Watercress darter: Difference between revisions

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| status = EN
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN
| status_system = IUCN
| status_ref = <ref>{{IUCN | id = 8122 | taxon =''Etheostoma nuchale''| assessors = NatureServe | assessment_year = 2013 | version = 3.1 | accessdate = November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{IUCN | id = 8122 | taxon =''Etheostoma nuchale''| assessors = NatureServe | assessment_year = 2013 | version = 3.1 | accessdate = November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
| image = Watercress Darter.jpg
| image = Watercress Darter.jpg
| image_caption = Photo courtesy of the Geological Survey of Alabama
| image_caption = Photo courtesy of the Geological Survey of Alabama
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| binomial_authority = Howell & Caldwell, 1965
| binomial_authority = Howell & Caldwell, 1965
}}
}}

The '''watercress darter''', '''''Etheostoma nuchale''''', is a small, colorful fish which lives in the [[Black Warrior River]] drainage basin near [[Birmingham, Alabama]]. The largest known female is 2.5&nbsp;inches in length. It was declared an [[endangered species]] by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] in 1970, five years after its initial discovery in Glenn Spring.<ref name=Duncan/>
The '''watercress darter''', '''''Etheostoma nuchale''''', is a small, colorful fish which lives in the [[Black Warrior River]] drainage basin near [[Birmingham, Alabama]]. The largest known female is 2.5&nbsp;inches in length. It was declared an [[endangered species]] by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] in 1970, five years after its initial discovery in Glenn Spring.<ref name=Duncan/>


==Distribution and habitat==
The species can be found in the [[watercress]] zone of springs. They feed on [[snail]]s, [[crustacean]]s, and [[insect]] [[larva]]e in slow-moving water. The species is endangered and is protected in areas such as the [[Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge]] in [[Jefferson County, Alabama|Jefferson County]]. The species is only known to exist in four specific bodies of water, two in the refuge and two at the Seven Springs in the Powderly neighborhood of Birmingham. The Seven Springs populations were discovered in 2003.<ref name=Duncan>{{cite journal |title=Habitat Use of the Watercress Darter (Etheostoma nuchale): An Endangered Fish in an Urban Landscape |author=R. Scot Duncan and Chad P. Elliott |journal=The American Midland Naturalist |pages=9–21 |year=2003 |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1674/0003-0031-164.1.9 |accessdate=2010-09-23 |doi=10.1674/0003-0031-164.1.9}}</ref>
The watercress darter is only known to exist in four specific bodies of water, two in the [[Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge]] and two at the Seven Springs in the [[Powderly, Kentucky|Powderly]] neighborhood of Birmingham. The Seven Springs populations were discovered in 2003. The species can be found in the [[watercress]] zone of springs where the water is slow-moving. They are usually found in dense mats of watercress or other aquatic vegetation, where they rest on the leaves and stems well above the stream bed. They feed on [[snail]]s, [[crustacean]]s, and [[insect]] [[larva]]e in slow-moving water. <ref name=Duncan>{{cite journal |title=Habitat Use of the Watercress Darter (''Etheostoma nuchale''): An Endangered Fish in an Urban Landscape |author=R. Scot Duncan and Chad P. Elliott |journal=The American Midland Naturalist |pages=9–21 |year=2003 |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1674/0003-0031-164.1.9 |accessdate=2010-09-23 |doi=10.1674/0003-0031-164.1.9}}</ref>

==Conservation and status==
The species is endangered and is protected in areas such as the Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge in [[Jefferson County, Alabama|Jefferson County]]. The [[IUCN]] lists it as being "[[Endangered species|Endangered]]" due to its small range, small total population size and vulnerability to deterioration in the quality of the water in the springs in which it occurs.<ref name=IUCN/>


