TNACI Field Notes

A Date with Medusa

2011-12-29T15:39:00.000-05:00

Our morning today was a little different from most mornings at the office. Kathlina and I decided to walk over to Ocean Journey, the marine-focused building at the Tennessee Aquarium. We were going to help our aquarist friends feed Medusa, the Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini).

Medusa the Pacific Giant Octopus in the corner of her tank.

When we first arrived at her enclosure, she was curled up in the corner of the tank furthest from us, and was not being particularly social. We decided to let her stay in her corner and threw a pan of shrimp toward her, which she quickly began to explore with on of her eight tentacles.

Medusa putting a tentacle into the pan of shrimp.

Once she was finished with her shrimp and playing with the pan, we served her the next course of breakfast. Octopi are very intelligent, so staff at the Aquarium provide enrichment activities for Medusa to prevent her from getting bored. One enrichment activity is making her work for her food. Shrimp and squid are placed into a closed container that has a screw top, and the whole container thrown into the tank. It was entertaining to watch her try to open the container.

Medusa curled up around the container full of shrimp and squid.

As she worked on getting to her breakfast, she slowly moved closer to Kathlina and me, providing a great photo opportunity that highlights some of the interesting traits octopi possess.

An underwater view.

Cephalopods are the class of invertebrates that include the octopus, squid, cuttlefish, and nautilus. This is a very unique group of mollusks (yes, they are related to clams and oysters!). Probably the most noticeable feature of cephalopods is their tentacles. They are lined with suction cups and assist with locomotion, eating, and anchoring the animal down. To see a video of these amazing appendages in action, check out TNACI's Facebook page.

Close-up of Medusa's tentacle.

Some of the more remarkable traits about cephalopods is their developed senses, large brains and their ability to change color. While other mollusks do not have eyes, cephalopod eyesight is very keen and is the main sense they use to hunt. The intelligence of octopi is highly debated, but they do possess a brain larger than other invertebrates and experiments have shown an ability to solve mazes.

The group of cephalopods that includes squid, octopus, and cuttlefish (subclass Coleoidea) possess pigmented cells called chromatophores. Contracting and relaxing small mussels around the chromatophores causes the animal to change color, and they can do so very quickly. Color change occurs during reproductive activities, times of stress, or in an attempts to camouflage with the surrounding environment. Octopi can also change the texture of their skin. We were lucky enough to catch Medusa in the middle of a color change.

Chromatophores allow octopi to change color.

Eventually, Medusa did get to the squid in the container we threw to her. All-in-all it was a fun morning and a nice change in routine.

I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas

2011-12-20T16:31:00.000-05:00

Can you believe that the holidays are right around the corner? I know TNACI hasn’t accepted it mostly because of the weather. Usually by now it is cold and crisp in eastern Tennessee. Instead, it has been in the 50s and raining. Despite the warm(ish) weather, we did have a wonderful holiday party last week, full of laughs and funny (some quite strange) White Elephant gifts.

Many of us have our own way of being green during the holidays, and we decided to share some of these ideas with you. How are you eco-conscious during this time of year? Please feel free to share in the comments section below.

Dr. Anna George, Director of TNACI

For a few years now, our family has been celebrating “Homemade Christmas.” With so many talents among us—knitting, drawing, pottery, baking—it just made sense that we should celebrate with our time instead of our wallets. One year, my husband drew a set of fish coloring books for all of our nieces and nephews, and last year I sewed nine pairs of flannel pajama pants for all of the family! What’s really great is seeing what the kids are inspired to make for us—my niece has learned how to knit fabulous scarves, and the boys have made us flour dough sea creatures. Though we still spend some money on our supplies, it’s wonderful not to have a pile of plastic packaging to throw away when Christmas is over. And never underestimate the value of giving away experiences instead of things—taking my husband out for a nice dinner together is much more memorable—and greener—than buying him a new TV.

Kathlina Alford, Conservation Associate

I love to make things for people for Christmas so I try to use items that I find at yard sales, thrift stores or even the trash and turn them into something new. It’s a different kind of recycling! I also like to be creative with wrapping gifts. This year I bought re-usable grocery bags each time I found a cute one and used those in place of gift bags. I also like to wrap gifts in fabric for those of my friends and family who like to sew! For decorating I use clippings from fir trees and holly bushes in my neighborhood to make the house smell good and look festive. We don’t put up a big tree but instead decorate one of my indoor plants. This year we had a Christmas avocado tree!

Ashford Rosenberg, Sustainability Coordinator

The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year! But they can also be the most wasteful. In my family we try to decrease our footprint this time of year. I keep gift bags from the year before and reuse them. I also do a lot of holiday shopping at a used book store here in town. Everyone in my family has strange enough tastes that I can always find a unique, gently used book that will interest them. I have also moved more toward e-cards than paper cards. We either re-use wrapping paper, try to find fun materials to wrap gifts in, or purchase paper made from recycled materials. This year at a Christmas party, instead of buying disposable cups for everyone, we bought red and green plastic tumblers and sharpies so people could personalize their cup and take it home as a party favor.

Sarah Candler, Husbandry Intern

This holiday season, I have downsized the number of lights used in my decorating. Instead of buying all commercial gifts, I have made some of my own as well as purchased many locally made items. Most were wrapped using bows and bags from the previous year. Any bows and ribbons that can be salvaged after opening gifts this year, I will save for reuse next year. I also recycle my Christmas tree every year by mulching it.

Evan Collins, Research Intern

Christmas with my family is a pretty modest affair. A small Christmas tree comprises the extent of our decorations. This helps save time and energy. The main course for the holiday dinner consists of local food, usually a chicken we raised and butchered at home, or locally caught fish for something a little different. Gifts are packaged with boxes and wrapping paper from previous years and saved if possible.

TNACI Takes Serve & Protect to Chattanooga High Schools

2011-12-09T07:31:00.009-05:00

TNACI's mission is to conserve native aquatic animals and their habitats through scientific research, ecosystem restoration, education programs, and public outreach. Historically, TNACI's focus has been on freshwater conservation. However, with the help of celebrity chef Alton Brown, TNACI and the Tennessee Aquarium are moving downstream into the realm of marine conservation through sustainable seafood education.
You may have heard all the buzz when Alton was in town during September. He delivered an engaging presentation to a sold out IMAX Theater, highlighting the importance of environmentally responsible, healthy seafood choices. He definitely brought down the house! But the journey for sustainable seafood education doesn't stop there. Our goal is for the message and actions to spread into the Chattanooga community and beyond.

To continue spreading the message, TNACI now offers a new outreach program called Serve & Protect: a new way to SEEfood. As our Sustainability Coordinator, I get to visit area high schools to educate students about the impacts commercial fishing can have on our ocean, the advantages and drawbacks of fish farming, and ways teenagers and their families can be active in ocean conservation through seafood choices.

Our first group of high schoolers to take part in this program was the students and Girls Preparatory School here in Chattanooga. I spoke to the marine science class at GPS at the start of this week, and had a blast. The students learned what characteristics make a certain species more vulnerable to overfishing, what popular seafood species are in trouble due to overexploitation, and sustainable alternatives. Check out our Facebook page , or GPS's website for more pictures from the program.

If you are interested in TNACI coming to your school to talk about sustainable seafood, contact Ashford Rosenberg.

Logperch, Ashys, and Sunfish, Oh My!

2011-12-08T10:52:00.002-05:00

The transition from our hatchery facility in Cohutta, GA, to our recirculating facility in Chattanooga, TN, has been quite the adjustment for TNACI this year. As the Lake Sturgeon project is winding down for the year, we are expanding the number of species we work with and taking on new projects. A greenhouse onsite has been converted into fish grow-out and propagation space. Currently there are three species living there with more to come soon.

The new TNACI fish propagation area, currently housing six separate recirculating systems making up 19 fish enclosures.

:Conasauga Logperch in the Conasauga River during the collection trip for the brood stock for the breeding project. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Calhoon)

In partnership with Conservation Fisheries Inc. (CFI), we are housing Conasauga Logperch and Ashy Darters! The Conasauga Logperch are part of a cooperative effort (also with US Fish and Wildlife Service and Georgia Department of Natural Resources) to assist the wild population of this species by developing techniques for a captive propagation and reintroduction program. In 2010, we helped CFI collect a group of broodstock. Amazingly, CFI produced a bumper crop (over 700!) of little guys in the first year of the program. So 120 of them are growing strong at TNACI until they can be released.

As for the Ashy Darters, they were part of a different program to learn to breed this species - which was obviously also successful! These darters will be held through the winter until they go to the Tennessee Aquarium for exhibit.

Two young Ashy Darters.

The three species in the genus Enneacanthus are another group we’re starting to work with in the new greenhouse facility. Blackbanded Sunfish are being held in a heavily planted system in hopes that the natural sunlight, temperature fluctuations and vegetation will optimize breeding for this species. There are many more plans for this space in the works. It is exciting to plan for the future and have the facilities to accomodate new conservation opportunities that will benefit freshwater species in the Southeast!

Blackbanded Sunfish in our breeding tank.

See a video of the Blackbanded Sunfish eating on our Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Tennessee-Aquarium-Conservation-Institute/151884801512568

Lake Sturgeon Sampling

2011-11-21T17:05:00.007-05:00

During the week of November 14-18, Kathlina and Sarah (husbandry intern) were privileged to join TWRA, USFWS, UT Knoxville, and TVA in a lake sturgeon sampling effort on the Ft. Loudoun Reservoir/Tennessee River in and near Knoxville. Two commercial fishermen from Alabama also helped with the effort by showing us their techniques. We set trot lines each evening (Monday through Thursday) and pulled them up every morning to see what we caught.
We baited the lines with chunks of common carp, buffalo, gizzard shad, and earthworms. The gizzard shad and earthworms were not popular with the lake sturgeon but seemed to be enjoyed by a whole lot of catfish! (Several hundred catfish were caught as by-catch during this effort.) We didn’t just see catfish, however, as this sampling effort yielded a record 27 lake sturgeon!!! These fish ranged in age from 1-11 years old and were up to 42 inches long! It was a wonderful experience and yielded much needed data about the size and survivability of the lake sturgeon that have been released over the past 11 years. We can tell how old the fish are by how we mark the fish before release.

