Pinelands Fish 2012 - New Jersey Fi… · Pinelands FishPinelands Fish ... • small, nocturnal...
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Transcript of Pinelands Fish 2012 - New Jersey Fi… · Pinelands FishPinelands Fish ... • small, nocturnal...
1
Pinelands FishPinelands Fish
John F. BunnellChief Scientist
Pinelands Commission
Fish Surveys
Natural History
Geographic Affinity
22 Species of Fish Collected
Indicators of Watershed Conditions
Fish Surveys181 stream sites
72 impoundments
94 Mullica River58 Rancocas Creek42 Great Egg Harbor River
+ 59 Barnegat Bay
253 Pinelands Survey Sites
Four Watershed Studies
Fish Surveys: Seining
Fish Surveys: Seining Fish Surveys: Electrofishing
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Fish Surveys: Electrofishing Pinelands Waters
BlackwatersLow pH (3.5 – 4.5)
Low nutrient concentrations
Few rifflesLow gradient
Sluggish current
No large rocksAbundant woody debris
Sand, silt, and gravel substrate
Pinelands Waters: Small forested streams Pinelands Waters: Large forested streams
Pinelands Waters: Large open-canopy streams Pinelands Waters: Ditches in abandoned cranberry bogs
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Pinelands Waters: Ditches in abandoned cranberry bogs Pinelands Waters: Degraded streams
Pinelands Waters: Beaver impoundments Pinelands Waters: Abandoned cranberry bogs
Pinelands Waters: Abandoned cranberry reservoirs Pinelands Waters: Herbaceous impoundments
4
Pinelands Waters: Forges, mills, and recreation Pinelands Waters: Open-water lakes
Pinelands Waters: Degraded lakes Reproduction: NestingBroadcast eggs - Create nests in vegetation - Create nests on bottom
Reproduction: Egg layingLoose eggs - Gelatinous clumps of eggs - Folded tubes of eggs
Reproduction: External fertilizationMale with sperm and female with eggs
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Reproduction: External fertilizationNests in close proximity to each other Anadromous = live in sea/lake
and spawn in streams(salmon, steelhead, shad…)
Catadromous = live in streamsand spawn in sea (eels)
Reproduction: Migration
Shape and Behavior: RoversStreamlined with forked tail - Often in schools
Shape and Behavior: Lie-in-wait predatorsElongated with teeth
Shape and Behavior: Surface-oriented fishFlat head - Upturned mouth - Shallow water
Shape and Behavior: Benthic fishBarbels - No swim bladder
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Shape and Behavior: Deep-bodied fishLaterally compressed – Maneuverable - Often have body bars
Shape and Behavior: Snake-like fishLive in holes or crevices – Live in riprap and rocks – Like current
Lateral Line: Sensory system Respiration: Countercurrent exchange of dissolved oxygen
RestrictedCharacteristic
Peripheraland Introduced
Geographic Affinity
Native Pinelands Species Nonnative Species
WidespreadCharacteristic
6 Restricted-nativeSpecies
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• bottom dweller• no swim bladder• open sand habitats• 1 - 2 inches long
Restricted Species: Swamp Darter (Etheostoma fusiforme) Restricted Species: Pirate Perch (Aphredoderus sayanus)
• nocturnal species• 4 - 5 inches long
Anusand
urogenitalpore
Eggs
Restricted Species: Pirate Perch (Aphredoderus sayanus) Restricted Species: Yellow Bullhead (Ameiurus natalis)
• bottom feeder• sensory barbels• nocturnal species• 16 - 18 inches long
Restricted Species: Mud Sunfish (Acantharcus pomotis)
• largest native sunfish• predator with large mouth• abandoned-bog habitats• 5 - 6 inches long
Restricted Species: Banded Sunfish (Enneacanthus obesus)• extremely acid-tolerant• abandoned-bog habitats• 3 - 4 inches long
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Restricted Species: Blackbanded Sunfish (Enneacanthus chaetodon)
• aquarium fish • reported to be in decline• 3 - 4 inches long
7 Widespread-nativeSpecies
Widespread Species: Bluespotted Sunfish (Enneacanthus gloriosus)
• deep-bodied fish• 3 - 4 inches long
Widespread Species: Redfin Pickerel (Esox americanus)
• sharp teeth• broadcast eggs• lie-in-wait predator• headwater habitats• 10 - 12 inches long
Widespread Species: Chain Pickerel (Esox niger)
• most frequently found fish• broadcast eggs• lie-in-wait predator• native gamefish, 36+ inches long• 9 lb. 3 oz. record from Aetna Lake in 1957
Widespread Species: Chain Pickerel (Esox niger)
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Chain pickerel
Redfin pickerel
Widespread Species: Creek Chubsucker (Erimyzon oblongus)
• eats plants and animals• open-water fish• schooling fish• 12 - 14 inches long
adult
juvenile
Widespread Species: Creek Chubsucker (Erimyzon oblongus) Widespread Species: Eastern Mudminnow (Umbra pygmaea)
• abandoned-bog habitats• tolerant of low oxygen• can gulp air and absorb through swim bladder• 4 - 5 inches long
Widespread Species: American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)
• extremely slimy from mucous• in demand in Europe and Asia• 1 - 3 feet long, can reach 5 feet
