Terms and Definitions from the Endangered Species Act

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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.