Museum Technical Report No. 85 CONSERVATION OF THE PEARL DARTER, Fercina aurora\ SURVEY OF THE UPPER PASCAGOULA DRAINAGE Stephen T. Ross, Mollie F. Cashner andRichard Darden Department ofBiological Sciences University ofSouthern Mississippi Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406-5018 Funded by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Project No. E-1, Segment 15 Mississippi Department ofWildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Museum ofNatural Science 2148 Riverside Drive Jackson, MS 39202-1353 2000 TfflSPROJECTWAS FUNDED BYTHEU.S. FiSHAND WILDLIFE SERVICETHROUGH ASECTION 6 CooperativeAgreementwiththeMississippiDepartmentofWildlife,Fisheries, AND Parks. This FINALreport has been preparedand submitted tothe U.S. FishandWildlife Servicetofulfill Federal-Aidrequirements ofMississippi Endangered Species ProjectE-1, Segment 15. MississippiMuseumofNaturalScienceTechnicalReportsarenotpeer-reviewed. This DOCUMENT should be cited as an unpublished report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ABSTRACT We surveyed streams in the upper portion of the Pascagoula River watershed during the spring, summer, and fall of 2000 for presence of the pear darter, Perdna aurora Streams surveyed were the Chunky and Chickasawhay rivers (Chickasawhay River system). Black Creek (Black Creek system), Okatoma Creek, Bouie Creek/River, and the Leaf River (Leaf River system). Pearl darters were captured on two occasions from the Chickasawhay River system, but were not taken in any other collections. In general, catches of all Perdna%^^6&s declined assummer water temperatures exceeded 30 C. Based on an analysis of archived specimens, pearl darters show atrend towards larger sizes in smaller streams. This study provides further documentation of the general rarity of pearl darters and supports ongoing efforts of the USFWS to formally list this species. -1- The pearl darter, FerchaauroraSMus ^Ihompson 1994, Is an imperiled species being considered for listing by the U. S. Fish &Wildlife Service (D. Drennan, USFWS, Jackson, MS, 1999). The pearl darter originally occurred in the Chickasawhay, Leaf, and Pascagoula River systems of the Pascagoula drainage of Mississippi and in the Pearl and Strong Rivers of the Pearl drainage of Mississippi and Louisiana (Suttkus et al., 1994). The last records of pearl darters from the Pearl River were taken in the early 1970s, and it now appears that populations in the Pearl drainage may be extirpated (Bart, 2000). Possible loss of this species from the Pearl River is attributed to habitat alteration caused by removal of riparian vegetation and extensive cultivation near the river's edge, both resulting in increased sedimentation and from construction of aseries of impoundments (Suttkus et al., 1994, Bart 2000). Populations of the pearl darter still exist in the Pascagoula drainage (Fig. 1), characterized as the last large (>350 m3 s-1 virgin discharge) river in the contiguous United States that does not have an impoundment on its main channel orisotherwise not strongly impacted (Dynesius and Nilsson, 1994). Recent collection dates and numbers of P. aurora^^^^the Pascagoula watershed (Fig. 2) are asfollows: 1. Pascagoula River, George County, May 1997, n = 1 (USM #20754); 2. Bouie River, Forrest County, May 1997, n = 1 (USM # 20709); 3. Leaf River, Forrest County, June 1996, n = 1 (INHS 38744, Bart and Piller, 1997). 4. Leaf River, Forrest County, November 1996, n = 2 Rgure 1. The Pascagoula watershed in SE (Bart and Piller, 1997); Misslsslpp.i 5. Leaf River, Forrest County, May 1997, n= 8 (Bart and Piller, 1997); -2- 6. OkatomaCreek, Covington Co., July 1997,n = 1 (Bart and Piiler, 1997). Based on Bart and Piiler (1997), months of pearl darters collections tend to be summer orfall (Fig. 3); however, pearl darters have been collected in all months except January and February. The four FiguredPascagoulaCollectionlocationsdrainage in southeasternfor PeicinaMississippi.aurora inDatathe upperare frompoifioriBartofandthe months of£greatestXX pearlij-xdarter collections11^- Piiler (1997)^ ' and Ross (in press), areJuly through October. Pearl darters occur in riffles orruns over gravel orbedrock substrata in slow to moderate currents. Spaviming occurs from late February or March to May (Suttkus et al., 1994). In the Pascagoula River drainage, adults in reproductive condition have been documented from four areas of Mississippi: the Chunky River north of Enterprise; Okatoma Creek south of Sanford; the Leaf River nearEastabuchie; and Black Creek at hwy. 318 6 (Bart and Piiler, 1997). However, very little is known 5 1 f of the biology or population status of this species. c ifei' s p i 1 1 The closely related channel darter, P. copelandi, h 'JWt' p 1 1 ir?