ECOLOGY OF SPRING CREEK, A LARGE OZARK CREEK IN OKLAHOMA Publication No. TR88-3 OKLAHOMA WATER RESOURCES BOARD November 15, 1988 BCOLOGY OF SPRING CREER, A LARGE OZARK CREEK IN OKLAHOMA by Douglas B. ~ester, Ph. D., Oklahoma Water Resources Board; Everett M. Grigsby, Ph. D., Northeastern State University; Patricia D. Powell, Oklahoma Water Resources Board; and Bob Carroll, ~udy Powlkes, Leonard (Len) Le~an, Loaa Lindley, William Meads, and Bo Stone -- students and former students of the first two principal authors. Publ ication No. TR88-3 Water Ouality Division Oklaboaa Water Resources Board 1000 N.E. lOth Street, P.O. Box 53585 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73152 David o. Dillon James R. Barnett Chief, water Ouality Division Executive Director, OWRB November 15, 1988 Acknowledgements The senior author owes a debt of gratitude to his co-authors, Dr ~ Everett M. Grigsby and his Research in Biology students for adopting the investigation of Spring Creek as a summer-school project and the graduate students Carroll, Fowlkes, and Lindley -- for continuing in the laboratory on weekends through the following semester. Ed Trumbull provided a boat to transport the generator for electrofishing. James Leewright and Mike McGaugh of the Drafting Section did their usual excellent job of creating the maps and figures for this report. The large and complex typing job, including visual composition and balancing of data tables for reduction, was done entirely by Joan Franks of the Lawton Field Office of the OWRB. Her careful and conscientious efforts to produce a quality document are greatly appreciated. This publication is printed and issued by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. Two hundred fifty .copies have been prepared at a cost to the taxpayers of the state of Oklahoma of $865.00. i Table of Contents Introduction • • • • • •• • • ••••• ••• • 1 Study Area ••••••••• •• • •• • • • •• • • • • • • 2 Locations •••••••• • •• • • •• • • • • • • 2 Geological and Ecological Localities • • • • • • • • • • 3 Geological •••••• ••••• • • • • • • • • • • 3 Ecological •••••• ••••• • • •• • • • • • 3 Drainage Affinities ••• ••••• • • • • • • • • • • 4 Topography and Elevations • •• • • • • •• • • • • • • 5 Topography •••••• •• • • • • • • • • • • 5 Elevations. •••• ••••• • • • • • • • • • • 5 Cultural Characteristics ••••• • • • ... • • • • • • 5 Methods • •• • ••• ••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • 6 Sampling Stations ••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • 7 Physical and Habitat Characteristics • • • • • • 7 Water Quality ••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • 7 Biological ••••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • 9 Fish community ~ •••••••• • • • • • • • • • 9 Results and Discussion •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10 Area and Land Use ••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10 Watershed • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10 Riparian zone • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • .. 10 Climate and Weather •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 Climate • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11 Weather •• • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 Most critical period • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 13 Vegetation •••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 16 Geology and Soils ••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 18 Geology • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 18 Soils • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 18 Clarksville series • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 19 Baxter series •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 20 Locust series •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 20 Nixa series ••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 20 Sallisaw series • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 21 Staser series •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 21 Elsah series •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 21 Cannon series • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 21 Stream Orders ••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 22 Classification ••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 22 First Order ••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 23 Second Order••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 23 Third Order ••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 23 Gradient •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 23 Entire creek • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24 First Order ••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24 ii Second Order • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24 Third Order • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24 Summary ••••••••••••••••••• • • • 24 Hydrology • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 25 Station and Segment Characteristics •••••••• • • • 26 Physical characteristics •••••••••••• • • 26 Symptomatic water quality ••••••••••• • • • 29 Temperature ••••••••••••••••• • • • 30 Dissolved oxygen ••••••••••••• • • • 30 pH • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 31 Specific conductance • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 31 Ecological Chemistry ••••••••••••••• • • • 31 Continuous monitoring • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 32 Temperature •••• • • • • • "'.