Tennessee Natives- Treasures you can help protect

                 

BY: Melissa Sandreneand Jeff Simmons

Freshwater Fauna of Tennessee

Tennessee contains the most diverse aquatic fauna in the United States

•Tennessee is home to:

~300 native fish species (Most diverse in U.S.)

Bluemask Darter Paddlefish Barrens Topminnow Blackside Dace

Including…..

Bluemask Darter Etheostoma (Doration) sp.

• Only 4 populations remain• These are benthic fish, they like to live on the bottom of streams• Eat insects

• Federally Endangered Species

Males develop a deep blue color band that looks like a mask in the spring time to attract female darters

Paddlefish Polyodon spathula

•Also called spoonbill catfish in Tennessee

•Ancient big river fish

Rostrum

Daphnia

Filter Feeders

Gill rakers

Cladoceran

Barrens topminnowFundulus julisia

• Lives in small springs with lots of aquatic plants

• In the spring Male topminnows develop attractive blue and green scale colors to attract females

• Tends to swims at the surface of the water

The Barrens topminnow eats

Amphipods

SnailsMayflies

Midges

Blackside DacePhoxinus cumberlandensis

• Rare species and listed as threatened species

• Deep red colored belly

• Found above Cumberland Falls in cool water pools with lots of tree and bush covering

Breeding males have tubercles…little fleshyknobs that grow on the head and body

Tubercles

Algae

Diatoms

Blackside Dace Feed On…

Freshwater Fauna of Tennessee

•Tennessee is home to:

~120 species of freshwater mussels (2nd to Alabama)

Including…..

Rainbow shell Pistolgrip Plain pocketbook Shiny Pigtoe

70% of all freshwater mussel species in the United States are threatened due to destruction of their adult habitat because of dams and rivers being dredged

The Freshwater Mussel Life Cycle

Adult Female Musseldevelops a pouch of eggsinside her shell

The eggs develop intoGlochidia

The Mother mussel must set the glochidia free on a living host

• The host is often a fish

• Some mussels are picky guests they will only allow specific kinds of fish be their host

• The glochidia will attach to the fish’s fins and gills

• Like a butterfly the glochidia will form a cocoon… called a cyst on the fish

The glochidia will stay on the fish for several weeks.

Then it will mature and fall off of the fish and land on the bottom of the stream or river

It is now a juvenile mussel!

Will grow into an adult

How Does A Mussel Find A Host Fish?They use the soft tissue that is on the inside of their shell….called the mantle.

•The shape, color, and how the mussel moves its mantle can mimics other animals

Mantle

What animals do these mussel mantles look like?

The fish thinks the mantleIs food!

When the fish getsclose to take a bite…

Mom mussel depositsher glochidia ontothe host fish!

Rainbow-shellVillosa iris

• The smooth shell indicates that this mussel is found in muddy or sandy streams, lakes, and rivers

PistolgripTritogonia verrucosa

• The rough and bumpy shell indicates that this mussel is found in fast moving water that has gravel and rock

Plain PocketbookLampsilis cardium

Some mussels can live to be 100 years old!

Shiny PigtoeFusconaia cor

River Otter Raccoon

Muskrat

Animals that EAT Freshwater Mussels

• They suck water in and use their gills (hair looking), like a strainer, to remove the food from the water

Freshwater Mussels Are Filter Feeders

• So FW mussels clean the water by eating!

Bacteria

Algae

Dead Pieces of Leaves(Detritus)

Freshwater Mussels Eat

Freshwater Fauna of Tennessee

•Tennessee is also home to:

76 species of crayfish

One of the richest assemblages of aquatic insects in North America

&

Dragonflies and Damselflies• Have sharp teeth on their mouthparts

‘Helpful’ Predators

• Eat Mosquitoes

• The adults have wings to fly

Dragon Fly Nymphs

• Important to the aquatic food web

•Are indicators of the health of stream environment

Stoneflies

Nymph Adult

• Found in clean and cold water streams

• Shredders- they eat live and dead plant material

• Males drum their bellies to attract females

All these organisms are dependent on each other and when one component is lost….all are lost

Why is Tennessee so Diverse?

Tennessee’s rich aquatic fauna is a result of six major rock and water barriers that create unique biodiversity in the east, central, and western areas of the state.

What is biodiversity?

Blue Ridge RegionEast TN

• Rock formations are mostly gneiss, sandstone and granite• Waters are clear, cool and lack aquatic vegetation (low prod.)• Streams are steep with many falls, large boulders, and fast flowing areas

Cumberland PlateauCentral/East TN

• Sandstone, shale, and coal deposits• Mostly forested areas with deep and curving streams of clear water that are not very productive • Many waterfalls: Fall Creek Falls, Burgess Falls, and Cumberland Falls

Highland Rim and Nashville BasinCentral TN

• Mostly chert and limestone rock formations

• Medium to low productivity with seasonal vegetation

• Many cave and spring habitats and several large rivers

Coastal Plain (Mississippi Embayment) West TN

• Mainly sand, clay, and silt soils• This area is the main agricultural region in TN (ex. soybean & cotton)• Aquatic habitats suffer because of forest clearing, pesticide runoff, and channelization

Major Threats to Freshwater Biodiversity

• Dams

• Siltation and Erosion

• Poor land Practices and Deforestation

• Pollutants from industry and people

DamsOnly 2% of the rivers in the U.S. remain

free-flowing and relatively undeveloped

Red Dots are TVA Dam locations

Norris Dam (historic photo)

Cordell Hull Dam

Tennessee has over30 dams

Ways that Dams Damage Rivers• They remove the water needed for a healthy stream

• Prevent the flow of plants, nutrients, and fish

• Change the water temperature

• Disrupts the natural seasonal flow of water and this can effect the growth and reproductive cycle of many species

• Slowing flows allows silt to collect on the river bottom and this buries mussel and fish habitat

• Fish are cut up in the power turbines

Siltation

Silt can cover the healthyeggs of fish. If the eggsare covered they can’t get oxygen to grow…so they die

• Silt clogs the gills of filter feeders and increases the risk of small aquatic animals being eaten by predators

Erosion

• Increases sedimentation

• Destroys vegetation that fish and other animals use as their homes and the cover they use to hide from predators

Poor land Practices

Deforestation

• Removing trees increases erosion and it harms the habitats that fish, mussels, and insects live

• Cattle and other livestock trample and pollute stream habitats

• Increase siltation and erosion destroying wildlife habitat

Pollutants from Industry and PeopleToxic chemicalsharm aquaticanimals and us!

Trash hurts aquatic animals and it destroys their homes

How can you get involved?• Care about your environment!

• Don’t litter

• Recycle bottles, plastic, tin, and aluminum containers

• Talk with friends and family about the neat animals that are native to Tennessee

• Keep livestock (cows, pigs and goats) fenced in out of the river

• Volunteer for stream cleanups

Questions?