*rr; 1 spawns in raceway-like areas of streams that have a If# i 0 4 6 8 10 12 gravel substratum, orspawns along shoals in lakes. 2-month intervals In Michigan, P. cope/and/spam in early summer Rgure 3. Times of collection of pearl darters based on two-month Intervals. Data are from Bart and Filler (1997). from the end ofJune to the endofJuly (Winn, -3- 1958a,b). In the southern part of its range the reproductive season begins earlier, extending from April to late June in Oklahoma (Hubbs, 1985). Males actively defend aterritory, which includes spawning, feeding, and refuge sites. After spawning, fish leave the margins of streams or shallows of lakes and move into deep water (Winn, 1958a,b). Habitat use of channel darters (and also pearl darters) is equivocal (Suttkus et al., 1994). Studies from the Great Lake region suggest that P. cope/andioccw^'j lakes, pools, and the deep portion of the lower section of lake tributaries (e.g., Hubbs and Lagler, 1974). However, other studies from Virginia and Tennessee indicate that primary habitats are moderate and swift riffles and runs over substrata of mixed small gravel to medium rubble (e.g., Burkhead and Jenkins, 1991). These differences may be due to seasonal shifts in nonspawning habitat use and to changes in habitat selection during the reproductive season. Our field work for P. copelanclmd\z2^ss that in the winter and spring fish are in moderate to shallow depths in riffles, but that shallow riffle habitats are vacated as temperatures increase and flow decreases during the summer (Ross and Schofield, pers. obs., 1997-98), apattern also documented in laboratory experiments of habitat selection (Schofield et al., 1999). GBJEQIVES The primary objective of this study was to survey streams of the upper Pascagoula drainage, including Bouie, Okatoma, and Black creeks; and the Leaf, Chickasawhay, and Chunky rivers (Fig. 2) for the presence and relative abundance of Perdna aurora. -4- MATERIALS AND METHODS Field work began in 15 May and continued to 17 July 2000. Because of excessive summer water temperatures resulting in areduction in overall catch, field work was curtailed in August and September. Several additional samples were then taken in October. Access to most sample sites was achieved by canoeing sections of streams. Overall, we sampled on 21 days, resulting in 36 seining locations that were distributed over the six main study streams (Bouie, Okatoma, and Black creeks; and the Leaf, Chickasawhay, and Chunky rivers). Fishes were collected by seining (1.8 x3.1 mm 3.2 mm ACE mesh). At each collection site we also recorded position (hand held GPS), general habitat characteristics (pool, riffle, run, etc.), perceived problems with habitat quality (i.e., nutrient input, erosion), and water temperature. Fishes from 28collections were identified and archived into the USM Museum of Ichthyology; fishes from the remaining eight collections were identified in the field and released. Retained collections were fixed in 10% formalin and preserved in 70% ethanol. RESULTS Overall, we collected 40 species and 10 families of fishes from streams within the upper Pascagoula watershed (Fig. 4; Appendices 1,2). Only one species, 60 Kflometers Ammocrypta vivax, was not included in the Rgure 4. Sites sampled during the summer and fall of 2000. Sample sites without pearl darters are shown by triangles; the sample sites (both overlapping) with pearl darters are shown by a closed circle. -5- archived material that comprised 39 species of fishes (Table 1). The collections included 10 species of darters, dominated numerically Ammocrypta beani. Table 1. Fishes collected in the upper Pascagoula drainage from May to September, 2000, and archived into the USM museum ofichthyology. Achiridae Trinectes maculatus Atherinidae Labidesthes sicculus 55 Catostomidae Carpiodes velifer 1 Hypentelium nigricans 39 Moxostoma poecilurum 14 Centrarchidae Ambloplites ariommus 27 Lepomis macrochirus 3 Lepomis megalotis 236 Lepomis miniatus 1 Micropterus punctulatus 175 Micropterus salmoldes 3 Cyprinidae Ericymba buccata 96 Luxiius chrysocephalus 28 Lythrurus roseipinnis 696 Macrhybopsis storeriana 1 Nocomis leptocephalus 9 Notropis longirostris 719 Notropis texanus 5 Notropis voiuceiius 199 Notropis wincheiii 27 Pimephaies vigiiax 1 Fundulidae Funduius oiivaceus 87 Ictaluridae ictaiurus punctatus 8 Noturus ieptacanthus 36 Noturus nocturnus 1 Pyiodictis oiivaris 1 -6- Percidae Ammocrypta beani 568 Etheostoma lynceum 50 Etheostoma parvipinne 1 Etheostoma stigmaeum 39 Etheostoma swaini 11 Percina aurora 8 Percina nigrofasciata 94 Percina solera 81 Percina suttkusi 1 Percina vigil 7 Petromyzontidae Ichthyomyzon gagei Poeciliidae Gambusia affinis 70 Gambusia holbrooki 21 3421 Pearl darters (N = 8)were collected attwo sites, both in the Chickasawhay River system (Fig. 4). One site was atthe MS Highway 11 bridge crossing