hey're exquisite! One is overlaid with Their value is inestimable, and they are truly irreplace­ polished turquoise and emblazoned with able. They belong to us all. Yet there are people who don't rubies. Another is encrusted with rich even know that they exist. And others, such as the fisher­ , gold throughout. A special "piece" shim­ men who use them for bait, do not recognize their worth mers in translucent crystal, studded with as indicators of pollution. ! a row of black onyx ovals and highlighted These diminutive "gems" belong to North America's with a thin golden ribbon. The most gor­ second-largest finny tribe, the darters. Found in geous of them all presents a stunning Westsylvania's rivers and streams, they carry such color­ display of emerald, sapphire and to­ ful names as bluebreast, Tippecanoe, eastern sand and paz, with even more rubies than the first. candy.

26 WESTSYL VANIA,COM Some folks (those mostly middle-aged and upl) may liandy hued members with such specialized requirements or remember vaguely the existence of this group because ofa unique habits. Their most basic habit, "darting," accounts single species - the snail darter. During the 1970s this for their name. The organs that allow most fish species to small, rare fish, confined to the Tennessee River drain­ control their buoyancy and drift effortlessly about - swim age, delayed construction of the mass ive Tellico Dam while bladders - are absent or greatly reduced in darters. As a re­ politicians and conservationists battled over provisions sult, it's much easier for them to stay on a waterway's bottom, of the Endangered SpeCies Act. Eventually, the snail dart­ moving about in short bursts. Darters' pectoral fins (the pair ers were transplanted and the dam was built. Thankfully, immediately behind the gills) are enlarged to provide sup­ the little fish that caused the big stir still survives. port for the resting fish, much like a boy on the floor watch­ No other group of native fishes can boast so many bril­ ing television with his head propped on his hands.

SUMMEI\ 'OJ 27 The old adage "good things come in small packages" Mississippi River. The Appalachian Mountains have served certainly applies to darters. Several species, including the as an effective barrier, preventing many darters from reach­ Tlppecanoe and channel darters, are often less than two ing the watersheds that flow into the Atlantic Ocean. In inches long as adults and claim the distinction of being Pennsylvania, for example, 17 darter species can be found Westsylvania's smallest fish. On rare occasions, the "whop­ within the drainage, but only five have been pers," such as the greens ide darter and logperch, may stretch captured in the Susquehanna River basin that empties into a bit over six inches. the Chesapeake Bay. Darters belong to the family Percidae, which is better In North America, darters occupy a wide variety ofhabi­ known for two favorites of sportsmen and epicures - the much tats, including small creeks, swift riffles, foreboding swamps larger yellow perch and walleye. and placid lakes. But very few species are generalists. The The roughly 175 species of darters - with more being logperch may be the most adaptable, for it can be found in discovered yearly - belong to what scientists refer to as a the fast runs of rocky streams and the quiet waters of glacial taxonomic "tribe."They can be found from northern Mexico lakes, where it hunts for food (insect larvae and other inver­ to northern Canada and nowhere else on Earth. They reach tebrates) by flipping over rocks and debris with its upturned their greatest diversity in the southeastern . nose. Ninety or more species occur in Tennessee alone, and about The most finicky habitat specialist is the eastern sand 80 more live in Alabama. darter, which, true to its name, is almost completely restricted The waterways of Westsylvania don't support as many to waterways with bottoms of clean sand. While other dart­ darters. The lion's share of the region's 28 species live in wa­ ers hide in rock crevices, tangles of roots or dense vegeta­ ters that flow into the Ohio River and, eventually, the tion, the sand darter dives into its favorite medium, remain­

28 WESTSYLVANI A .COM ing completely buried with just its eyes above the surface to that a territory is already occupied. The adult male fantail watch for insect prey. Its translucent body allows the sand's darter develops fleshy knobs on its dorsal fin (the one on its color to show through, further camouflaging this elusive spe­ back) that mimic fish eggs. cies. Several theories have been advanced to explain its be­ Female coloration, on the other hand, generally remains havior, including obvious prey-ambush opportunities, energy nondescript and subdued. conservation and protection from predators. Exacting habitat and water quality requirements have re­ Even where a large number of darter species occur in the sulted in some darters becoming rare and localized. Bluebreast, same river, studies show that they "partition" their habitat gilt, longhead, spotted and Tippecanoe darters, along with a and resources. Variegate, bluebreast and spotted darters gen­ few others, are confined to the Allegheny River and a few of erally prefer faster riffles than greens ide, banded and rain­ its tributaries in Pennsylvania, along with one or cwo drain­ bow darters. Within the faster waters, some need gravel bot­ ages in West . toms while others prefer rubble and rocks. Longhead darters This wasn't always the case. Probably, most of these dart­ and logperch often prefer the transition areas becween riffles ers were distributed widely at one time. Although ichthyolo­ l and pools. Blackside and Johnny darters favor sluggish current. gists poorly surveyed Westsylvania before man-made envi­ Some darters appear in riffles only long enough to breed, then ronmental impacts became significant, we may draw some I drift back into deeper waters for the remainder of the year. inferences from isolated collections and reports. ? Although some male darters maintain bright colors In 1869, Edward Drinker Cope described the longhead throughout the year, all of them are at their most brilliant darter from three specimens he collected, along with some during the spawning season - mainly April, May and June. eastern sand-darters, in the Youghiogheny River of sOllth­ Their gaudy hues attract mates and may warn other males . In 1885, Charles Bollman captured

