansas: Sedgwick Co.: Arkansas River in Wichita below 21st street dam Sec. 1 5 T27s , 13.114: 20 August 1983 2:15-3:20 p.m. Air Temp.= 32.8°C. Water Temp.= 27.2°C. R.E. Moss, D.A. Moss (REM-28-83) 4.57 m seine.

Suckermouth Minnow Phenacobius mirabilis 00.2 Red Shiner Notropis lutrensis 129 20.3 Sand Shiner Notropis stramineus 400 63.0 Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas 90 14.2 Bullhead Minnow Pimephales vigilax 4 00.6

River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio 6 00.9

Plains Killifish Fundulus zebrinus 1 00.2

Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis 4 00.6 Total = 635

Slightly turbid over sand and gravel. Some silt in reduced current. Approximately .15 to .46 m/sec. current. Braided flow around exposed gravel bars. Depth approximately .1 to .6 m.

Area srpled ( 3.43 x 26.2, 14.3, 11.0, 24.7) = 261m .

161