Fish Populations, Following a Drought, in the Neosho and Marais des Cygnes Rivers of Kansas Part 7

#Percina phoxocephala# (Nelson)

Slender-headed Darter

The slender-headed darter was taken at all stations but was more abundant in the Neosho than in the Marais des Cygnes. The lower Marais des Cygnes, however, was the only station with a relatively large population in 1957. Slender-headed darters were rare in the Neosho River in 1957 and did not become common until 1959.

The largest population was found at the upper Neosho station in 1959.

This darter occurs most frequently in swift water over gravel bottom, but was taken in various habitats, including an intermittent pool at the upper Neosho station on 7 September, 1957.

At the middle and lower Neosho stations, considerably greater numbers were taken in June, July, and early August than in May or late August.

The abundance in my collections diminished from a peak in early July, to scarcity in late August.

Young-of-the-year were taken at the lower Neosho station on 1 July, 1959 (and subsequently), in moderately fast water over gravel. On 21 August, 1958, a ripe female (eggs stripped easily) was the only slender-headed darter present in a collection from riffles at the middle Neosho station.

#Percina caprodes# (Rafinesque)

Logperch

Logperch were not taken in the Marais des Cygnes. They were rare in the Neosho, where they were taken most frequently at the upper station in water two to three feet deep, over gravel bottom, in moderate to slight current. This species was present in intermittent pools at the upper Neosho station in 1957.

#Percina copelandi# (Jordan)

Channel Darter

One specimen was taken at the lower Neosho station in 1959. Because no others ever have been found in the mainstream of the Neosho River, I suspect that my specimen is a "stray" from one of the smaller tributaries, where channel darters are locally common.

#Etheostoma flabellare# Rafinesque

Fan-tailed Darter

The fan-tailed darter is represented in my collections by one specimen, obtained in the mainstream of the Neosho River at the lower station in 1957. Records of this species in Kansas are almost confined to the smallest, clear, permanent streams of the southeastern part of the state. My specimen may represent a small population that retreated to the mainstream of the Neosho during drought.

#Etheostoma spectabile# (Aga.s.siz)

Orange-throated Darter

Orange-throated darters were common at the upper Marais des Cygnes and upper Neosho stations in 1959, rare at the middle and lower Neosho stations, and absent from the middle and lower Marais des Cygnes stations. The species was found almost exclusively on upstream riffles over gravel-rubble bottom. The population in the upper Neosho was decimated by drought, and the fish did not become common until the summer of 1959, the third year after resumption of normal stream-flow.

Deacon and Metcalf (1961:320) indicated that long periods of intermittency result in depletion or elimination of populations of the orange-throated darter in the Wakarusa River, Kansas. A limited number of orange-throated darters probably survived in the few permanent pools in the upper Neosho and provided the brood-stock necessary to repopulate this section of the stream.

#Aplodinotus grunniens# Rafinesque

Freshwater Drum

Drum were taken at all stations, but were most abundant at the middle and lower Neosho stations. A high level of abundance also was found in 1957 at the middle Marais des Cygnes station. The abundance of drum declined from 1957 to 1959, but the average size increased because of a dominant 1957 year-cla.s.s that was moderately reduced by natural mortality in 1958-'59. Although the population was composed largely of young-of-the-year and adults in 1957, it was dominated by yearling individuals in 1958. By 1959 the number had declined considerably and the population consisted mostly of juveniles and adults. Fish of the 1957 year-cla.s.s reached a length of approximately ten inches by mid-summer of 1959 (Table 8).

Adults were taken in a variety of habitats, but most often in quiet water. On the other hand, yearlings were extremely abundant in 1958 near sh.o.r.e in shallow, moderately fast water over rubble bottom at night.

Drum were rare in the same areas in daylight (Table 9).

Young-of-the-year occur in shallow, quiet water, usually over mud-bottom.

The freshwater drum matures at about 12 inches T. L. Ripe males were taken as late as 23 June 1959; however, the height of the sp.a.w.ning season probably is in May.

TABLE 8. LENGTH-FREQUENCY OF FRESHWATER DRUM FROM THE MIDDLE NEOSHO STATION IN 1957, 1958 AND 1959.

Total length Aug. 19 Aug. 19-26 July 27-Aug. 4 in inches 1957 1958 1959

2 1 3 1 4 4 5 1 6 12 7 21 1 8 3 14 2 9 3 3 2 10 4 6 6 11 2 4 1 12 2 13 2 14 1

TABLE 9. AVERAGE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS CAPTURED PER HOUR, USING THE SHOCKER, AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY AND NIGHT AT THE MIDDLE NEOSHO STATION IN 1958. NUMBERS IN PARENTHESES INDICATE TOTAL NUMBER CAPTURED.