SUMMm '03 29 four sharp nose darters from the Monongahela River and E.L. Goldsborough and H.W. Clark found the situa­ noted that sand darters were "common everywhere in suit­ tion as bleak in . In their 1908 report, Fishes able places." ]. P. Kirtland, a noted scientist of the early of West Virginia, they concluded that "aquatic life in gen­ and middle 19th century, collected spotted darters in 1838 eral, and fi shes in particular, have been and are now in in the Mahoning River near Youngstown, Ohio, just across many streams being greatly injured and in others practi­ the border from New Castle, Pa. cally destroyed by the unwise and destructive operations By 1909 when A. E. Ortmann of Carnegie Museum of the lumberman and the miner." wrote the report, The Destruction of the Fresh-Water Fauna Luckily, today, antipollution efforts have helped many in Western Pennsylvania, the region's waterways had be­ of these same waterways once again support significant come inhospitable. A malacologist, or a biologist who stud­ numbers of the more resilient darters. Unfortunately, ies mollusks, Ortmann wrote, "We may say that of the many miles of prime habitat for darters, and other river Monongahela drainage by far the greatest part is utterly fish, were lost permanently when the construction of polluted, chiefly by mine water." He described the Clarion navigation dams transformed the Allegheny, River, with its water running black as ink, as being "possi­ Monongahela and Ohio rivers into a series of deep, slug­ bly one of the worst streams in the state." gish pools. Zadok Cramer, who authored a series of navi­ Summarizing the condition of the largest rivers, gation guides to the Ohio River and its tributaries in the Ortmann wrote "both the Allegheny and Monogahela are early 1800s, made many references to sandbars, rock and as badly polluted as they can possibly be, and, conse­ gravel bars, bedrock and rock ledges, ripples and rapids quently, it is not astonishing that the Ohio immediately that must have supported an incredible array of darters below is also in a deplorable condition." and other fish species.

30 WESTSYLVANIA.COM ------_...... - ) .I A few waterways escaped Industrial Age destruction . John Arway, head of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat / One of them is French Creek, which begins in New York Commission's environmental services, thinks darters are l state and flows through Pennsylvania's Erie, Crawford, the most diverse and understudied group of North Ameri­ ) Me rcer and Venango counties before conjoining with the can fishes. Because of their varying tolerances to environ­ Allegheny River at Franklin. A century ago, Ortmann mental changes , they are very good indicators for scien­ observed that "French Creek and its tributaries are gener­ tists studying an ecosystem's health, he adds. / ally clear and possess a wonderfully rich fauna ." Keeping or making waterways healthy enough for dart­

/ The French Creek still holds the state's most diverse ers to thrive is important to private environmental groups /;; aquatic ecosystem, according to Jay Stauffer, Jr., a profes- too. For one of them, the Western Pennsylvania Conse r­ I sor of ichthyology at Penn State University, who has stud­ vancy, watershed conservation has been a key mission / ! ied Pennsy lvania waterways (and darters) for nearly 30 si nce 1932. Senior scientist Charles Bier touts the i years. The French C reek drai nage system supports 16 spe­ organization's new Watershed Ass istance Center, whose f cies of darters among its more than 80 species of fish. The staff can help conse rvation groups prepare grant applica­ Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission classifies eight tions, publicize their clean-up efforts and more . \ of those darters as endangered or threatened. The end result of both governmental and private \ ' .~- The Elk River sys tem in West Virginia is also in excel­ prog rams will be better water quality, healthier water­ lent condition, according to Dan Cincotta, fisheries biolo­ shed ecosystems, better fi shing and, of course, more gist with that state's Natural Heritage Program. The Elk darters. Westsylvania without its darters would be akin boasts 18 darters, including all but one of those that survive to Fort Knox without its go ld or Tiffany & Co. without in French Creek, along with nearly 100 total fish species. its jewels. •

SUMMER '03 3 I