Each year, a certain scute (bony plates on the side of the body) is removed from each individual. For example, 2003 year class fish are missing the 4th scute on the right side. Many of the sturgeon also have PIT tags, which are imbedded under the skin of the larger fish we release. We can scan fish with a PIT tag to give us a unique identification number. From these tag numbers, we are able to look up exactly when and where the fish was released.

Once all of this information is compiled, a map will be created to illustrate where and how much the fish are moving in the river. Any sturgeon that was not already PIT tagged was given a tag with a unique number in anticipation of future recaptures. What an exciting study to track the progress of this long-term project!

Thanks to everyone who was involved for all of their hard work in the rain and cold! For more pictures visit our Facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Tennessee-Aquarium-Conservation-Institute/151884801512568

Southeastern Fishes Council meets in Chattanooga again!

2011-11-15T08:47:00.006-05:00

Last week TNACI hosted the annual meeting of the Southeastern Fishes Council, where scientists and students share their research on the conservation of southeastern fishes. It’s also an excuse for fish nerds to get together for a little bit of fun! The conference lasted for two days, and we were very happy with a turnout of over 190 people!

Thursday morning started with a great presentation from our keynote speaker Dr. Eve Brantley from Auburn University. She spoke about the importance of partnership for stream restoration, even severely degraded streams through agricultural areas (but don’t call them ditches in front of Eve!).

From left to right, Eric Spadgenske (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Eve Brantley (Keynote Speaker, Auburn University), and Anna George (Director of TNACI).

Presentations began after the keynote speaker, with sessions lasting around 2 hours. During those sessions, scientists and students gave 15 minute presentations on their research. Between sessions there was much coffee drinking and socializing. Here’s a secret for those of you who don’t know…scientists need coffee to survive.

Coffee break after morning session.

On Thursday evening, after all the presentations, SFC and TNACI hosted a social and poster session at the Tennessee Aquarium.

Poster session and social at the Tennessee Aquarium

Like with the student talks, there was a competition between the students for who had the best poster.

John Johansen talks about his research.

There was also delicious food.

Casper Cox and Robert Hrabik

And a silent auction for original artwork of southeastern fishes drawn by Joe Tomelleri.

On Friday, the presentations continued. The winners of the student poster and presentation contests were also announced that afternoon.

Left to right: Loren Stearman, Brook Fluker, Mark Hoger (presentation winners), John Johansen, Laura Stewart, Matthew Wagner & Zach Martin (Chris Yates not pictured), poster winners

All in all it was a great weekend. We here at TNACI had a great time and we look forward to seeing everyone next year in New Orleans!

TNACI Staff left to right, Sarah Candler, Evan Collins, Ashford Rosenberg (Kathlina Alford not pictured because she’s behind the camera!)

New Addition to the TNACI team!

2011-10-19T19:09:00.004-04:00

I have recently come on board the TNACI staff as the Conservation Associate and I am excited about all of the opportunities that this position comes with! Lee Friedlander formerly held this position and has moved on to teach at a local highschool. I am a native of middle Tennessee (Livingston) and graduated from Tennessee Tech in Cookeville with a bachelors in biology. For the past seven years I have been an Aquarist at the Tennessee Aquarium where my expertise has developed in Syngnathids (seahorses and their relatives), freshwater stingrays and also in native southeastern freshwater fishes, the latter being a reason this position was so attractive to me. I am also working on finishing my Masters degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where I am researching the population genetics of Hemitremia flammea (Flame Chubs) which are native to Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. With this genetics experience I am excited to partner with Dr. Anna George on various conservation genetics projects and seek out new projects that will benefit southeastern fish populations as well as captive populations of rare fishes in zoos and aquariums. We live in such an amazing place, surrounded by beautiful scenery, flowing waters and immense aquatic biodiversity. I can't think of a better place to study freshwater fishes and, more than that, to be active in conservation efforts to protect those species and their habitats! Watch out for future postings about new adventures at TNACI as I get settled into this position and seek out conservation research opportunities.

Fall in the Spring

2011-10-19T12:27:00.001-04:00

It's fall... which means time for a little spring work. This past week was our annual habitat and fish monitoring at Colvard Spring in north Georgia with our awesome friends at the Conasauga River Alliance, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the Nature Conservancy. And since the weather stayed warm, we also got to work on our underwater photography skills! Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Coldwater darters (Etheostoma ditrema) are shy, but seem be responding well to changes in vegetation type and abundance.

In our fish sampling yesterday, we caught 464 darters--more than we've seen in Colvard Spring before!

Silt is still thick in some parts of the spring...

but is replaced by slightly coarser particles where spring upwellings blow the fine silt away...

or around the bases of some of the clumps of vegetation (here, a Ludwigia sp.). A mix of stonerollers (Campostoma oligolepis), creek chubs (Semotilus atromaculatus), and orangeside dace (Rhinichthys obtusus) are milling about in the foreground.

One notable change this fall has been an increase in filamentous algae; here it's growing on muskgrass (Chara), sticks, and exposed rock. The floating clumps at the surface are algal mats that have floated free and are decaying.

The algae can look almost otherworldly... The small fish near the surface are western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), which are the most abundant fish species in the spring.

A happy TNACI team at the end of a long field day. If you'd like to see more pictures from our field work at Colvard, check out our Facebook photo album!

Snakehead Sampling

2011-10-16T19:52:00.001-04:00

Wow, it's been a while since we've posted. We've got a lot to catch up on, so we'll start with a post about our adventures with one of the more famous invasive species, the northern snakehead (Channa argus). These fish are a popular food fish in their native range of eastern Asia. Though we hate to villify a species, these fish can seem pretty nasty outside of their home range. Snakeheads have plenty of teeth, can breathe air through an accessory lung and persist out of water for up to four days, and are very aggressive about guarding their nests from other predators. So understandably, a lot of people are concerned about their introduction and the impacts they might have on native fishes.

At the end of September, we dashed over to Arkansas to collect snakeheads for a few exhibits. They've been introduced into two counties in central Arkansas, and we spent a lot of time seining muddy-bottomed agricultural ditches like these:

While the collecting was hard work (and the mosquitoes ate well!), we did manage to find a nice scaly toothy critter for our new exhibit on invasive species for the Aquarium.

It wasn't all scales, though. We found a nice little green tree frog (Hyla cinerea) at one of our collecting sites who wasn't too unhappy to pose for photos.

Stop by the Aquarium in December to check out our new invasive species exhibit!

Guest Post: Views from our High School Volunteer

2011-08-26T16:44:00.000-04:00

The experience I had as a volunteer with the TNACI Sturgeon Husbandry Program was, in short, phenomenal. Throughout my six weeks with TNACI my eyes were opened to countless new perspectives and insights regarding conservation, ranging from sturgeon to silt, sustainable seafood to stunned sunfish, animal care to education. The Husbandry Program is undeniably ambitious, a quality emphasized more so when one considers the extreme frailty of the young sturgeon’s fettle. Nevertheless, what struck me the most about the project was the relentless torrent of enthusiastic energy that fueled it, particularly an eagerness to engage the external community. This desire to not only better the environment, but to also teach and encourage the participation of others was trademark of all of TNACI’s projects. Whether organizing an attention-grabbing production such as the highly publicized sustainable seafood event or contemplating smaller scale outreach to children with an iconic “Sammy the Sturgeon”—my personal favorite—the Conservation Institute dedicates itself to more than “giving fish” to the community. Rather than resuscitating the marine environment for a few more years, it strives ardently to but to “teach [us all] how to fish” on our own, ballooning effectiveness and longevity through mass participation. Examine my own experience. Hardly a high school senior, not to mention completely oblivious to the mechanics of sturgeon reintroduction and marine science, I was accepted into the TNACI scene with enthusiasm and welcome. Despite my initial ignorance, I was invited to partake in a slew of incredible experiences, not only watching the young sturgeon grow and fight off an Aeromonas attack, but even being invited outside of the husbandry facility, collecting sunfish for the aquarium via an electroshocking boat.

Caroline (l) and Sarah (r) snorkeling in the Hiwassee River

It was through TNACI’s willingness to educate and share its passion for conservation that I in turn was inspired. Thanks to my exploits this summer at the expense of TNACI’s generosity, I look forward to passing on the torch, to spreading the enthusiasm and commitment to educate within my own community.

--Caroline Wiernicki, Summer Volunteer

Snorkeling Day

2011-08-02T10:48:00.006-04:00

Last Friday, we all headed out for some summer snorkeling in the Hiwassee River to celebrate the last day of our high school summer volunteer, Caroline. The access point was a bit remote (lots of time on gravel roads!), but it was a pleasant day and everyone saw many beautiful native fish species, including tangerine darters (Percina aurantiaca), mirror shiners (Notropis spectrunculus), whitetail shiners (Cyprinella galactura), and logperch (Percina caprodes). Despite the isolation of the area, it was still being impacted by aquatic nuisance species. We saw two invasive species, redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus, discussed here), and Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea).

Asian clams are native to Southeast Asia and parts of Russia. They were first seen in the United States in 1938 and have spread to almost 40 states since then. They were first brought into the country by immigrants using it for food, but now the main pathways of spread are bait buckets and intentional release.

Asian Clam (Corbicula fluminea). From http://nas.er.usgs.gov/XIMAGESERVERX/2005/20051110110923.jpg

Once the clams are established in an area, they outcompete native invertebrates for habitat and food. They also spread very quickly, in part because they are hermaphroditic, possessing both male and female reproductive organs. Asian clams are capable of self fertilization, and a single clam can produce seventy thousand offspring per year. The larvae are free swimming, an advantage over the native mussels whose larvae must attach to fish to disperse. Asian clams also cause economic damage through biofouling. In a very short time, pipes can become clogged with these small clams, and they have cost the U.S. millions of dollars in pipe repair or replacement.

