Propagation and restoration of rare

fishes: keys to success.

Patrick L. Rakes and J. R. Shute,

Conservation Fisheries, Inc.

Mission Statement: 

Conservation Fisheries is dedicated to the preservation of aquatic biodiversity

and ecosystems in the southeastern United States, concentrating

on the conservation and recovery of rare freshwater fishes

using captive propagation, habitat assessment,

and low impact monitoring techniques

3424 Division Street, Knoxville, TN

BTM racks

CFI PARTNERSU. S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U. S. Forest Service; U. S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division; National Park Service; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Environmental Protection Agency; Tennessee Valley Authority; Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Arkansas Game & Fish Commission; Kentucky State Game & Fish Division; Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks; North Carolina Wildlife Resources Agency; Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency; Virginia Division of Game & Inland Fishes; The Nature Conservancy; The Tennessee Aquarium; The University of Tennessee; Tennessee Tech University; The World Wildlife Fund; ALCOA; and International Paper.

How Do You Recover Rare Species?

Habitat protection! Habitat restoration! Stocking

Augmentation Reintroduction/population restoration

Translocation vs. Propagation Propagation Purposes:

reintroductions / arks life history research (sometimes surrogates) toxicity tolerance mussel hosts

How Do You Recover Rare Species?

Who leads?

Who pays / funds?

Who is responsible to whom?

How do you gauge success?

The “Abrams Creek Story” Formerly held 67 of GSMNP’s 79 known

fish species Poisoned with rotenone in 1957 to

“reclaim” for trophy trout fishery Only 35 species persisted/returned from

tributaries; smoky & yellowfin madtoms considered extinct after “reclamation”

CFI—with USFWS, TWRA, USFS, NPS— began attempts to restore four federally listed species in 1986:

Smoky madtom, Noturus baileyi (E)

Yellowfin madtom, N. flavipinnis (T)

Duskytail darter, Etheostoma percnurum (E) [now Citico darter, E. sitikuense]

Spotfin chub, Erimonax monachus (T)

Justification for Restoration “Extinct” madtoms & darter rediscovered in

Citico Creek ~1980; life histories: UTK M.S. students

Abrams Crk extirpations = one-time event; habitat relatively undisturbed; mostly “protected” public lands/watershed

Problem: spotfin chub = only sp. with wild source population sufficient for translocations

Madtoms & darter would require propagation to produce numbers sufficient for reintroductions (efforts initiated at UTK in 1986) ‘post-theses’

Early Abrams release w/ media

Restoration Effort History Each species produced in numbers dependent

on collection permits, life history, and annual collection & survivorship variation:

Madtoms ~25-600/yr/sp. (typically 100-200)[3200] Darters 50-750/yr (typically ~200)[3400] Chubs 0-3500/yr [11,000]

Stocked at 1-5 sites/yr Chubs translocated 1988-90 (unsuccessfully)

Propagated & stocked 1994-2001 (“ditto”) Madtoms stocked 1st fall ‘86-’91 / 1st spring ’93-- Stocking ceased after 2001 for darters, 2002 for

madtoms… …monitoring only since then:

Summary / Conclusions Smoky madtoms, yellowfin madtoms, & Citico

darters established, reproducing and expanding population sizes and distributions

Success slow– required 20 years for this pilot project, but subsequent restoration efforts with same species have benefited / faster success (Tellico River)

Fortuitous issues: Abrams pristine/protected Recovery Plans called for propagation &

reintroductions (funding source available) Abrams in central part of original ranges of spp. all parties agreed to effort! (NEPs required now)

PARTNERS

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service [$]U. S. Forest Service [$ / source]National Park Service [site]Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency [$]The Tennessee Aquarium [rearing]The University of Tennessee [research]Tennessee Tech University [research]The World Wildlife Fund [$--equipment]ALCOA [$]CFI [implementation / knowledge]

Future Plans / Work in Progress Determine why smoky madtoms are only doing

well in lower creek, duskytails only in upper Determine total extent of available habitat and

percent occupied Develop long-term monitoring program and

more quantitative assessments of populations Compare genetic make-up of restored vs

source populations Develop long-term “fish passage” genetic

exchange program between Abrams, Citico, and Tellico populations

Additional Information: 

Shute, J. R., P. L. Rakes, and P. W. Shute. 2005. Reintroduction of four imperiled fishes in Abrams Creek, Tennessee. Southeastern Naturalist 4(1): 93-110.

www.conservationfisheries.org

Barrens topminnow,Fundulus julisia(BTM)

candidate spp. limited to privately owned springs & headwaters

imperilment recognized since 1970s; Conservation Strategy initiated August 2000

propagated fish stocked at numerous restoration sites TTU student research confirmed inability to compete

with non-native Gambusia large number of partners:

BTM PARTNERS

Arnold Air Force BaseConservation Fisheries, Inc.The Nature Conservancy—Tennessee ChapterTennessee AquariumTennessee Aquatic Research InstituteTennessee Department of AgricultureTennessee Tech UniversityTennessee Valley AuthorityTennessee Wildlife Resources AgencyUSDA Natural Resources Conservation ServiceU. S. Fish and Wildlife Service…and many private landowners…

Shoal Creek Restoration Effort

stream entirely on private lands; required NEP for endangered species restoration

Clean Water Act recovery example (sewage, heavy metals)

deep biogeographic/taxonomic discussions about appropriate spotfin source

partners:

Boulder darterEtheostoma wapiti

Spotfin chubErimonax monachus

SHOAL CREEK PARTNERSAlabama Department of Conservation & Natural

ResourcesConservation Fisheries, Inc.International PaperIron City, TNShoal Creek Canoe RunTennessee Wildlife Resources AgencyUSDA Natural Resources Conservation ServiceU. S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceUSFWS National Fish HatcheriesUniversity of Alabama & St. Louis UniversityWorld Wildlife Fund

Dr. Carol JohnstonAuburn University

Jim HerrigCherokee NF

Peggy ShuteTVA

PLRCFI

Conasauga River Rare Fish Monitoring

Q U E S T I O N S ?