Catadromous• live in east coast streams• males at 5 - 7 y and females at 15 y• migrate to Sargasso Sea to breed• lay eggs, adults die, eggs hatch into leptocephali larvae• drift up the coast with Gulf Stream• 2” glass eels, then become small eels called elvers• swim up streams, live there until old enough to breed
Larvae
Glass eel
Adult eel
Widespread Species: American Eel (Anguilla rostrata)
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Widespread Species: Tadpole Madtom (Noturus gyrinus)
• small, nocturnal catfish• venom glands on spines• largely absent from lakes• widespread, but found at higher pH• 4 - 5 inches long
6 PeripheralSpecies
Peripheral Species: Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus)• eggs fanned for oxygen• young in pods• 16 - 18 inches long
brown bullhead yellow bullhead
Peripheral Species: Brown Bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus)
juveniles
Peripheral Species: Tessellated Darter (Etheostoma olmstedi)
• no swim bladder• open sand habitats• current and oxygen• absent from lakes• 3 - 4 inches long
Peripheral Species: Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens)
• eggs in long, folded gelatinous tube• tasty eating • 10 – 12 inches long
juvenile
adult
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Peripheral Species: Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas)
• abdominal keel• roving in schools• common forage and baitfish• bucket releases• 8 - 10 inches long
juvenile
adult
Peripheral Species: Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas)
Peripheral Species: Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus)• surface feeder with upturned mouth• schooling fish in lake shallows• forage and baitfish• 4 - 5 inches long
Peripheral Species: Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)• gamefish• circular nest• male guards nest• up to 10 inches long
juvenile
adult
3 IntroducedSpecies
Native to theMississippi drainages
One additional species
Introduced Species: Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
• introduced gamefish• circular nest• male guards nest• up to 10 inches long
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Introduced Species: Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)
• tube-like mouth• tend to school• introduced as gamefish• up to 19 inches long juvenile
adult
adult
Introduced Species: Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)
Introduced Species: Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
• introduced as gamefish• very large mouth• major predator• size measured in pounds
juvenile
adult
Introduced Species: Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Introduced Species: Goldfish (Carassius auratus)
• tolerant of pollution• introduced from Asia• domesticated over 1000 years ago• normally gray or silver• white, yellow, orange, red, brown, black
Land-use ActivitiesDevelopment
Upland agriculture
Water-quality DegradationNutrient enrichment
Increased dissolved solidsElevated pH
Altered Biological CommunitiesPresence of nonnative-plant speciesPresence of nonnative-frog speciesPresence of nonnative-fish species
Indicators of Watershed Conditions
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253 Pinelands Survey Sites
Indicators of Watershed Conditions: Nonnative Fish
Nonnatives absent - 126 sitesNonnatives present - 127sites
~50% of all survey sitessupported nonnative fish
Indicators of Watershed Conditions: Nonnative Fish
3.5
4.5
5.5
6.5
7.5
0 20 40 60 80 100Altered Land (%)
pH
Indicators: 253 Fish Sites in Four Watersheds
3.5
4.5
5.5
6.5
7.5
0 20 40 60 80 100Altered Land (%)
pH
Indicators: 253 Fish Sites in Four Watersheds
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
NonnativesAbsent
NonnativesPresent
Alte
red
Land
(%)
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
NonnativesAbsent
NonnativesPresent
pH
Indicators: 253 Fish Sites in Four Watersheds
0102030405060708090
100
3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5pH
Prob
abili
ty o
f Non
nativ
es (%
)__
0102030405060708090
100
0 20 40 60 80 100
Altered Land (%)
Prob
abili
ty o
f Non
nativ
es (%
)__
Indicators: 253 Fish Sites in Four Watersheds
14
0
20
40
60
80
100
180 Stream Sites Ordered By DCA Axis 1
% o
f Spe
cies
at a
Site
Nonnative Species Widespread Species Restricted Species
Increasing altered land and pH
Indicators: Rank Ecological Integrity for Streams
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
26 Impoundments Ordered by the % of Upstream-altered Land
Alte
red
Land
(%)
Non-native fish
Carpenter frog adults
Native fish
Carpenter frog tadpoles
Bullfrog tadploes
Bullfrog adults
Indicators: Biotic Homogenization
Four Pinelands Watershed Studies
Relationship betweenland use, water quality, and
stream vegetation,and fish and anuran
assemblages
http://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/science/pub
Other Studies With Fish
Cranberry Study:Diatoms, invertebrates, vegetation,
and fish in streams that drain active-cranberry bogs, abandoned
bogs, and forest land
Impoundment Study:Land-use effects on diatoms,
vegetation, fish, and frogs and toads in 30 Pinelands stream
impoundments
http://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/science/pub
THE ENDTHE END
John F. BunnellChief Scientist
Pinelands Commission