So we did our part for native species on Friday—we opened up a few Asian clams to feed to the tangerine darters and logperch swimming around us! It was quite the feeding frenzy.

Red Alert

2011-07-07T10:03:00.006-04:00

Redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) and red shiners (Cyprinella lutrensis) are two common invasive species that inhabit Tennessee waters. However, they have native fishes on “red alert,” threatening them with extinction.

Redbreast SunfishRedbreast Sunfish (Lepomis auritus) from http://www.tnfish.org/FishIdentificationID_TWRA/FullWebImages/RedbreastSunfishTellicoNegus.jpg

Redbreast sunfish are very common in Tennessee and popular with anglers. They inhabit a wide range of aquatic habitats including small creeks, large rivers, and reservoirs. They are in the same genus as other common sunfish species in the area, like the bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), and longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis). Despite their popularity, redbreast sunfish are are causing ecological damage.

Native to the Atlantic and Gulf slopes, they were introduced into Tennessee and other states in the 1920’s and 1930’s for sports fishing. Now they are established throughout the Tennessee River drainage. They occupy a similar ecological niche as native sunfish species, requiring the same resources and serving the same function in the ecosystem. Because of this, they compete with bluegill sunfish and longear sunfish for food and habitat. In some areas, redbreast sunfish have caused the extinction of longear sunfish becasue of resource competition.

Red ShinersRed Shiner (Cyprinella lutrensis) from http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~tbonner/txfishes/red%20shiner%20breed%20wf.jpg

Red shiners are a small minnow species native to rivers and streams in the central United States. Introductions outside the native range occurred due to home aquarium and bait bucket releases. They are native to western portions of Tennessee, but not to central or eastern Tennessee. Currently, there are no established populations outside the native range in the state, but they are established in the Upper Coosa River System in Northern Georgia and are moving quickly. They pose a serious threat to native species in the Coosa River and to the Tennessee River should they establish.

Water quality in many streams of the southeastern U.S. is severely degraded due to urbanization. Red shiners are able to thrive under in these conditions, giving them an advantage over native fishes that cannot adapt to rapid environmental changes. Red shiners also reproduce with native minnow species, resulting in a variety of hybrids. So far, nine different red shiner hybrids have been documented. One of the common combinations is a red shiner-blacktail shiner (Cyprinella venusta) hybrid. Hybridization reduces genetic diversity and fitness of the native species. In some areas, hybridization happens so quickly, that the native parent species goes extinct.

Water Weeds

2011-06-30T13:19:00.005-04:00

Aquatic invasive animals are not the only species that cause problems in Tennessee and the southeastern United Sates. Invasive plants can cause just as many problems. Aquatic plants are introduced outside their native range by being transported on boat propellers and boat trailers or from home aquariums.

There are many ecological and economic problems associated with invasive plants. An overgrowth of an invasive plant can block the sun from native species, causing them to die and reducing plant biodiversity. The corresponding increase in dead plant material at the bottom of a lake or pond can result in the loss of all oxygen in the water as bacteria break down the dead plants. This process is called eutrophication. Invasive plant species can also crowd and degrade bottom habitat for fish and invertebrates.

From http://www.protectyourwaters.net/impacts.php

Many invasive plants, like Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata), can form large mats. These mats often jam propellers and ruin boat engines. The mat may grow so thick that the water becomes inaccessible to boaters and swimmers. Plants can also foul anglers’ equipment. Some aquatic invasive plants are vectors for diseases that impact native wildlife.

To prevent the spread of invasive plants, check, clean, and dry. Check all parts of a boat and other equipment for plant fragments. Some of these species, like Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) can reproduce by fragmentation. One small piece of the plant will grow into a full plant. Properly clean all gear before transporting either home or to another body of water. Let all equipment dry for 48 hours before using it another area.

Read the following stories from Chattanooga Times Free Press to learn about what is being done to control populations of invasive plants in local waters.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/may/31/waging-war-water-weeds/
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jun/27/whacking-water-weeds/

Guest Post: First Time River Snorkeling

2011-06-27T08:20:00.000-04:00

As an intern at TNACI, I was recently given the opportunity to perform fieldwork with some of the aquarists from the Tennessee Aquarium. We traveled to the Tellico Plains area. Here, we focused on the Little Tennessee River and the Tellico River. Our goal was to collect fish for one of the River Journey exhibits.

The first place we stopped was the Little T River. Here, we used seine nets to catch shiners and darters. We mostly caught Saffron Shiners and Warpaint Shiners as well as some Rosyside Dace. There were also numerous sightings of Rainbow Trout of all sizes, suggesting they have moved into the area and are breeding.

Saffron Shiner. Photo by Noel Burkhead

In order to catch other fish for the exhibit, we had to snorkel in the river with small hand nets. This seemed like a difficult and odd task at first, but snorkeling in shallow rivers is very exhilarating! Using this technique we were able to catch individuals from several darter species, including eight Tangerine Darters in the Tellico River!

Tangerine Darter. Photo by Conservation Fisheries, Inc.

My favorite part of the experience was discovering the diverse microhabitats of these river systems and which fish tend to be found where. I never knew there were so many colors to see! If given the chance, everybody should go snorkeling in a river, it is just as amazing as exploring a coral reef in the ocean.

--Sarah Candler, TNACI Intern

When Bait Takes Over

2011-06-23T09:11:00.003-04:00

The rivers of Tennessee and the southeastern United States are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world, especially for invertebrates like mussels and crayfish. Crayfish are especially diverse in Tennessee, with at least 70 species inhabiting our waters. Many crayfish species are specially adapted to their environments, and many only inhabit one or two watersheds. The Nashville crayfish is found only in the Mills Creek basin in central Tennessee, while the Chickamauga crayfish is found only in the South Chickamauga Creek basin, which spans four counties in Georgia and Tennessee. These species are of greater conservation concern due to their small ranges or specialized habitat. Like many other native aquatic animals in the southeastern U.S., they are also under threat due to the introduction of invasive crayfish species.

Crayfish, also called crawdads, crawfish, or mudbugs, are commonly used as bait by commercial and recreational fishermen. They are either purchased from bait stores, or caught from the wild by anglers. Often at the end of the day, the bait is released where used, without regard to its original source. Virtually every invasive crayfish species in Tennessee has been introduced by bait bucket releases. Once introduced, non-native crayfish negatively impact ecosystems and can cause economic losses through damage to riverbanks, dams and dikes. Many invasive crayfish species directly prey on native snails, fish, and crayfish, while others eat or destroy aquatic vegetation that provides habitat and food for native fish. Many of the invasive species are very aggressive and outcompete native crayfish species for burrows or cover.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency lists six non-native crayfish species as warranting particular concern: bigclaw crayfish, Cumberland crayfish, red swamp crayfish, rusty crayfish, virile crayfish, and White River crayfish. Because these species are generalists compared to many of the native crayfish species, they can spread rapidly through a watershed if introduced. Rusty crayfish and virile crayfish have even been documented hybridizing with native species.

The biggest step you can take in preventing the introduction of invasive crayfish is to use them for bait only from the stream that you are fishing, to take only what you need, or to release bait crayfish from the same stream from which you caught them.

River Invaders

2011-06-16T09:29:00.005-04:00

The name Asian carp is used to describe four different species of carp: grass carp, bighead carp, silver carp, and black carp. These fish were introduced in the United States in the 1970s and since that time have spread rapidly. At least one species of Asian carp is found in every state except Alaska, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, and Vermont. They pose a major ecological threat to native aquatic wildlife and river ecosystems, as well as a significant economic threat to commercial fisheries.

All Asian carp species are native to large rivers in eastern Asia and were introduced in the U.S. to “improve” water quality. Some species, such as the grass carp, were introduced to control nuisance plant species because they eat algae and other aquatic plants. Other species, such as the black carp, eat mussels and snails and were introduced to control disease carrying invertebrates in aquaculture ponds.

From http://sportsthat.blogspot.com/2010/07/asian-carp-invasion.html

From aquaculture, Asian Carp were introduced into American rivers by illegal and intentional release, or by accidental escapes from river flood waters reaching aquaculture ponds. Once in the wild, they pose several threats to the ecosystem. Grass carp consume enormous amounts of plants. Their voracious appetite robs native fish and invertebrates of their food source. Large quantities of carp waste degrade water quality.

The two species threatening the Great Lakes are the silver and bighead carp. Millions of dollars have been spent on electric barriers, cameras, and other monitoring equipment attempting to protect the lakes. Asian carp have already caused extensive environmental and economic damage in the Mississippi and Missouri River basins. Many people have had to abandon their fishing grounds because of the presence of carp. This threatens a 7 billion dollar per year commercial and recreational fishery in the Great Lakes. Silver carp can also harm humans. When startled by boat motors, the fish (which can weigh up to 60 lbs!) leap out of the water, causing potential injury or fatality to people.

There is now concern that the extent of Asian carp’s range has increased. The flooding of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers this year may have transported some of these fish into lakes and tributaries where there are no established carp populations.

Not-So-Effective Pest Control

2011-06-09T09:25:00.004-04:00

There are two species of mosquitofish found in the United States, western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) and eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). They are very small fishes, with adults less than 3 inches in length. As the name suggests, mosquitofish eat mosquito larvae, along with plankton, small invertebrates, and larval fish. Because of their diet, they have been widely introduced around the world to control diseases like malaria that are associated with mosquitoes.

The native range of the mosquitofish is not well known because human introductions started in the early 1900s. The two species were likely restricted to Gulf and Atlantic coastal plains and the lower Mississippi River Valley. Due to the broad spectrum of their diet and water quality tolerance, mosquitofish are habitat “generalists” that are able to flourish in a wide range of conditions. These traits, combined with their high reproductive rate and frequent dispersal by humans, have resulted in two species that are very successful invaders.

Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis). From http://www.issg.org/database/image.asp?ii=1636&ic=e

Despite their small size, invasive mosquitofish can have a big impact on their environment. Introductions of mosquitofish can lead to algal blooms if they have consumed the zooplankton that keeps algae under control. They can cause populations of native fishes to go extinct through competition for food and direct aggression. They also carry parasites that infect native fish. Worst of all, research has shown that mosquitofish are no more effective at controlling mosquito populations than native mosquito predators. They can even increase the size of mosquito populations by feeding on or outcompeting the mosquito’s native predators.

Mosquitofish can be a problem here in Tennessee because they threaten the Barrens topminnow (Fundulus julisia). This fish occurs in only in three counties in Tennessee and is part of our natural heritage. Unfortunately, the larvae of the Barrens topminnow are eaten by the mosquitofish, and larger juveniles have to compete with the invasive species for food. The Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute is currently reintroducing Barrens topminnows to springs with where mosquitofish have been excluded in order to prevent negative impacts from this invasive species.

How did that get here?

2011-06-02T08:32:00.004-04:00

Southeastern rivers and streams have more species of aquatic animals—fishes, mussels, turtles, and salamanders—than anywhere else in the country. Hiding in all of this diversity, however, are alien species--an animal or plant that has been introduced through human activity outside of its native range. Many species that we commonly seen in Tennessee, like bighead carp or even redbreast sunfish, are not native to this region.

Alien species may also be known as nonnative, invasive, introduced, or nuisance species. There are several ways that a species may be introduced into a waterway outside of its native range. Sometimes humans put them there on purpose, such as stocking fish that are popular for recreational and sports fishers. Sometimes nonnative species are introduced by well-intentioned people releasing fish from their home aquariums without thinking about the impact on the environment. Some introductions happen unintentionally. Commercial shipping is a major transporter of invasive species in U.S. bays, major rivers, and the Great Lakes. Ships will take in water, called ballast water, in one area to maintain balance as they travel across oceans and rivers. There are almost always small organisms in that water. When ships reach their destination, they release the water, and with it, any organisms that were taken in at the original port. Many shipping ports now have regulations about releasing ballast water, but this has historically been a major pathway for introductions of nuisance species in the Great Lakes.

Over the next few weeks, we will highlight some different invasive freshwater species and their impact on both humans and the environment. Most are species that can be found in the Chattanooga area, Tennessee, and the southeastern United States. Stay tuned!

Redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus) is one of the many invasive aquatic species found in Tennessee waterways. From http://fish.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/Centrarchidae/redbreast_sunfish.html

Here's a video from our friends at TRGT that we wanted to share

2011-05-18T10:04:00.000-04:00

Watching this video makes us want to go for a hike or a paddle!

Sturgeon Sightings Close to Home!

2011-05-17T12:56:00.000-04:00

It's always nice to open up my email inbox and find a picture like this:

Ron Simons proudly shows off a lake sturgeon from the Tennessee River.

Over the weekend, Sam Simons and his father, Ron, went fishing below Chickamauga Dam here in Chattanooga. I'll let Sam tell the rest of the story:

I hooked a good fish after awhile and handed it to Dad, then it made a jump. I'm assuming, oh it's a nice sized smallmouth. I didn't see the jump, only heard it. Then, it peels a fair amount of drag. Dad gets tired after awhile and hands the rod to me. Now, we are below the railroad bridge. I am totally confused by this point, as it was big and agile, so I didn't think it was a drum or blue. It would have been a world record smallmouth. What is this? Dad gets his energy back and I pass the rod. We got the big surprise of the year, a sturgeon! Holy cow, what a fight and I have never held one before, only got to pet them at the aquarium. It was really cool. We released it right after the photo and it swam off fine.

If you are lucky enough to catch a sturgeon in Tennessee, don't forget to report it to our partners, TWRA. Please call the toll free number for your regional office (click here to find the number) or the Fish Management Division at (615) 781-6575. You will be asked to provide your name, address, and phone number and the following information about your catch: when and where you caught it, an approximate length, and what you were using for bait. In appreciation of your report, TWRA will issue you a numbered Lake Sturgeon Certificate that features a color reproduction of a lake sturgeon drawn by renowned wildlife artist Joseph R. Tomelleri.

Most importantly, please make sure you release the fish after your photo so other lucky anglers have the chance to catch these river giants! Thanks for the story and the photo, Sam!

Back at Colvard Spring with New Friends

2011-04-29T15:22:00.000-04:00

This past Monday, TNACI got to start the next phase of our Colvard Spring restoration project with new help! The conservation department at the Atlanta Botanical Garden has been growing the endangered Tennessee yellow-eyed grass (Xyris tennesseensis) to restore it in springs in the Southeast. We’re incredibly thrilled to have them join our team so we can continue returning this spring to a more natural state. Because we don’t yet know what “microhabitat” the grass will grow best in, we planted over 500 plants in soil ranging from muddy to pebbly. Our next steps will be to tackle the invasive plant species problem in the area and to create a management plan for the coldwater darter population.

Dr. Jenny Cruse-Sanders, Director of Conservation and Research at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, plants Tennessee yellow-eyed grass along the banks of the spring.

To see more photos from our day, “like” the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute on Facebook!

Earth Day Sturgeon Release!

2011-04-23T17:01:00.000-04:00

As part of the Aquarium’s Earth Day celebrations, we released 35 lake sturgeon into the Tennessee River at Coolidge Park with the help of some enthusiastic students from Ivy Academy and UTC.

While most of our sturgeon are released in the fall at only six to eight inches, these larger fish (up to 18 pounds!) were held for a longer time because we know that increases their chances of survival in the wild. However, it takes more resources to hold them and they don't get as much time to learn how to be a wild fish, so we use both strategies for this program. Even though they are six to seven years old, these fish are still juveniles—lake sturgeon don’t reach reproductive maturity until they are teenagers, just like humans.

How many cameras can you spot in this picture? We're grateful for all the news stories we received.

Thanks to TWRA for their partnership and support! Lyle and Dan drove down from the Normandy hatchery to transport the fish for us, and Bobby Wilson (Chief of Fisheries) and Jason came down from Nashville to join the fun.

It's always nice to see the next generation of conservation biologists join us on the river for Earth Day!

Interview with Conasauga River Alliance Director Joshua Smith on a new canoe access ramp

2011-04-12T14:37:00.003-04:00

On February 14th I was able to join a good friend and colleague Josh Smith in helping to construct a new "green" canoe access ramp on the Conasauga River. After spending the day working with Josh, a host of contractors, community members, and a Boy Scout troop, I asked Josh a few questions about his work with the Conasauga River Alliance (CRA) and about the new boat ramps being constructed to promote access to paddlers and fishermen on the Conasauga River.

Q: What are your title, job, and responsibilities with the CRA?

Coconut fiber logs stabilizing the

stream bank

A: My title is Watershed Director of the Conasauga River Alliance. While fundraising and ensuring organizational sustainability are key parts of my job, a large portion of my time is spent managing projects for the organization. This management includes obtaining and implementing grants from various sources. Our main funding source for projects originates from the EPA’s non-point source pollution reduction grants. These “Clean Water Act” grants typically fund projects that reduce pollutants in runoff in an attempt to bring the water quality of our streams into compliance with state standards. Many of our clean water projects focus on improving the quality of agricultural runoff, but we also help low-income citizens afford septic system repair in residential areas.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the canoe access ramp. Where is it located? Why did you choose this location? Are there other canoe access ramps being built?

A: The Conasauga Canoe Access project is a multi-faceted endeavor that required “grass roots” support to complete. The canoe “put-in” is located in Beaverdale, GA. This location was chosen due to the fact that it was used heavily by locals attempting to access the river. This spot was essentially “loved to death”. Severe bank and floodplain erosion was caused by heavy vehicle and foot traffic, despite the fact that it was initially difficult to launch a canoe or kayak from. Our goals of the project at Beaverdale were to block vehicle access while providing a parking area, stabilize the river bank and floodplain to reduce erosion, install educational signage discussing the biodiversity of the river system, and provide an easy opportunity to access the river.

A canoe “take-out” was constructed downstream of Beaverdale next to Norton Bridge. This effort was conducted by Dalton Utilities, which has been a partner on several of our other projects. They have produced an access point, as well as a parking area. Thanks to their generosity, the public can now enjoy a 3 – 5 hour float on the Conasauga River without the struggle of worrying how to get your boat in or out of the river.

Q: Where is the funding for this project coming from?

A: This project was funded by a Clean Water Act (Section 319) non-point source pollution reduction grant, as well as a grant from World Wildlife Fund and Coca-Cola.

Q: Who else has been involved in the project? Did you have any volunteers help?

A: Our main project partner on this project (aside from the funding sources) is Dalton Utilities. They have constructed their own canoe ramp downstream from ours. This will serve as the “take out” spot for many enthusiasts that use the river. Overall, this endeavor had many volunteers, and couldn’t have been completed without discounted services and materials from multiple sources. This was truly a “grass-roots” community project.

One local Boy Scout used a portion of this construction as his Eagle Scout project, and rallied his fellow scouts to help on multiple volunteer Saturdays in order to complete a foot trail to the river. The educational signage and bathroom was constructed “at-cost” by a local contractor who simply loves to support community projects (Rick Pippen; North Georgia Agricultural Fairgrounds). Vulcan Materials gave us quite a discount on limestone rock that was needed to expand the parking area and prevent vehicle access to the river bank.

Q: What should canoeists expect to see when they canoe on the Conasauga? Are there other recreational opportunities along the river?

A: This is the first access point to be provided on the Conasauga River outside of the National Forest(s). When canoeing down the river, you should expect to see a multitude of fish swimming under your boat. The Conasauga River has over 70 species of fish, and you constantly see silhouettes darting as you paddle down. Fishing is very popular in the area, and most local paddlers bring along a rod and reel. If you visit, you may also see people fishing from the bank in several areas.

