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Home , Arkansas River, Notropis

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Ecological Service Field Office

Arkansas River Shiner Notropis girardi

Description The (ARS) is a small, streamlined with a small, dorsally flattened head, rounded snout, and subterminal mouth. The ARS is silver in appearance with a dark blotch at the base of the dorsal (top) fin. Adults attain a maximum length of about 2 inches (Miller and Robison 1973, Robison and Buchanan 1988).

Distribution Historically, the ARS was widespread and abundant throughout the western portion of the Arkansas River basin in , New , Oklahoma, and . This has subsequently Arkansas River Shiner. Daniel Fenner / USFWS disappeared from over 80 percent of its historical range and is now almost entirely restricted to about 508 miles of Platania and Altenbach (1998) No. 197, October 13, 2005). An introduced the in OK, TX, and NM. determined that eggs could be non-native population of ARS occurs in transported 45-89 miles downstream the Pecos River in New Mexico, which Life History before hatching and developing larvae is not protected under the Endangered The ARS historically inhabited wide, could then be transported an additional Species Act. shallow, sandy bottomed rivers and larger distance before capable of direct streams of the Arkansas River basin swimming. This lead Bonner and Wilde What You Can Do To Help (Gilbert 1980). The species is considered (2000) to speculate the ARS needs 135 Building partnerships focused on a habitat generalist, with no obvious miles of free flowing river to complete its conserving the quantity and quality selection for any particular habitat (i.e., life history. Direct and indirect evidence of water (ground and surface water) main channel, side channel, backwaters, suggests the presence of a directed, within ARS’s range will be essential to and pools (Wilde et al. 2000). upstream movement by the ARS over recovering the species. Any efforts to the course of their adult lifespan, which conserve water will help to maintain The ARS is considered an annual is necessary to maintain upstream essential flows for the species. species, with less than ten percent of the source populations and complete the Additionally, maintaining riparian buffers population surviving to spawn a second ARS’s life cycle.The ARS is believed promotes natural stream morphology year (Wilde 2005). ARS release their eggs to be a generalized forager, with its and filters pollutants from entering and sperm in open flowing water which diet consisting of grass seeds, detritus the river. Control of invasive salt cedar, drift downstram (Platania and Altenbach (decaying organic material), sand, which effects water quantity and stream 1998, Johnston 1999). ARS have been sediment, and aquatic and terrestrial morphology, is an on-the-ground measure shown to successfully reproduce from invertebrates (Jimenez 1999, Bonner et that benefits the species. May through September when stream al. 1997, Polivka and Matthews 1997). flow exists; however, peak reproduction References may take place at moderate to higher Conservation A full list of references is available at: flows (Moore (1944); Bestgenet al. (1989); www.fws.gov/southwest/es/oklahoma/ Polivka and Matthews (1997); Wilde et The Arkansas River Basin population shiner.htm al. (2000); and Durham and Wild (2006). of the ARS was listed as a threatened In the absence of sufficient streamflows, species on November 23, 1998, based For Further Information eggs likely settle to the channel bottom, on reductions of the species’ range and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service where they are smothered by silt and numbers due to habitat destruction and Oklahoma shifting, hindering oxygen uptake and modification, channelization, construction Ecological Services Field Office causing mortality of the embryos. of impoundments, stream dewatering, 9014 East 21st Street diversion of surface water, Tulsa, OK 74129 pumping, and water quality degradation 918/581-7458 (USFWS 1998). Critical habitat was designated in October 2005 (FR Vol. 70, August 2011