====================================================================== Morning Afternoon Early night Late night 5 hours 6 hours 18 hours 8 hours SPECIES of effort of effort of effort of effort expended expended expended expended 6:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 12:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 12:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. ----------------+------------+------------+-------------+------------+ Long-nosed Gar 0 0.3 (2) 1.2 (21) 1.1 (9) Short-nosed Gar 0.2 (1) 0 0.2 (3) 0.4 (3) Gizzard Shad 0.2 (1) 0.3 (2) 0.1 (1) 0.1 (1) Black Buffalo 0 0.2 (1) 0.1 (1) 0 Small-mouthed Buffalo 0.4 (2) 0.3 (2) 0.8 (14) 0.8 (6) River Carpsucker 3.4 (17) 3.3 (20) 5.7 (102) 4.9 (39) Redhorse 0 0.2 (1) 0.6 (10) 0.6 (5) Carp 1.8 (9) 0.2 (1) 0.7 (12) 0.8 (6) Channel Catfish 1.6 (8) 1.0 (6) 10.2 (183) 10.5 (84) Flathead 2.2 (11) 1.3 (8) 2.4 (43) 3.6 (29) Spotted Ba.s.s 0.4 (2) 0.5 (3) 0.3 (6) 0.1 (1) Green Sunfish 0.2 (1) 0.2 (1) 0.2 (3) 0.1 (1) Long-eared Sunfish 0 0 0.1 (2) 0.4 (3) Orange-spotted Sunfish 0.2 (1) 0 0 0 White c.r.a.ppie 0.2 (1) 0.2 (1) 0.2 (5) 0.4 (3) Freshwater Drum 1.0 (5) 0.8 (5) 5.6 (101) 5.3 (42) Number captured per hour 13.4 9.3 29.5 33.8 ----------------+------------+------------+-------------+------------+

TABLE 10. NUMBERS OF FISH SEEN OR CAPTURED PER HOUR BY USE OF THE SHOCKER. EXCLUDES FISH TAKEN BY SHOCKING INTO A SEINE ON RIFFLES; YOUNG-OF-THE-YEAR CHANNEL CATFISH AND FLATHEAD CATFISH PREDOMINATED IN SAMPLES TAKEN BY THAT METHOD.

==================================================================== Marais des Cygnes River -----------------+-----------------+-----------+ SPECIES Upper Middle Lower -------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ 1957 1958 1959 1957 1958 1959 1957 1958 -------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ Gar .7 1.3 1.2 .6 2.7 ... 2.2 9.4 Gizzard Shad .9 .2 ... 9.9 2.5 ... ... .5 Buffalo 2.0 3.7 .6 .8 2.0 ... 5.7 6.4 River Carpsucker 4.0 4.9 .6 6.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 3.9 Shortheaded Redhorse 3.3 .9 .6 .8 .2 ... ... ... Carp 10.6 6.4 2.4 8.6 5.0 3.5 6.0 10.4 Black Bullhead ... ... ... 3.9 17.2 ... ... ... Channel Catfish .5 .9 ... 4.7 2.5 ... 1.8 .7 Flathead .2 ... 2.4 .5 ... ... 1.8 .5 Largemouth 1.0 ... ... .3 .2 ... ... ... White c.r.a.ppie 1.7 5.1 .6 1.3 .7 ... ... .2 Freshwater Drum .9 1.6 .6 24.5 2.2 ... .7 .2 Hours shocked 4-1/2 4-1/2 1-2/3 4 4 2 2-5/6 4-1/2 -------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ Neosho River ----------------------------------------------- Middle Lower -------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ 1957 1958 1959 1957 1958 1959 ------------------- -------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ Gar 3.2 4.2 3.8 5.3 4.9 8.4 Gizzard Shad .5 .2 .4 1.9 1.0 .4 Buffalo 2.9 1.8 1.2 6.2 .9 1.5 River Carpsucker 5.5 7.4 2.9 7.5 13.3 6.3 Shortheaded Redhorse 1.9 .6 1.6 .7 ... 1.6 Carp 2.1 2.1 1.4 3.4 1.2 1.1 Channel Catfish 2.6 8.8 .9 107.0 .5 .7 Flathead 7.6 3.7 2.7 10.8 .2 1.2 Ba.s.s 1.6 .4 .1 .2 .2 .1 White c.r.a.ppie ... .9 .2 1.8 .7 .1 Freshwater Drum 3.9 3.3 .8 15.9 2.8 .7 Hours shocked 5-2/3 55-5/6 48-1/2 4-1/6 4 16-5/6 -------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

TABLE 11. NUMBER OF OCCURRENCES (Roman type) AND NUMBER COUNTED (_Italic type_) PER SEINING UNIT. ONE SEINING UNIT EQUALS 30 SEINE-HAULS (ten each with the 4-foot, 12-foot and 25-foot seine) OF WHICH SIX RANDOMLY-CHOSEN HAULS WERE COUNTED. DASHES SIGNIFY THAT THE SPECIES OCCURRED IN UNCOUNTED COLLECTIONS ONLY.