The waterfowl is seasonally abundant, and I have personally seen several species of duck, as well as blue heron and sandhill cranes. Whitetail deer and raccoons are some of the more common encounters. Some lucky paddlers have been fortunate enough to view river otters during their float.
The banks of the Conasauga are well vegetated, so during the summer there is abundant shade. This vegetation also makes you feel like you are miles away, although you are only about 20 minutes from Dalton. This section of the Conasauga is perfect for beginning paddlers, since most of the challenging rapids are further upstream in the mountains. The flow of the river varies with the precipitation, but the spring and fall typically provide a relaxing pace perfect for enjoying the scenery.

Q: What are the long term benefits of this project? What do you hope to accomplish?

Cocnut fiber logs being used to create the canoe

ramp.

A: The main goal of this project is to promote conservation within the Conasauga Watershed. Accomplishing this goal can be somewhat difficult if there is no access to the river. In order for the residents and visitors to develop a relationship with the Conasauga, they need to be in it, or be able to spend time on its banks. In addition, they need to be aware of the ecological significance of the river. We hope that the recreation will draw people to the access sites, and that they will learn about the river from our educational signage. In short, we hope to promote conservation in the Conasauga Watershed through education and recreation.

It is also our hope that our efforts will show the local counties and cities the benefits of river access points. If this can be accomplished, adding additional points upstream or downstream would be extremely cost-effective (especially when compared to building a hiking trail or mountain bike path). By expanding the options for paddlers, the river may attract a more diverse group of recreationists that would aid in spreading our message of conservation.

Fiber matting will provide erosion control and a

place for plants to take root and further stabilize

the stream bank.

-Lee Friedlander, TNACI Conservation Associate

Big News from our conservation partners at Conservation Fisheries, Inc.!

2011-03-28T11:56:00.002-04:00

Our friends at Conservation Fisheries, Inc. in Knoxville, TN just announced the first ever propagation of the extremely rare Conasauga logperch (Percina jenkinsi)! CFI has had repeated success with the captive propagation of rare and imperiled southeastern fish, and we are happy to share their exciting news.

Conasauga logperch are one of the rarest vertebrates in the world, with the entire population estimated to be only a few hundred fish. They are found from only about 20 miles of the Conasauga River in northern Georgia and extreme southeastern Tennessee. They inhabit rocky riffles with fast, clear, clean water. Their habitat is under threat from erosion and poor agricultural land use practices. TNACI partnered with CFI to collect a small sample of adults for a pilot propagation program. We also participated in some population assessments and will be conducting some genetic analysis of the population. This information will help with making conservation decisions that best meet the needs of this extremely rare fish

The larvae you see in the video below are the first fruits of this partnership.

Here is some video of the adults demonstrating their nest excavation behavior in captivity at CFI.

And finally, here is some video CFI captured of Conasauga logperch demonstrating feeding behavior in the wild.

We'll keep you posted on CFI's progress!

-Lee Friedlander, TNACI Conservation Associate

Tennessee Legislature Reviews Bills Banning Mountaintop Coal Removal

2011-03-23T10:19:00.001-04:00

The Tennessee House of Representatives (HB0291) and Senate (SB 0577) are hearing similar bills banning the practice of mountaintop coal removal from the state. The bills' summary states it would prohibit "issuing or renewing a permit, certification, or variance that would allow surface coal mining operations to alter or disturb any ridge line above 2,000 feet elevation above sea level."

Without exploring the issue in too much technical detail, mountaintop coal removal is the process in which coal is extracted from hillsides using explosives to fragment large pieces of rock apart to access coal reserves. This process has been used in the Appalachian mountains at the expense of both aesthetic beauty and environmental quality. Mountaintop coal removal literally flattens mountains. The coal is extracted and the other mining debris is then disposed of by dumping in low lying areas. These areas hold important watersheds that are vital to maintaining water quality and preserving the Appalachian Mountain's rich biodiversity. The mining debris chokes out small mountain streams, and the runoff from these dumping sites is responsible for both increased turbidity and degradation of other water quality parameters further downstream. The mountain's topography is drastically changed, and the tree coverage is eliminated further compounding the problems from erosion.

Here are some links to other blogs and articles concerning mountaintop coal removal:

NRDC Blog another NRDC Blog

Definition of terms from the United Mountain Defense Fund

Zeb Mountain, Tennessee. Photo by United Mountain Defense

This issue is important to Tennesseans. We urge you to seek out more information, form your own opinion and then contact your representatives and tell them what you think. Click HERE to identify your Tennessee state senator and representative.

Lee Friedlander, TNACI Conservation Associate

Aquatic Invasive Threats: Didymo

2011-03-02T11:21:00.001-05:00

In honor of National Invasive Species Awareness Week...

Aquatic ecosystems across the planet, like their terrestrial neighbors, are threatened by the introduction of nonnative, invasive species. Invasive species are organisms that are not naturally found in a given habitat that have been introduced by some human-caused means.

Many times, these introductions are the result of a deliberate act: dumping out a bait bucket with fish from another stream, the release of an unwanted pet, the planting of an ornamental plant from another region. Sometimes, the human responsible for an introduction is completely unaware of the act he or she is committing. This is often the case with an aquatic invasive species known as Didymo (Didymospenia geminata). This diatom- a kind of brown algae- is native to northern Europe and possibly northeastern Canadian streams. In its native environment, it occupies very cold, low nutrient streams with fast moving water. It is thought to be introduced by contaminated boats, fishing waders, or felt-soled boots.

One common nickname for Didymo is "rock snot". Image from USDA

Since the 1990s, Didymo has been found outside of its native range in systems in the western U.S. In 2005, it was discovered in Tennessee. Once established in a stream, it covers rocky substrates with a blanket of blooms that crowd out native plant and animal communities. Large infestations resemble a slimy, brown shag carpeting that can cover 100% of affected stream bottom.

The best way to help prevent the spread of this nuisance algae is to properly clean and sterilize fishing equipment after each use. The algae can survive on fishing equipment for many weeks, even if the equipment seems dry. Follow these recommendations from the US EPA to help reduce the risk of spreading Didymo:

When leaving a watershed, check equipment for clumps of Didymo. If any are found, remove them and leave them at the site. If any are detected, inspect all equipment very thoroughly.
Scrub and soak all equipment with a 2% (by volume) bleach solution. Dish detergent is also suitable.
If cleaning of equipment is not feasible, let equipment dry completely for at least 48 hours before transporting to another watershed.

Additional Resources:
http://www.epa.gov/Region8/water/didymosphenia/White%20Paper%20Jan%202007.pdf
http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatics/didymo.shtml

Interbasin Water Transfer

2011-03-01T13:48:00.000-05:00

Water shortages in Georgia are not a new problem. The 2008 drought and recent court decisions have again highlighted the need for increased planning on how to meet the state’s freshwater needs. Recently, state officials have again broached the possibility of interbasin water transfers from the Tennessee River, a topic that always attracts the interest of Chattanooga media and residents.

Interbasin water transfers involve moving water from one watershed into another to meet resource demands from residents or industry. In this situation, water would be taken from the Tennessee River and transferred to users in other watersheds in northern Georgia. The water, once used, would then be discharged in Georgia’s rivers, resulting in a loss of Tennessee River water downstream of the transfer site. Returning the water to its source river isn’t feasible.

Besides being costly, interbasin transfers are not sustainable solutions. They rely upon natural resources from outside the watershed for continued growth, creating heavy environmental costs. For example, interbasin water transfers increase the spread of exotic species and can impact the amount of downstream flow that is critical for many imperiled species. For these reasons, we strongly support community investment in water conservation initiatives as the most important step in tackling water shortages.

Dr. Anna George, TNACI Director

Field Notes: Barrens topminnow survey and collection

2011-02-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

It may still be February, but the temperature has warmed and we're headed outside! Yesterday, we joined staff from the Tennessee Aquarium for a day of field work to survey and collect Barrens topminnows (Fundulus julisia)- we call them BTMs for short. We are some of the partners in an ongoing restoration effort for this imperiled Tennessee endemic species, a project that is unique in the amount of cooperation we have with private landowners, government agencies, and other nonprofits.

An adult male BTM. Image courtesy of CFI

We met up with biologists from the US Fish & Wildlife Service and Conservation Fisheries, Inc. (CFI) at a site in rural Tennessee north of Manchester. The site is a small spring and spring run that runs under a highway and through an adjacent cattle field--all on private land that we can access because of our cooperative partnership. We split up into two groups and sampled different sections of the spring run. For most of the length of the run the water was only a few feet across and rarely more than knee deep. Using seines--long nets, each group made 12 hauls through different parts of the site. All BTMs were set aside in a bucket and measured before being released after all sampling was finished.

The first group, who worked the upstream portion of the spring captured over 60 BTMs from juveniles through adult age classes. That's a good indication because it shows there was breeding activity going at this site; a sign of a healthy population. That same group also captured green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) and tadpoles in the seine hauls.

Luckily, no western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) were captured this far upstream, hopefully indicating that this invasive species is not present in the spring. Mosquitofish are a threat to BTMs because they can be aggressive towards the adults and actually prey on the juveniles. Mosquitofish are one of the biggest continuing threats to BTMs across their entire range.

The second sampling group was even more successful, surveying over 80 BTMs. The second group did, however, capture mosquitofish. Hopefully, the mosquitofish will not invade further upstream in the spring run.

Biologists surveying BTM populations in the field

We and CFI kept some of the adult BTMs from this site to use as broodstock in our ongoing captive propagation programs.

After sampling at the first site was completed, we piled into our vehicles and drove to another site a few miles north. There, we accessed a small tributary to the same creek system that runs through a newer housing subdivision. Pat Rakes, from CFI, recalled spotting a few BTMs during a quick visual survey of the site over a decade ago, and he wanted to see if they were still there. Using a seine, we quickly collected a few BTMs and other small-stream fishes native to the area. The creek appeared healthy, but the area immediately adjacent to the spring was being heavily impacted by development and will need close monitoring in the future. A small number of fish were taken from this site, and we will use fin clips from them to analyze their DNA to see if they are a distinct population from the BTMs at the earlier site.

