Arkansas River Shiner

Notropis girardi

Description

The Arkansas River shiner, Notropis girardi, is a small, robust shiner with a small, dorsally flattened head, rounded snout, and small subterminal mouth. Adults attain a maximum length of 2 in (5 cm). Dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins all have eight rays, and there is usually a small, black chevron present at the base of the caudal fin. Dorsal coloration tends to be light tan, with silvery sides gradually grading to white on the belly.

Behavior

The Arkansas River shiner is a generalist feeder in which no particular invertebrate dominates the diet. Adults may prefer to wait on the lee sides of sand ridges and feed upon organisms washed downstream. In the Canadian River of Texas, the diet of Arkansas River shiner was dominated by detritus, aquatic invertebrates, and sand and silt. With the exception of the winter season when larval flies were consumed much more frequently than other aquatic invertebrates, no particular invertebrate taxa dominated the diet. The Arkansas River shiner feeds on both items suspended in the water column and items lying on the substrate. In the Pecos River, fly larvae, copepods, immature mayflies, insect eggs, and seeds were the dominant items in the diet.

The Arkansas River shiner spawns in July, usually coinciding with flood flows following heavy rains. It appears that the Arkansas River shiner is in peak reproductive condition throughout the months of May, June, and July and may actually spawn several times during this period. Arkansas River shiner eggs are nonadhesive and drift with the swift current during high flows.

The number of mature eggs for Arkansas River shiners in Texas varied between 120 and 274, with some large females containing more than 400. Hatching occurs within 24-48 hours after spawning. The larvae are capable of swimming within three to four days; they then seek out backwater pools and quiet water at the mouth of tributaries where food is more abundant. This species will not spawn unless conditions are favorable to the survival of the larvae. Life span is unknown, but is likely less than three years in the wild.

Habitat

The Arkansas River shiner historically inhabited the main channels of wide, shallow, sandy-bottomed rivers and larger streams of the Arkansas River basin. Adults are uncommon in quiet pools or backwaters, and almost never occur in tributaries having deep water and bottoms of mud or stone. Water depth, sand ridge and midchannel habitats, dissolved oxygen, and current are the environmental variables most strongly associated with the distribution of Arkansas River shiner within the channel. Juvenile Arkansas River shiners associate most strongly with current, conductivity (total dissolved solids), and backwater and island habitat types.

Distribution

Historically, the Arkansas River shiner was widespread and abundant throughout the western portion of the Arkansas River basin in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. In New Mexico, surveys and collection records establish that the Arkansas River shiner historically inhabited the Canadian River from the Texas-New Mexico state line as far upstream as the Sabinoso area in central San Miguel County, New Mexico, a distance of more than 120 river-mi (193 river-km). The Arkansas River shiner also occurred in Ute and Revuelto Creeks and the Conchas River.

In Texas, the Arkansas River shiner occurred throughout the Canadian River from state line to state line, a distance of about 230 river-mi (370 river-km). The first reported captures of Arkansas River shiner from Texas were in 1954. The species was captured at several sites extending from near the Texas-New Mexico state line at the Matador Ranch in Oldham County downstream to the Texas-Oklahoma state line.

As of the late 1990s, the Arkansas River shiner was almost entirely restricted to about 500 mi (800 km) of the Canadian River in Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. An extremely small population may still survive in the Cimarron River in Oklahoma and Kansas, based on the collection of only nine individuals since 1985. A non-native population of the Arkansas River shiner has become established in the Pecos River of New Mexico in the late twentieth century. The decline of this species throughout its historical range may primarily be attributed to inundation and modification of stream discharge by impoundments, channel desiccation (drying out) due to water diversion and excessive groundwater pumping, stream channelization, and introduction of non-native species.

Threats

The Arkansas River basin population is threatened by habitat destruction and modification from stream dewatering or depletion due to diversion of surface water and groundwater pumping, construction of impoundments, and water quality degradation. Competition with the nonindigenous Red River shiner (N. bairdi ) contributed to diminished distribution and abundance in the Cimarron River. Incidental capture of the Arkansas River shiner during pursuit of commercial bait fish species may also contribute to reduced population sizes. Drought and other natural factors also threaten the existence of the species.

Conservation and Recovery

Kansas lists the Arkansas River shiner as a state endangered species and has designated portions of the main stem Cimarron, Arkansas, South Fork Ninnescah, and Ninnescah Rivers as critical habitat. A permit is also required for public actions that have the potential to destroy listed individuals or their critical habitat. Subject activities include any publicly funded or state or federally assisted action, or any action requiring a permit from any other state or federal agency. The penalty for violations is a maximum fine of US$2,500 and confinement for a period not to exceed one year. Kansas does not permit the commercial harvest of bait fish from rivers and streams.

New Mexico also lists the Arkansas River shiner as a state endangered species. This listing prohibits the taking of fish without a valid scientific collecting permit but does not provide habitat protection. Oklahoma lists the Arkansas River shiner as a state threatened species, but like New Mexico, this listing does not provide habitat protection. The states of Arkansas and Texas provide no special protection for the species or its habitat.

While Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma protect the Arkansas River shiner from take and/or possession, only Kansas addresses the problem of habitat destruction or modification. Only New Mexico provides significant protection from the potential introduction of non-native, competitive species. Licensed commercial bait dealers in New Mexico may sell bait minnows only within the drainage where they have been collected and cannot sell any state-listed fish species.

The U. S. Geological Survey has initiated a water quality assessment of the High Plains aquifer under the National Water Quality Assessment program. Through this project the U. S. Geological Survey planned to evaluate existing water quality problems in the aquifer and provide information that will help protect water quality in the aquifer.

The Canadian River Municipal Water Authority, the nonfederal sponsor of the Lake Meredith Salinity Control Project, has agreed to implement certain conservation actions for the Arkansas River shiner. It has agreed to: (1) conduct routine evaluations of flow conditions within the immediate project area, (2) adjust operation of the salinity control project to minimize any potential effect upon the Arkansas River shiner, and (3) monitor water quality within the affected stream segment. It also has agreed to cooperate with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of New Mexico in scheduling releases from Ute Reservoir to benefit the Arkansas River shiner. The Canadian River Municipal Water Authority initiated releases in June 1997, and researchers at Texas Tech University are evaluating the effect of these releases on reproductive ecology of the Arkansas River shiner, and will provide recommendations for scheduling any future releases.

Contacts

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Regional Office, Division of Endangered Species
P.O. Box 1306
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87103-1306
Telephone: (505) 248-6911
Fax: (505) 248-6915
http://southwest.fws.gov/

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Regional Office, Division of Endangered Species
1875 Century Blvd., Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30345
http://southeast.fws.gov/

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Regional Office, Division of Endangered Species
P.O. Box 25486
Denver Federal Center
Denver, Colorado 80225
http://www.r6.fws.gov/

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office
222 South Houston, Suite A
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74127-8909
Telephone: (918) 581-7458
Fax: (918) 581-7467
http://ifs2es.fws.gov/Oklahoma/

Reference

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 23 November 1998. "Final Rule to List the Arkansas River Basin Population of the Arkansas River Shiner (Notropis girardi ) as Threatened." Federal Register 63 (225): 64771-64799.