====================================================================== Marais des Cygnes stations Neosho +-----------+----------+-----------+--------------- SPECIES Upper Middle Lower Lower station +-----+-----+----+-----+-----------+------+-------- 1957 1959 1957 1959 1957 1959 1957 1959 -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Golden s.h.i.+ner ... ... --- ... ... ... ... ...

-------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Creek Chub ... --- ... ... ... ... ... ...

-------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Silver Chub ... ... ... ... --- ... ... ...

-------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Gravel Chub ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3.0 _2.3_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Sucker-mouthed --- 6 ... 3 ... 1 2 10.0 Minnow _1_ _43.0_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Red-finned s.h.i.+ner ... ... ... 1 2.5 2 ... 4.7 _5.0_ _2.3_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Blunt-faced s.h.i.+ner ... ... --- ... ... ... ... ...

-------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Red s.h.i.+ner 21 15 8 19 16.0 15 27 20.0 _6_ _4_ _22_ _69.0_ _22_ _1119_ _102.0_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Mimic s.h.i.+ner ... ... ... ... ... ... --- ...

-------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Ghost s.h.i.+ner 7.5 1 ... 1 9.5 2 17 11.7 _96.5_ _54_ _76_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Sand s.h.i.+ner --- 7 ... 8 1.5 3 ... 1 _2_ _.3_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Mountain Minnow ... ... ... ... ... ... 12 9.3 _25_ _13.6_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Blunt-nosed Minnow --- 2 ... 8 1.0 1 6 14.0 _.5_ _4_ _7.6_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Parrot Minnow ... ... ... ... ... ... 12 19.0 _6_ _28.6_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Fat-headed Minnow 10.5 4 5 7 ... ... ... 8.3 _1.5_ _2_ _1_ _3.0_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Stoneroller --- 6 --- ... ... ... --- 2.3 _1.0_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Black Bullhead ... ... ... ... .5 ... ... ...

-------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Channel Catfish 4.5 2 1 13 5.0 10 12 6.3 _1.5_ _1_ _7_ _1.0_ _6_ _5_ _41.6_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Flathead --- 1 --- --- 1.0 ... --- .3 -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Stonecat ... ... --- ... 6.0 ... --- 1.0 _.5_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Neosho Madtom ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3.3 _2.0_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Brook Silversides ... ... ... ... .5 ... ... 1.7 _1.0_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Black-striped ... ... ... ... 1.0 2 ... 1.0 Topminnow _1.0_ _.7_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Spotted Ba.s.s ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 3.7 _.3_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Largemouth ... ... 1 3 ... ... 1 ...

_1_ _1_ _2_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Green Sunfish 9 8 9 17 11.0 3 7 10.0 _7.5_ _3_ _3_ _12.0_ _1_ _2_ _3.6_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Long-eared Sunfish ... ... ... ... .5 ... 6 4.3 _.7_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Orange-spotted 4.5 --- 2 3 2.5 ... 12 12.0 Sunfish _6_ _4_ _5_ _5.0_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Bluegill 1.5 1 ... 6 3.5 1 1 .3 _1_ _.3_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- White c.r.a.ppie ... ... 4 4 ... ... ... ...

_7_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Logperch ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 .3 _.7_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Slender-headed --- 13 ... 2 6.5 3 1 8.3 Darter _15.0_ _1_ _3.0_ -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Orange-throated --- 7 ... ... ... ... 1 --- Darter -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+-------- Seining units 2/3 1 1 1 2 1 1 3 -------------------+-----+-----+----+-----+------+----+------+--------

FISH-FAUNA OF THE UPPER NEOSHO RIVER

Collections at the upper Neosho station were more intensive than at any other station, especially in 1959. Rotenone was used in the summers of 1957, 1958 and 1959, to obtain large samples of the population in one section of the stream. In September, 1959, the shocker was used in other sections in order to estimate populations in particular pools and riffles, to measure variability in the fauna between areas having slightly different habitat, and to record movement of marked individuals in a short section of the stream.

Description of Study-areas

Two sections of the stream, each about one-half mile long (See p. 366), were studied. Additional description of particular areas is presented below. Area 1 and the pools in which rotenone was used are on the Bosch Farm approximately two miles upstream from the White Farm where Areas 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are situated.

Area 1 has a length of 210 feet, an average width of four feet, and a maximum depth of two feet. The upper half is a swift, rubble riffle four inches in average depth; the lower half is one and one-half feet in average depth and has a slow current (Pl. 29, Fig. 1).

Area 3 has a length of 186 feet, an average width of 34 feet, and a maximum depth of two and one-half feet. This area includes a shallow riffle at both upstream and downstream ends of a pool 73 feet long and approximately one foot in average depth (Pl. 29, Fig. 2).