For Valentine's Day: Red is the "color of the deep"

2011-02-10T14:23:00.000-05:00

In honor of Valentine's Day, today's post is dedicated to the color Red. For humans, we often associate vibrant hues of red and pink with love and romance. For deep sea fish and invertebrates, this same vibrant color is actually camouflage. As light penetrates the surface of the ocean, the higher energy, longer wavelength red light is absorbed first. That means that as you descend more than a few meters past the surface, all the red light is quickly absorbed. With no red light present at depth, objects that are red in color appear drab and grey.

Visible spectrum attenuation as a function of depth.
Taken from http://marineodyssey.co.uk/abioticoceans.html

For animals that live at extreme depths, red becomes the perfect color for avoiding visual detection. Furthermore, deep sea animals have lost the ability to see the color red making red colored prey (or predators) even more difficult to detect. The Monterey Bay Research Institute (MBARI) posted a video on YouTube that shows lots of different deep sea animals which are Red in color. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16wZSHPvVGI&feature=youtu.be

A Fishy Valentine's Day

2011-02-07T14:08:00.001-05:00

Flowers? A box of chocolates? Maybe a fancy home cooked meal? How will you celebrate Valentine’s Day? While many of us humans spend the week leading up to Valentine’s Day fretting and fuming over how to best impress our loved ones, a look to some of our finned neighbors might provide some inspiration…

Breeding season for many North American minnows belonging to the family Cyprinidae is marked by drastic changes in the appearance of the males. As spring approaches and water temperature warms, males of many species begin to display vibrant colors to attract mates. Many of these fish live in clean, clear water where bright colors can be effective at communicating with potential mates. In addition to changes in color and behavior, in minnow species the males begin to grow temporary bumps over their heads (and bodies and fins of some species). The exact function of the bumps, sometimes called nuptial tubercles, is not fully understood, but it is believed they are used for nest defense and for stimulation of their mate.

Males of the minnow genus Nocomis, commonly referred to as chubs or horny heads, use nest building with stones to impress their mates. Minnows of this genus are nest builders- constructing nests made first by excavating a pit in the substrate. Once the pit is dug a male will coax a female to enter the pit where mating occurs. Once the eggs have been released and fertilized the male then fills the pit with larger river stones protecting the fertilized eggs from predators and from being smothered by silt. These larger stones provide more space so clean, oxygen rich water can flow over the nest. The male then aggressively guards the nest from other fish who may attempt to prey on the eggs.

Crayfish Diversity

2011-01-31T08:57:00.000-05:00

The flora and fauna of North America is among the best-studied on Earth, yet scientists continue to make remarkable discoveries in our own backyard. Just this month, scientists announced the discovery of a giant crayfish—the Tennessee Bottlebrush Crayfish--from Shoal Creek on the Alabama-Tennessee border. However, this new species is remarkable only because of its size--up to 5 inches long! Since 2000, at least 33 species of crayfish have been described from North America, including at least five from Tennessee.

This represents most of the diversity of crayfish worldwide. The family Cambaridae, which most southeastern species belongs to, has around 430 species, of which seven occur in east Asia and the rest in eastern North America. Crayfish from west of the Continental Divide are in the family Astacidae (~16 spp.), which also occurs in Europe and the Mideast. A third family, the Parastacidae (~180 spp.), occurs in the Southern Hemisphere.

Our knowledge of many invertebrate groups is still in its infancy. The southeastern US has extremely diverse communities of aquatic snails, mussels, caddisflies, and many other insects. Even well-studied groups like freshwater fishes and amphibians still see new species described on a regular basis. Because these animals serve as an important component of aquatic food chains and affect ecosystem structure and function, it’s critical that we continue to study and conserve them.

-Dr. Dave Neely

What We’re Reading at TNACI: Four Fish by Paul Greenberg

2011-01-21T14:22:00.001-05:00

Every other month, TNACI Director Anna George leads an informal book club discussion with interested aquarium staff and volunteers on books covering a range of environmental topics. Below is her quick book review...

The Aquarium’s Environmental Book Club met this past Wednesday to talk about a great book, Four Fish. Paul Greenberg, a lifelong fisherman, examines the toll that human consumption is having on our “last wild food.” Though the oceans were once thought to be limitless, the growing human population and our increasingly advanced technology have pushed many species to commercial, if not actual, extinction. With in-depth studies of salmon, Mediterranean sea bass, cod, and tuna, Greenberg covers the many challenges that our fisheries face, both farmed and wild. His practical conclusion offers some well-thought recommendations to how we should approach fisheries and aquaculture in order to sustain the supply.

Here's a link to the author's website: http://www.fourfish.org/

Future book club gatherings will discuss:

March: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. The book that started the environmental movement by addressing the ecological impact of pesticides.

May: King of Fish by David Montgomery. The history of salmon in Europe and eastern North America and the future of salmon in western North America.

July: The River Why by David James Duncan. A novel on fishing, living in harmony with nature, and seeking knowledge.

September: Living Downstream by Sandra Steingraber. An analytical memoir about the rise of cancer and and chemicals in the environment.

November: The View from Lazy Point by Carl Safina. A discussion of the impacts of global change on marine life around the world.

Annual Lake Sturgeon Reintroduction Working Group Meeting

2011-01-13T16:39:00.004-05:00

We just wrapped up our annual Tennessee Lake Sturgeon Reintroduction Working Group meeting where all the working group partners convene to discuss strategies, ideas, solve problems, and report on their programs' successes as we work to reintroduce lake sturgeon into the Tennessee Rivers. The Saving Our Sturgeon program is now in its second decade and we've released 108,785 fish into the Tennessee and Cumberland River systems. In 2010 alone, Saving Our Sturgeon partner organizations released 16,806 lake sturgeon in the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers- over 3,200 of which came from TNACI!

A number of agencies were represented at today's meeting including US Fish & Wildlife, TWRA, TVA, USGS, TTU, and TNACI. Georgia DNR has a similar program to restore the lake sturgeon population in the Coosa River system and they sent representatives to compare notes and share ideas.

During the meeting each agency gave a quick overview of the past year's activities. We also discussed future stocking plans, some outreach and education events, and an increased focus on monitoring fish once they are released. Future stocking efforts will likely include emphasis on releasing bigger fish. To release bigger fish, hatcheries must invest more money, space, and labor, but we think the extra investment will pay off in the long run with higher survival rates.

Keep posted for more program updates on Saving Our Sturgeon. We expect to be receiving our 2011 fish in the first week of June...less than six months away!

Chef Barton Seaver discusses sustainable seafood

2011-01-03T16:40:00.004-05:00

Below is a link to a TED Talk video of Chef Barton Seaver who has some novel (and simple!) ideas on how to eat sustainable seafood. According to Barton, simply eating the “right” kinds of seafood isn’t enough. To truly eat both more healthily as well as more sustainably, we need to also look at our portions of protein that we get from seafood. Watch his talk at the link below to hear his ideas for yourself.

www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barton_seaver_sustainable_seafood_let_s_get_smart.html

www.bartonseaver.org/story.html

Congress takes steps to eliminate the harvesting of sharks for shark fin soup

2010-12-21T11:40:00.004-05:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/20/AR2010122004046.html?hpid=moreheadlines

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have recently passed legislation banning inhumane shark fishing practices to feed demand for shark fin soup. This link is a Washington Post article on the bill's passage.

CFI on the radio

2010-12-09T10:07:00.007-05:00

Our colleagues at Conservation Fisheries, Inc. (CFI) in Knoxville were featured on American Public Media's "The Story" for their 25+ years of working to conserve southeastern fishes. Click the link below to listen to the podcast.

http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_1180_Pat_and_JR.mp3/view

New article on the presence of arsenic and other toxic contaminants in surface water and sediment downstream of TVA's Kingston Coal Ash Spill disaster

2010-11-30T10:05:00.002-05:00

A new report from Duke University researchers shows levels of arsenic and other contaminants at elevated levels at the site of the coal ash spill and in sediment and surface water downstream of the site. The findings of this study will likely be used by the EPA as they consider the future status of how coal fly ash is designated and treated.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/88/i49/8849news1.html

NPR Story: Volga River Towns Fade Along With Prized Sturgeon

2010-11-09T10:38:00.005-05:00

NPR has been running a series of news stories about life along the Volga River. In last week's installment, NPR covered the plight of the sturgeon and the people who once depended on the caviar fishery.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131069052

More newspaper coverage of our Colvard Spring restoration project to help protect the Endangered coldwater darter

2010-10-27T10:23:00.005-04:00

The Dalton Daily Citizen ran an article on Wednesday, October 27 about our ongoing efforts to restore Colvard Spring. This tiny spring which feeds into the nearby Conasauga River is home to the imperiled coldwater darter. This is one of only a handful of locations in the world where this tiny fish is found.

The coolest thing about this story is the cooperation between conservation groups and private landowners. We are working together to restore this spring and help improve the habitat for darters (and for people!).

http://daltondailycitizen.com/local/x1507926051/-A-tremendous-blessing

Home Makeover for Coldwater Darters

2010-10-26T14:33:00.005-04:00

This month, we're working in Colvard Spring, GA, with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Nongame Division and the Conasauga River Alliance on our habitat restoration project for the coldwater darter. Giving them a new home involves carpet! Wondering about how recycling your carpet helps darters? Read the great article we've linked to from the Chattanooga Times Free Press!

Darter housecleaning gets help from carpet recycler.

Fish DNA

2010-10-15T14:42:00.003-04:00

Whenever I talk about sequencing fish DNA, I feel like I belong in a science fiction novel. However, studying the genes of a species is pretty easy these days, and it's a very helpful step in most conservation projects. Our first goal is to learn more about the genetic diversity in a species. Genetic diversity is all the variation in the genes of organisms and is a very important component of biodiversity. If a species has a higher genetic diversity, that means it is more likely to have a large population size and be able to adapt to changes in the environment. Therefore, knowing some basic information about the pattern of genetic diversity across populations helps us know which populations are stable and which need some help.

