Virginia Master Naturalist Introduc3on to Ichthyology · Virginia Master Naturalist Introduc3on to...
Transcript of Virginia Master Naturalist Introduc3on to Ichthyology · Virginia Master Naturalist Introduc3on to...
VirginiaMasterNaturalist Introduc3ontoIchthyology
PaulBugasRegion4Aqua3csManagerVirginiaDepartmentofGameandInlandFisheries
VDGIF Mission Statement • To conserve and manage wildlife populations
and habitat for the benefit of present and future generations
• To connect people to Virginia’s outdoors through boating, education, fishing, hunting, trapping, wildlife viewing, and other wildlife-related activities
• To protect people and property by promoting safe outdoor experiences and managing human-wildlife conflicts
“To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering” Aldo Leopold
Biodiversity
Biodiversity
David Starr Jordan (1851 – 1931) President of Stanford University Espoused Eugenics
EarlyIchthyologistsEdward Drinker Cope (1840- 1897)
Renown Paleontologist Wealthy Quaker Background Published 1,400 Papers
Ichthyology (from Greek: ἰχθύς, ikhthus, "fish"; and λόγος, logos, "study")
Edward C. Raney (1909 – 1952)
FreshwaterFishesofVirginia
• Fishfamilies• Familiesandtheirhabitats• Majorfamilyrepresenta3ves• Speciesdistribu3on• Endemics
WhatisaFish?
• Cold-bloodedanimal• Fins• Gills• Scales• Slimecoat• Lateralline• Gasbladder• Osmoregula3on
FishSenses• Taste–fishoQen“spitout”unsavoryfooditems;tastebudsonbarbels,topofhead,inmouth,oronlips
• Touch–fishoQen“mouth”fooditems;laterallineisasensoryorgan
• Hearing–soundispickedupbybonesinhead;somefishhavebonesconnectedtoairbladder;earstonesorotoliths
• Sight–canoQendiscernbrightnessandcolor;cannotseestraightdownorback
• Smell–mosthavewelldevelopedsenseofsmell
(Power)
(Social)
(Anti-roll)
(Steering & Braking)
(Unknown)
(Stability)
Reasons for High Diversity of Fish Species in Virginia
Climate and Physiography • high rainfall • geology and topography complex • unglaciated • historical and recent diversity of aquatic
environment Biological
• high speciation rates due to complex dispersal history
Pleistocene Epoch ended 12,000 years ago
Drainage Basins in Virginia
Interior
Atlantic Slope
Rivers of Virginia
Virginia’s10MajorDrainages
James
Roanoke Chowan
Potomac
York
Rappahannock
Tennessee
New Big Sandy
PeeDee
Virginia’s 10 Major Drainages
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owan
Tenn
esse
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anno
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Num
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s Native Fish Species in
Virginia’s Major Drainages
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120 Natives Natives and Introduced
Virginia’s Endemic Fish Species
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Coastal Plain Piedmont Blue Ridge
Valley and Ridge
Appalachian Plateau
Physiographic Provinces in Virginia
FishTaxonomy• Kingdom-Animalia
– Phylum–Chordata• possessanotochordatsomepointindevelopment
• Class–Osteichthyes(Bonyfishes)orSupraclassforjawlessfish(Agnatha)suchaslampreys– Order–Cypriniformes
» Minnowsandsuckers– Order–Salmoniformes
» Salmonandtrout– OrderPerciformes
» Perch-like(twodorsalfins-separated)
Virginia’s Freshwater Fish 25 Families
Petromyzontidae Umbridae Atherinidae Acipenseridae Cyprinidae Fundulidae Polyodontidae Catostomidae Poeciliidae Lepisosteidae Ictaluridae Cottidae Amiidae Salmonidae Moronidae Anguillidae Gaserosteidae Centrarchidae Clupeidae Aphredoderidae Percidae Esocidae Amblyopsidae Sciaenidae
Channidae
227 Species 235 taxa
Freshwater Fish Families in Virginia
Number of Fish Species by State
> 220 200-219 180-199
150-179 100-149 < 100
220 257 257
201
219 200
188 188 153
Mountain Trout Streams
Trout
Sculpin
Large Streams
Minnow
Perch
Sucker
Large Rivers
Paddlefish
Muskellunge
Catfish
Swamps
Pirate Perch
Swampfish
Sunfish
Percidae
Lampreys
Atlantic sturgeon Longnose gar
James River Watershed
Minnows
• 2,000+ species – largest fish family
• Only found in freshwater
• 320 in North America • Jaws lack teeth
• Largest in VA – Common carp
• Major component of the food web
Minnows(Chubs)
Bigmouth Chub Bluehead Chub
River Chub Bull Chub
Perch
• 235 species worldwide • 217 in North America • Darters comprise 214 members • All but one darter species occurs east of the continental divide
• Teeth on jaw • Two dorsal fins
• High economic and ecological importance
Credit: Derek Wheaton
Candy darter
Perch(Logperch)
RoanokeLogperch
BlotchsideLogperch
Logperch
Moronidae
White Bass Striped Bass Hybrid Striped Bass White Perch
JamesRiverDrainageEndemics
Longfin Darter
Roughhead Shiner
Derek Wheaton
Threats to Freshwater Fish
• Dams and their associated operations
• Exotic Species • Loss of habitat
Diadromous Fishes • Anadromous Fish - Fish that
spend their adult life in the ocean (salt water) and migrate up coastal rivers to spawn in fresh-water.
• American Eels are Virginia’s Catadromous species, which spend their adult life in fresh-water and migrate to the ocean to spawn.
• These species need habitat conservation from mountain streams to the ocean.
Exotic Species Introductions
Zebra Mussels
Wooly Adelgid - Exotic Invasive • An exotic insect that
is destroying our native Hemlock trees along streams.
• How could the loss
of these Hemlocks effect the stream ecosystem?
Health Issues with Smallmouth Bass
ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS
FRAGMENTATION AND EDGE EFFECT
As the human population continues to grow, development reduces and fragments remaining undisturbed habitat.
Point Source Pollution
Non-Point Source Pollution
Channelization
Urban Impacts
Erosion
Nutrification
Unrestricted Cattle
Strategies for Aquatic Habitat Improvement
Wetlands Protection
• Filter out nutrients and pollutants
• Flood control
• Groundwater recharge areas
• Habitat for rare and endangered species
Healthy Riparian Area • Filter runoff removing excess nutrients and
sediments. • Helps stabilize the stream banks from erosion. • Provides shade to the stream to reduce water
temperature. • Increases fish and aquatic habitat quality and
quantity. • Provides food and “energy to aquatic
organisms (leaf litter).
Strategies for Aquatic Habitat Improvement
Fencing and Riparian Buffer Restoration
Before
During
After
Rural Stream Restoration
Urban Stream Restoration
Before
During
After
Dump & Sinkhole Clean-ups
Electrofishing
Trap Nets
Hatcheries & Fish
Stocking
Creel Surveys
Gill nets
Credit: Lance Merry
“In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand.
We will understand only what we are taught.”
- Buba Dioum
Ø Freshwater Fishes of Virginia Ø Robert E. Jenkins and Noel M. Burkhead
Ø Available from http://www.afsbooks.org/ - $110
Ø Fish Watching: An Outdoor Guide to Freshwater Fishes Ø C. Lavett Smith
Ø Amazon.com - $27
Ø Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Ø Fred C. Rohde, Rudolf G. Arndt, David G. Lindquist, and James F. Parnell
Ø Amazon.com - $7 to $25
Books
http://web1.cnre.vt.edu/efish/