On September 22, 2008, more than 12,000 <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/science/earth/25brfs-BIRMINGHAMIS_BRF.html?scp=1&sq=watercress%20darter&st=cse |publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|title=Feds Propose $3 Million Fine for Massive Fish Kill|date=2010-06-24}}</ref> watercress darters were killed when workers from the city of Birmingham removed a [[North American Beaver|beaver]] dam at Roebuck Springs, emptying a pond that was the darters' habitat. An alternative solution would have been to install a [[flow device]] in the dam to regulate the pond height. The pond was emptied because it often flooded a nearby [[tennis court]]. The city emptied the beaver pond without the permission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/122215777510060.xml&coll=2|publisher=''[[The Birmingham News]]''|last=Bouma|first=Katherine|title=Dam removal kills more than 1,000 endangered fish at Roebuck Springs|date=2008-09-23}}</ref> The FWS has ordered the dam to be restored and the pond refilled in an effort to save the remaining darters.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/1222244170184290.xml&coll=2|publisher=''The Birmingham News''|last=Bouma|first=Katherine|title=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service orders endangered watercress darter pond restored in Birmingham|date=2008-09-24}}</ref>
On September 22, 2008, more than 12,000 <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/science/earth/25brfs-BIRMINGHAMIS_BRF.html?scp=1&sq=watercress%20darter&st=cse |publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|title=Feds Propose $3 Million Fine for Massive Fish Kill|date=2010-06-24}}</ref> watercress darters were killed when workers from the city of Birmingham removed a [[North American Beaver|beaver]] dam at Roebuck Springs, emptying a pond that was the darters' habitat. An alternative solution would have been to install a [[flow device]] in the dam to regulate the pond height. The pond was emptied because it often flooded a nearby [[tennis court]]. The city emptied the beaver pond without the permission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/122215777510060.xml&coll=2|publisher=''[[The Birmingham News]]''|last=Bouma|first=Katherine|title=Dam removal kills more than 1,000 endangered fish at Roebuck Springs|date=2008-09-23}}</ref> The FWS has ordered the dam to be restored and the pond refilled in an effort to save the remaining darters.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/1222244170184290.xml&coll=2|publisher=''The Birmingham News''|last=Bouma|first=Katherine|title=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service orders endangered watercress darter pond restored in Birmingham|date=2008-09-24}}</ref>
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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj1chxwKhGI Village Creek in Roebuck Springs, Alabama - Video by Glynn Wilson]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj1chxwKhGI Village Creek in Roebuck Springs, Alabama - Video by Glynn Wilson]
* [http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/fish/other/darters/watercress/ Outdoor Alabama - Watercress Darter]
* [http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/fish/other/darters/watercress/ Outdoor Alabama - Watercress Darter]
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=Gimenez Dixon|year=1996|id=8122|title=Etheostoma nuchale|downloaded=10 May 2006}} Listed as Endangered (EN B1+2ce v2.3)
* {{ITIS |id=168415 |taxon=Etheostoma nuchale |accessdate=18 April 2006}}
* {{ITIS |id=168415 |taxon=Etheostoma nuchale |accessdate=18 April 2006}}
* {{FishBase species | genus = Etheostoma | species = nuchale | month = March | year = 2006}}
* {{FishBase species | genus = Etheostoma | species = nuchale | month = March | year = 2006}}
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[[Category:Percidae]]
[[Category:Percidae]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of Alabama]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of Alabama]]
[[Category:Animals described in 1965]]

{{percidae-stub}}

Revision as of 09:49, 28 December 2013

Watercress darter
Photo courtesy of the Geological Survey of Alabama
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perciformes
Family:
Percidae
Genus:
Etheostoma
Species:
E. nuchale
Binomial name
Etheostoma nuchale
Howell & Caldwell, 1965

The watercress darter, Etheostoma nuchale, is a small, colorful fish which lives in the Black Warrior River drainage basin near Birmingham, Alabama. The largest known female is 2.5 inches in length. It was declared an endangered species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1970, five years after its initial discovery in Glenn Spring.[2]

Distribution and habitat

The watercress darter is only known to exist in four specific bodies of water, two in the Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge and two at the Seven Springs in the Powderly neighborhood of Birmingham. The Seven Springs populations were discovered in 2003. The species can be found in the watercress zone of springs where the water is slow-moving. They are usually found in dense mats of watercress or other aquatic vegetation, where they rest on the leaves and stems well above the stream bed. They feed on snails, crustaceans, and insect larvae in slow-moving water. [2]

Conservation and status

The species is endangered and is protected in areas such as the Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson County. The IUCN lists it as being "Endangered" due to its small range, small total population size and vulnerability to deterioration in the quality of the water in the springs in which it occurs.[1]

On September 22, 2008, more than 12,000 [3] watercress darters were killed when workers from the city of Birmingham removed a beaver dam at Roebuck Springs, emptying a pond that was the darters' habitat. An alternative solution would have been to install a flow device in the dam to regulate the pond height. The pond was emptied because it often flooded a nearby tennis court. The city emptied the beaver pond without the permission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).[4] The FWS has ordered the dam to be restored and the pond refilled in an effort to save the remaining darters.[5]

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is suing the City of Birmingham for destroying endangered species and their wetland habitat.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Template:IUCN
  2. ^ a b R. Scot Duncan and Chad P. Elliott (2003). "Habitat Use of the Watercress Darter (Etheostoma nuchale): An Endangered Fish in an Urban Landscape". The American Midland Naturalist: 9–21. doi:10.1674/0003-0031-164.1.9. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
  3. ^ "Feds Propose $3 Million Fine for Massive Fish Kill". The New York Times. 2010-06-24. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Bouma, Katherine (2008-09-23). "Dam removal kills more than 1,000 endangered fish at Roebuck Springs". The Birmingham News. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Bouma, Katherine (2008-09-24). "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service orders endangered watercress darter pond restored in Birmingham". The Birmingham News. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Tracy Dalzell Walsh (2010-09-22). "Birmingham Sued Over Beaver Dam Removal". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 2010-09-23.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Watercress_darter&oldid=588049535"