This week, we were most interested in studying Conasauga logperch that we captured in August with our partners, Conservation Fisheries, Inc. This species is extremely rare and only lives in about 30 miles of the mainstem Conasauga River. Previous genetic analyses on this species indicate it has a very high genetic diversity compared to close relatives. If so, that's definitely something that needs preservation with the species. So we're sequencing more genes right now to understand why a species with such a small population has maintained a high genetic diversity. We're hoping that having a little bit more information on its genetic diversity will help us create a better captive propagation program for them. Stay tuned as we learn more about this darter!

-ALG

Innovations in waste reduction- replacing polystyrene

2010-10-06T13:40:00.002-04:00

Here's a link to a great Ted Talk on an innovative and "green" way to reduce polystyrene (styrofoam) packaging from ending up in our rivers, lakes, and oceans.

It's great to see entrepeneurs that identify environmental problems and create a novel approach to fix them!

-LSF

Free, Safe, Easy, Confidential Disposal of Unwanted Pharmaceuticals:

2010-10-01T10:45:00.003-04:00

This Saturday, Chattanooga area residents have an opportunity to dispose of unused, expired, or unneeded pharmaceuticals in a socially and environmentally safe manner (anonymously and for free!). This drug disposal program, with support from government and non-profit groups, will collect any unwanted medications or personal care products from local residents for disposal in the most environmentally safe and socially responsible manner.

Disposal of medications in this responsible fashion prevents them from 1) ending up in our environment or water supply; 2) being accidentally consumed by a child; 3) being taken after their expiration date; 4) being deliberately consumed in an abusive fashion by the wrong person. This program and programs like it are gaining in popularity nationwide as more and more research shows that trace levels of medication are ending up in our natural ecosystem and our water supplies. These chemicals, even in very low concentrations can wreak havoc on plants and animals, and may have negative effects on humans with prolonged exposure (even at trace levels). The best way to prevent these chemicals from negatively effecting our environment is to have the proper authorities dispose of them at specialized facilities.

Please see below for additional details and links.

Where: East Chattanooga Weed and Seed Office
1502 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga, TN 37404
423-752-4449

When: Saturday October 16, 2010 from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm

Instructions: Please bring medications in original containers if possible with personal information removed or crossed out. Leave medication name/information visible.

They will be accepting: prescription AND over-the-counter medications, lotions, fragrances, vitamins, cosmetics, etc.

They will NOT be accepting: IV bags, sharps and needles, and radioactive medications.

More Info:
http://www.eastchattanoogaweedandseed.org/
www.epa.gov/ppcp
www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm101653.htm

A Great Day on the Emory!

2010-09-24T16:28:00.007-04:00

Some days seem a lot more like fun than work! On Thursday, TNACI staff got to guide Alexandra Cousteau and her National Geographic Expedition Blue Planet Team on the Emory River. We spent the morning in Watts Bar Reservoir, catching fish and talking about the long-term impacts of the coal ash spill. We caught a few fish with infections while we were there, an indication that there is still environmental stress. TVA has finished Phase I of the clean-up—approximately 85% of the spilled ash was removed from the reservoir. The crew filmed interviews about our research on the spill and helped us catch and release the fish.

In the afternoon, we got to show off one of our most scenic parts of Tennessee. We headed upstream on the Emory River in the National Wild and Scenic River portion. We snorkeled for four hours there, saw over 30 species of fish, and found two darters that hadn't been documented that far upstream before! The only thing we couldn’t find was a hellbender… I guess we had to leave a reason for Alexandra to come back!

You can follow along with her expedition at: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/water. It is a web-based expedition and they post new photos and videos almost daily!

TNACI Page on Facebook!

2010-09-20T15:02:00.000-04:00

In an effort to reach as many people as possible with southeastern aquatic conservation news and resources, we have created a Facebook page. Please "like" this page and share it with your friends.

Lake sturgeon tagging

2010-09-17T10:08:00.000-04:00

As anyone who has ever spent time near our lake sturgeon touch tank knows, sturgeon aren’t covered in scales like most fish. Instead, they have five rows of bony scutes on their back and sides which are made of a substance called ganoin. These rigid plates act as a suit of armor for the fish, especially for young sturgeon where the scutes are still sharp- the scutes wear down as the fish ages and become smaller in relation to the body size of the sturgeon.

Scientists and fisheries managers use these scutes to keep track of the age of sturgeon that we raise and reintroduce into the wild. Every fish that leaves our TNACI facility has a specific scute removed to identify the age of the fish. On odd-numbered years (i.e. 2007, 2009) we remove a lateral scute from the right side of the fish; on even years we remove lateral scutes from the left side of the fish. That way, when a scientist captures a fish from the river, he or she can run their fingers down the lateral scutes of the fish, and identify the soft spot where a scute has been removed. By counting how many scutes back from the head of the fish to where the missing scute is, the scientist can identify which year the fish was born and use this data in conjunction with length and weight measurements to judge how fast the fish has grown.

The scute removal process is inexpensive and quick, but it does not allow for identification of individual fish and over many years, it becomes increasingly difficult to tell which scute was removed because the remaining scutes will migrate together and partially fill in the gap. Next week, we will talk about another tagging method we use that allows for identification of individual fish called “PIT” tagging.

-LSF

2010-09-15T13:38:00.000-04:00

The hellbender, the largest salamander found in N. America, is found in cool, clear, fast flowing streams from New York to northern Georgia and westward to Arkansas and Missouri. The species is divided into two subspecies, with the Ozark hellbender occupying a very small range in the White River Drainage in Missouri and Arkansas. The Ozark hellbender species (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) was listed last week as a candidate species for listing as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. This species, which occupies a much smaller range than the closely related Eastern hellbender is in serious decline and has become extremely rare in the wild. Like many aquatic species, causes of decline are believed to include poor land management leading to siltation in the watershed, impoundments, and chemical pollution from industry and agriculture. In an unusual move, the Service also cited legal (for scientific purposes) and illegal harvest (poaching) as a major threat to the viability of this subspecies.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the species is in enough trouble to consider giving it the highest level of federal protection. Now that the Ozark hellbender is being considered for protected status, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public comment from concerned parties regarding potential listing. This is a required step in which scientists, stakeholders, and representatives from concerned governmental and non-governmental agencies may present additional data or comments as the Service considers listing status.

-LSF

Pallid Sturgeon Listed as Threatened by USFWS

2010-09-03T14:10:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday of this week, an interesting ruling was issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding two species we have on display at the Tennessee Aquarium. The two species are the shovelnose and the pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus and S. albus respectively) and they are exhibited in the Reelfoot Lake tank in the Tennessee River Gallery. These very similar looking fish, both belonging to the same genus, are found in portions of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Both species prefer similar big river habitat and can be found inhabiting the same stretches of river. The larger of the two species, the pallid sturgeon, has been listed as “Endangered” by the USFWS since 1990, receiving the highest level of protection. The smaller shovelnose sturgeon whose population is in much better shape, is not deemed to need protection- in fact, a commercial fishery exists in some states for the harvest of shovelnose sturgeon for their roe (eggs) used to make caviar. According to the recent ruling, however, shovelnose sturgeon will be listed as “Threatened” for the portions of their range that overlaps the range of the pallid sturgeon prohibiting all commercial fishing for this species for large parts of pallid sturgeon range. This ruling goes in to effect as of October of this year under a Similarity of Appearance clause in the Endangered Species Act (50 CFR 17.50).

Pallid and shovelnose sturgeon sometimes appear so similar that even trained scientists have difficulty distinguishing some members of each species from the other. There have been documented cases where commercial fishermen unknowingly harvested endangered pallid sturgeon. A small pallid sturgeon could easily be mistaken for a shovelnose, and a large shovelnose sturgeon could easily be mistaken for a pallid. Because of the difficulty in visually distinguishing the two species in the wild, federal regulators felt that it is necessary to prohibit take of both species in order to protect the critically endangered pallid sturgeon.

-LSF

TNACI Husbandry Systems

2010-09-03T13:55:00.000-04:00

At the TNACI facility, in Cohutta, Georgia, we have a very different system to supply the animals in our care with clean water than what is used at the Tennessee Aquarium or the ACF. Unlike the water recirculating systems at the Aquarium that reuse the same water with the help of complex filtration systems, our systems are known as flow-thru systems. That means that water is only passes through our tanks one time before it leaves our tanks and flows down a drain. We are able to do this because the facility at Cohutta that we share with the University of Georgia was built next to a spring that provides the whole facility with a constant supply of clean, cool, clear water ideal for keeping sturgeon healthy and happy. We “borrow” the water passing through the facility only briefly before it leaves our tanks and flows into a creek adjoining the property which eventually flows into the Conasauga River. Water is supplied to our tanks from the spring by gravity, and we only minimally filter the water to remove large objects (like sticks, twigs, snails, crayfish) before it enters into our tanks. This system has a few advantages, like being inexpensive, low-maintenance, and easy to maintain. We don’t rely on electricity to power any pumps, so if the power goes out, our fish still receive clean, flowing water without relying on backup power generators. One drawback to this system is the lack of control of temperature. In the winter time, water temperatures in our tanks can drop into the low 40s. The fish do fine, but they barely grow at all when the temperatures drop.

-LSF

Summer Field Work

2010-08-16T16:15:00.000-04:00

TNACI scientists have been busy the past two weeks taking advantage of summer’s long days, warm weather, and clear skies. Last week, Lee Friedlander joined two graduate students from Tennessee Tech to survey the French Broad River for lake sturgeon. We used an electro-fishing boat to use electric current to temporarily stun any fish in the vicinity of the boat as it motors downstream next to the bank. When the fish are stunned, they float to the surface where they can be identified and recorded. Any lake sturgeon would have been netted on to the boat and measured before being released back into the water. The team was able to survey two of the three planned sites before bad weather ended the day early. Some of the species we identified in our survey included three species of redhorse, spotted suckers, smallmouth buffalo, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, four species of sunfish, and common carp- but no lake sturgeon! Is this a bad sign? Should we assume that because we did not find any lake sturgeon that there are not many lake sturgeon in the river despite our ongoing stocking efforts? Probably not- the Tennessee River is a big river system with miles and miles of available habitat. The only way for us to observe a lake sturgeon is to be sampling at the right place, at the right time. That’s a pretty tall order in a river system covering so much area.