~ • • • • • • • • 32 Dissolved oxygen • • • • • • ·• • • • • • • • • • 35 pH • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 37 Specific conductance •••••••••••• • • • 37 Discrete samples •••••••••••••••• • • • 41 Oxygen ••••••••••••••••••• • • • 41 Carbon dioxide •• ••••••••••• • • • 41 Nitrogen •••••••••••••••••• • • • 44 Sulfur ••••••••••••••••••• • • • 45 Phosphorous. ••••••••••••••• • • • 46 Detergents ••••••••••••••••• • • 47 Chlorides ••• •• • ••••••••••• • • • 47 Chlorine •••••••••••••••••• • • • 47 Specific conductance, solids, and turbidity. • • • 47 Biological Characteristics •• • •••••••• • • • 48 Aufwuchs •••••••••••••••••••• • • • 48 Vascular plants •••••••••••••••• • • • 50 Nekton and benthos ••••••••••••••• • • • 53 Fishes ••••••••••••••••••••• • • • 56 Community Ecology of Fishes ••••••••••••• • • • 63 Community Structure •••••••••••••••• • • • 67 First Order •••••••••••••••••• • • • 67 Second Order •••••••••••••••••• • • • 71 Third Order •••••••••••••••••• • • • 74 Entire creek •••••••••••••••••• • • • 78 Community Analysis •••••••••••••••• • • • 80 Similarity and dissimilarity •••••••••• • • • 80 Population interactions •••••••••••• • • • 82 Interactions among stations ••••••••• • • • 83 Interactions among stream orders •••••• • • • 86 Interactions in the entire creek •••••• • • • 87 Partitioning Resources •••••••••••••• • • • 92 Origins and Distribution of Fishes •••• •• •• • • • 106 Literature Cited • • ••• • • •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • 109 iii TAXONOMIC REVISIONS Recent taxonomic revisions recognized by the journal Copia and 'all of the pUblications of the American Fisheries Society have resulted in changes in the scientific names of two species of cyprinidae and family affinity of two species of killifishes that are mentioned in this paper. We used the scientific names and family affinity that were recognized at the time this paper was completed in 1988. The new names and affinity are included here as a minor service to our readers. AFS recognized scientific Name Currently Recognized Common Name Used in This Paper Scientific Name Bigeye chub Hybopis amblops Notropis amblops Duskystripe shiner Notropis pilsbryi Luxilus pilsbryi Cashner and Matthews (1988) believe that all fishes which have been identified as N. pilsbryi in Oklahoma actually are members of a new species, the Cardinal shiner Luxilus cardinalis However, it is possible that some populations in northeastern Oklahoma may be L. pilsbryi which have resulted from capture of tributaries of the White River in southwestern Missouri. It has not been determined whether this population in Spring Creek is L. pilsbryi or L. cardinalis. Two killifishes, Fundulus olivaceus and Fundulus sciadicus, are reported as members of Family Cyprinodontidae. Both Copia and AFS have recognized erection of the Family Fundulidae to partition Fundulus from Cyprinodontidae. It follows that F. olivaceus and F. sciadicus are members of Family Fund'\llidae, and Family Cyprinodontidae is not known in Spring Creek. cashner,R.C., and W.J.Matthews. 1988. Changes in the known Oklahoma fish fauna from 1973 to 1988. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 68:1-7. ERRATUM p. 64, line 32 - change 8.1 m/km to 2.4 m/km and (42.5 ft./mi.) to (12.6 ft/mi. ). ECOLOGY OF SPRING CREEK, A LARGE OZARK CREEK IN OK LAHOMA 1 by Douglas B. Jester, Ph.D., Oklahoma water Resources Board, Oklahoma City, OK; Everett M. Grigsby, Ph.D., Northeastern state University, Tahlequah, OK; Patricia D. Powell, Oklahoma water Resources Board, Oklahoma City, OK; and six co-authors 2 • Introduction Spring Creek is a common name for creeks in Oklahoma as it is elsewhere. However,· this Spring Creek is an uncommon creek because it is representative of large creeks in the western Ozarks which contain large and diverse communities of unique coolwater fishes combined with ubiquitous, tolerant warmwater species. It is named appropriately because· it derives and maintains its water supply from. peripheral and stream-bottom springs and groundwater return throughout its length. Spring Creek originates in three ephemeral-flow channels, the longest beginning 1.62 miles (2.59 km) northeast of Kansas, Delaware County, Oklahoma, immediately west of state Highway 10 and 1.25 miles (2.0 km) north of state Highway 33. It becomes a perennial stream as it approaches the city limit of Kansas and remains perennial, except for one unique segment, to its confluence with the Neosho (= Grand) River in Mayes County. A large segment of the creek is in northern Cherokee County. The entire channel is 34 miles (55 km) long 3 and the perennial portion, at least during normal conditions, is approximately 33.5 miles (53.6 km) long. Direction of flow is essentially west, with the mouth of the creek slightly south of the origin. It enters