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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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10

15

20

25

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Num

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s Native Fish Species in

Virginia’s Major Drainages

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20

40

60

80

100

120 Natives Natives and Introduced

Virginia’s Endemic Fish Species

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Num

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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/