Though we may have been “skunked” in our recent lake sturgeon sampling efforts, our work with a very different species the following week, the Conasauga logperch, had a lot more success. Conasauga logperch are a federally protected species known to only inhabit a 27 mile section of the Conasauga River in southeastern Tennessee and extreme northern Georgia. Conasauga logperch are habitat specialists, only inhabiting deeper pools with sandy bottoms with small stones usually just downstream of a faster moving riffles. These extremely rare fish feed by using their snouts to flip over small stones on the river bottom to look for tiny invertebrates to feed on. TNACI staff were joined in our search by biologists from the U.S. Forest Service and from Conservation Fisheries, Inc. We searched for these fish by snorkeling in the Conasauga River targeting areas with habitat where we knew we would likely find our target species. Because the water in this area is relatively clear, our team of snorkelers could locate fish relatively quickly…if they were there, we were pretty likely to find them. The first site we sampled turned up no Conasauga logperch, but at the second site, slightly downstream we were able to collect 11 individuals. As far as we know, this may have been the highest number of Conasauga logperch ever observed in a single day! Eight of these fish were sent off to our partner, Conservation Fisheries’ facility near Knoxville, TN for a propagation project. A small genetic sample was taken from the remaining three captured fish for genetic analysis and those fish were then returned to the river.

Compared to our efforts to find lake sturgeon, we had a lot more success finding Conasauga logperch. Does this mean that there are a lot more Conasauga logperch in the Conasauga River than there are lake sturgeon in the Tennessee River? Almost certainly not! It just means that with the right planning, Conasauga logperch may be easier to detect than lake sturgeon given their different habitats and behavior.

-LSF

Terms and Definitions from the Endangered Species Act

2010-08-06T16:16:00.000-04:00

In 1973 the federal government passed a law stating that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was tasked with preserving wildlife by protecting species at risk of extinction. This law, called the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) gave authority to the USFWS to protect declining species and the habitat critical to their survival. Within this law, many terms were defined that are used to discuss conservation activities. Below we have listed a few of these commonly used terms with a brief definition (www.fws.gov/endangered).

Endangered species- an animal or plant species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
Ex: Pallid sturgeon populations have been decimated in the Mississippi River and are now federally protected.

Threatened species- an animal or plant likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
Ex: Loggerhead sea turtles have seen dramatic population declines from human habitat encroachment along nesting beaches and accidental entrapment in commercial fishing nets.

Imperiled species- also known as a ‘species of concern’. An informal term referring to a species that needs conservation action. This may or may not mean the species will be considered for listing in the future by USFWS.
Ex: The Eastern hellbender- populations in some areas are healthy while other areas have seen steep declines from historical levels. Scientists are monitoring the health of hellbender populations.

Extirpated species- a species that no longer survives in regions that were once part of its native range. This species still exists elsewhere in the wild or in captivity.
Ex: Lake sturgeon were extirpated from Tennessee water’s in the 1960s. Since then a re-introduction program has helped restore them to area waters.

Extinct species- a species that is no longer believed to exist alive in the wild or in captivity.
Ex: Passenger pigeons are believed to have been hunted to extinction. The last known individual died in 1914.

-LSF

Growing fish

2010-06-25T10:36:00.000-04:00

June is a busy month at TNACI. Each year in early June we receive thousands of lake sturgeon fry from Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery to grow out for release into the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Together with our partner hatcheries all across the Southeast, we have already released over 90,000 fish back into Tennessee waters. Each year we are able to reintroduce larger and larger numbers of fish. Our fish arrived from Warm Springs with an average weight of 0.082 grams and a total length of 28.5 mm. As of last week, the fish have reached an average weight of 0.27 grams. This may not seem like much, but this 0.19 gram increase is an increase of over 235% in size!

Not all our fish grow at the same rate though. Some fish are doubling in size every two weeks while others seem to barely grow at all at first. This keeps us busy grading (sorting) fish into tanks with other like-sized individuals. We try to keep fish with others of similar size so that we can efficiently offer them the right sized foods and to prevent the bullying of smaller fry by larger ones. As the fish get bigger, we are able to offer them larger and more nutritious feeds. Depending on their size, each tank (there are five right now, but we’ll eventually have eight or more) is fed a different combination of newly hatched brine shrimp, chopped frozen bloodworms, frozen Cyclop-eeze, and a commercially made fish feed in pellet form.

Sturgeon Season Starts!

2010-06-06T12:36:00.000-04:00

The sturgeon have arrived! Last week, we picked up over 4,000 baby lake sturgeon from the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery in Georgia. A little over a month ago, USFWS staff transported back fertilized eggs from lake sturgeon that were spawning in Wisconsin. During their month at Warm Springs, the fish hatched, absorbed nutrients from their yolk sac, and began eating. We pick up our fish after they have undergone a month-long quarantine process. Right now, they are feeding on brine shrimp, chopped bloodworms, and some very tiny commerical fish chow. Most of these fish will be released in October or November this fall when they are at least six inches in length.

We just released 25 large lake sturgeon in Chattanooga and have been receiving reports of their whereabouts in Lake Chickamauga! Leave us a comment if you see one while out fishing.

An Evening with Cousteau

2008-05-23T12:06:00.000-04:00

Last night, the Tennessee Aquarium was fortunate to host Jean-Michel Cousteau and Gavin McKinney as part of the premiere for Dolphins and Whales 3D. After watching the movie, Mr. Cousteau spoke for over an hour about the health of our oceans, and the connectivity of all of our ecosystems. He especially noted the need to preserve our life support systems. It was a remarkable lecture, and we enjoyed it thoroughly. An added bonus was the donation of all proceeds to the Aquarium's Conservation Society for the benefit of TNARI. If you ever get a chance to hear Mr. Cousteau lecture, don't miss it!

For more about the lecture, read here.

Welcome Home, Kickapoo!

2008-05-22T15:31:00.000-04:00

Gap Creek Elementary School, our partner school in Knoxville, has been rearing a Lake Sturgeon in their classroom this spring. They named him Kickapoo Tanasi, and he's been quite a lively addition to their classroom, from what we hear. Kickapoo came back to TNARI today, where he'll be keeping visitors amused by his antics at the public aquarium at Cohutta Fishery Center. Thanks to Gap Creek for doing such a good job raising him, and happy graduation to the 5th graders!

2008-04-25T14:18:00.000-04:00

This week, we picked up 48 Barrens Topminnows (Fundulus julisia) from Matt at the Tennessee Aquarium. The Barrens Topminnow, (or BTMs), are one of the most imperiled fishes in the southeastern U.S. They are restricted to three counties in central Tennessee, and much of their habitat has been affected by human encroachment and ongoing drought. Worst of all has been the introduced Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), which outcompete BTMs. Drought conditions have been so severe at times that biologists have had to "rescue" populations from shrinking bodies of water that are nearly dry. The fish we received at TNARI are from one such population. TNARI will provide additional husbandry space for BTM propagation to help restore this beautiful southeastern fish.

If you would like to see a picture, click on the link below:

http://www.fws.gov/dalehollow/imperiled/BTMMALE.jpg

Happy Anniversary, TVA v. Hill

2008-04-14T13:51:00.000-04:00

This week marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most famous environmental law cases in the US--TVA v. Hill. This case was the first time the Endangered Species Act was really tested--could a small fish from eastern Tennessee stop the construction of a $100 million dam? The answer was yes--for a little while.

This case has already been endlessly debated, and we're not likely to change anyone's minds now. Here at TNARI, we're happy that there are still snail darters around to study and conserve. They're a good reminder that we ought to be considering the impacts of our actions on all of biodiversity, not just the commercially important species.

If you'd like to read more about this, this Knoxville News article talks about the case and recent , or for a more legal angle, a Tennessee Bar Association article written by the attorney who argued the case on behalf of the fish.

Fun with the Fish Scientists

2007-11-13T11:05:00.000-05:00

We're still recovering from last week's meeting of the Southeastern Fishes Council... man, those ichthyologists know how to have a good time! Most of our day was spent in talks with titles like "Systematics of the Etheostoma rufilineatum Species Group (Teleostei: Percidae) Based on Both Mitochondrial (Cytochrome B) and Nuclear (S7 Intron) Loci." We had a long session on captive propagation, which brought up both past projects in the Southeast (like our very own Save the Sturgeon program) and how to optimize captive propagation programs. In between talks, we got to visit the Aquarium and hang with the big fish:

We also took them behind the scenes at the Aquarium, since most ichthyologists know more about what is necessary to keep fish alive in the wild instead of alive in a tank.

It wasn't all pure science, either. Bernie Kuhajda, the SFC chair, helped me write an editorial for the Tennessean about water resources in the Southeast. You can read it here.

Now it's time to recover... we host this group in Chattanooga again next year!

Welcome Southeastern Fishes Council!

2007-11-07T11:33:00.000-05:00

We're happy to welcome the Southeastern Fishes Council to their first annual stand-alone meeting on Thursday and Friday, November 8 and 9. Scientists from 14 different states are traveling to Chattanooga to share information and ideas on southeastern fish conservation. We're particularly glad about the timing of this meeting since the drought has devastated the rivers and streams of this unique and diverse region.

Sturgeons Released!

2007-10-31T23:20:00.000-04:00

This Halloween, we helped out some of our favorite monsters--Lake Sturgeon. While the fish we released today were just babies (six months old and less than a pound!), we hope these 700 fish grow up to rival the size of the largest Lake Sturgeon ever caught, 310 pounds and 8 feet long. Of course, it's going to take them quite awhile to get that big... Lake Sturgeon can live up to 150 years!

We had some help from students at Gap Creek Elementary School, just across the French Broad River from our release site. The kids weren't at all scared to get in the water with our monster fish!