A Review and Recent Records of the Bigeye Shiner, Notropis Boops
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A Review and Recent Records of the Bigeye Shiner, Notropis boopi (Cyprinidae)(C*rt\r\t\\(Ki\f*\, i nIn Ohi Ohioo 1 DANIEL L. RICE, MARK D. BARNES, AND GEORGE J. PHINNEY2, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, Fountain Square, Columbus, OH 43224; Department of Natural Resources, Chinese Culture University, Hwa Kang, Yang Ming Shan, Taipei, Taiwan 111; and Department of Life Science, Otterbein College, Westerville, OH 43081 ABSTRACT. The bigeye shiner (Notropis boops^) is a common fish of upland streams in the middle Mississippi River drainage. It prefers warm, quiet pools with clear water and silt-free substrates. It is threatened in Ohio, which is on the northern edge of its range, and since 1941 has been collected in only a few streams in the southwestern part of the state. In order to assess the current status of the bigeye shiner in Ohio, we examined the extensive stream fish data base for the whole state. We then conducted seining surveys from 1985-1995 to more fully document the distribution of bigeye shiners in the six stream systems in which they had been reported since 1941. The largest populations were found in Turkey Creek and the Sunfish Creek system, which have mostly forested watersheds, clear water, and silt-free substrates. Smaller populations were found in O'Bannon Creek and the White Oak Creek system. Both these systems have agriculturalized watersheds, and the O'Bannon Creek watershed is affected by urban construction activities. Both systems experience heavier silt loading and have more turbid water and siltier substrates. We were unable to find bigeye shiners in Paddy's Run Creek and Scioto Brush Creek, where they had been reported in the 1970s. Siltation, gravel dredging and channelization are the major factors which threaten the remaining populations of bigeye shiners in southern Ohio. OHIO J SCI 98 (3): 42-51, 1998 INTRODUCTION small insects (Smith and Powell 1971, Trautman 1981). The bigeye shiner, Notropis boops Gilbert, is a mod- Spawning may occur from late April into August (Leh- erately slender, silvery minnow with a dusky lateral tinen and Echelle 1979, Pflieger 1975, Robison and stripe and a maximum total length of about 80 mm. Its Buchanan 1988). most distinctive characteristic is its large eye diameter, The bigeye shiner was probably never very com- which is included 2.0-3-0 times in its head length mon on the northern periphery of its range (Gerking (Pflieger 1975, Smith 1979, Robison and Buchanan 1988, 1945, Smith 1979, Trautman 1981). It is still regularly Trautman 1981). reported from several streams in the White and Wabash The bigeye shiner is a common species in upland river systems in Indiana and appears to be secure in streams of the middle Mississippi River system, includ- that state (R. M. Anderson, Indiana Department of ing the Eastern Highlands of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Natural Resources, personal communication). However, northern Alabama, the Ozark and Ouachita highlands of it has declined severely in Illinois, where it is listed as Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, and sub-highland endangered (C. D'Onofrio, Illinois Department of Con- regions of northern Louisiana and southeastern Kansas servation, personal communication). The decline of the (Fig. 1). It is less commonly found in Ohio River tribu- bigeye shiner in Illinois has been attributed to increased taries of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois (Burr and Warren siltation due to agricultural runoff and to loss of habi- 1986, Cross and Collins 1995, Douglas 1974, Etnier and tat due to channelization and construction of im- Starnes 1993, Gerking 1945, Lee and others 1980, Mettee poundments (Smith 1979; L. M. Page, Illinois Natural and others 1996, Miller and Robison 1973, Pflieger 1975, History Survey, personal communication). Robison and Buchanan 1988, Smith 1979, Trautman 1981). The bigeye shiner is listed as threatened in Ohio due Throughout its range, the bigeye shiner appears to to its restricted range and apparently declining abun- prefer relatively clear upland streams with moderate dance in the state (ODNR 1997). Prior to 1900, the species gradient, permanent pools, and silt-free substrates of was probably widely distributed throughout the western sand, gravel, or rock. It is associated with warm, quiet half of the state, including both the Maumee River- pools and is intolerant of strong currents, water that is Lake Erie drainage and the Ohio River drainage from continuously cool or turbid, and silty substrates (Burr and the Great Miami River system in the west to the Scioto Warren 1986, Etnier and Starnes 1993, Gerking 1945, River system in the east (Osburn and Williamson 1898, Pflieger 1975, Robison and Buchanan 1988, Smith 1979, Trautman 1981) (Table 1, Fig. 1). The bigeye shiner was Trautman 1981). Its habits and life history have not been last reported in the upper Scioto River system (Big Wal- studied extensively. It appears to prefer midwater pool nut Creek) in 1897, in the upper Great Miami River habitats (Gorman 1987, 1988) and to feed by sight on before 1900, and in the Maumee River system (Auglaize River) in 1941 (Table 1, Fig. 1), leading Trautman (1957) to conclude that it had become extinct in the glaciated Manuscript received 2 June 1997 and in revised form 10 July 1998 (#97-10). region of Ohio. Between 1941 and 1972, only two popu- 2Present Address: 385 East Stafford Avenue, Worthington, OH 43085 lations of bigeye shiners were known to persist in Ohio, OHIO JOURNAL OF SCIENCE D. L. RICE, M. D. BARNES, AND G. J. PHINNEY 43 few historical records of the bigeye shiner in the Mau- mee, upper Great Miami, and upper Scioto river systems suggest that the species may have been more widely distributed in northwestern Ohio before Pleistocene glacial advances eliminated most suitable upland habitat in that region, leaving, as Trautman (1981) suggested, a TABLE 1 Known populations of the bigeye shiner (Notropis boops) in Ohio, 1893-1975. Stream* County IMumber** Date Reference*** Maumee R Lucas-Wood V 8/21/1893 Kirsch (1895) Auglaize R Allen 1 7/4/25 OSUM 10876 Auglaize R Auglaize 2 9/29/25 OSUM 10875 Auglaize R Auglaize 21 7/8/41 OSUM 3290 Blanchard R Hancock 5 8/7/1893 UMMZ 063040 Blanchard R Hancock •> 9/7/1893 UMMZ 192571' Scioto R B. Walnut Cr Franklin ? 1897 OSUM 12945 Scioto Brush Cr Scioto 1 1973 JCU Sunfish Cr Pike 5 8/15/22 ODW Sunfish Cr Pike 5 7/8/40 OSUM 2642 Sunfish Cr Pike 1 6/11/64 OSUM 15555 Sunfish Cr Pike 1 6/11/72 JCU 361 Sunfish Cr Pike 1KX2) 9/12/73 OUVC 6767 Chenoweth Fk Pike 3 5/3/30 OSUM 10877 Chenoweth Fk Pike 42 5/29/40 OSUM 2090 Chenoweth Fk Pike 4 8/27/53 OSUM 12409 Chenoweth Fk Pike 2 4/26/64 OSUM 17851 Chenoweth Fk Pike 13 6/11/64 OSUM 15112 before 1970 Morgan Fk Pike 7 5/4/30 OSUM 10878 Morgan Fk Pike ? 5/4/30 UMMZ 107729 1970-1995 Morgan Fk Pike 3 7/18/39 OSUM 2654 50 km Morgan Fk Pike 30 12/6/39 OSUM 1399 Morgan Fk Pike 48 7/3/48 OSUM 7631 FIGURE 1. Map of western Ohio showing collection locations of bigeye Morgan Fk Pike 44 5/15/50 OSUM 12334 shiner {Notropis boops), 1893-1995. Locations by number are: (1) Mau- Morgan Fk Pike 1 4/26/64 OSUM 17883 mee River; (2) Blanchard River; (3) Auglaize River; (4) Great Miami Left Fk Pike 1 4/27/63 OSUM 21062 River; (5) Big Walnut Creek; (6) Paddy's Run Creek; (7) O'Bannon Left Fk Pike 1 4/26/64 OSUM 17876 Creek; (8) White Oak Creek system; (9) Sunfish Creek system; (10) Scioto Brush Creek; and (11) Turkey Creek system. Larger dots and Turkey Cr Scioto 3 9/13/27 OSUM 10873 circles for the White Oak Creek and Sunfish Creek systems reflect a Turkey Cr Scioto ? 9/18/27 UMMZ 086011 wider distribution of collections among several tributaries of each Turkey Cr Scioto 23 7/14/28 OSUM 10874 system rather than total numbers collected. Inset: historic range of L. Miami R bigeye shiner in North America (Lee and others 1980). O'Bannon Cr Clermont 1 7/19/79 USFWS G. Miami R Montgomery ? pre-1900 Trautman (1981) Paddy's Run Cr Hamilton 2 7/23/72 Bauer & others in the Sunfish Creek system and in Turkey Creek, where (1978) they had been known since 1922 and 1927, respectively (Table 1, Fig. 1). Then, in 1972,1973, and 1979, respectively, * Indentation indicates that a stream is a lower order tributary of the less bigeye shiners were discovered at three new sites: indented stream above. Paddy's Run Creek, Scioto Brush Creek, and O'Bannon ** Usually the number collected and counted in the field; lacking those data, the number of specimens in the museum collection (X2 = number collected Creek (Table 1, Fig. 1). However, only one or two speci- on the same date at two different sites; ? = data not available). mens were collected at each site, and follow-up studies '** USFWS = US Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Ecological Services, Columbus, OH; OSUM = Ohio State University Museum of Biological to determine the extent of those populations were not Diversity, Columbus (with specimen catalogue number); UMMZ = University done at the time. of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor (with specimen catalogue The decline of the bigeye shiner in Ohio can be at- number); JCU = John Carroll University, Dept of Biology, Cleveland (with specimen catalogue number or via A.M. White, personal communication); tributed both to natural and to anthropogenic causes.