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Environmental Disturbance And The Distribution Of Rhinichthys Bowersi In West Virginia, Brooke Elizabeth Schlenker
Environmental Disturbance And The Distribution Of Rhinichthys Bowersi In West Virginia, Brooke Elizabeth Schlenker
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
The Cheat minnow, Rhinichthys bowersi, has been designated a species of concern by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources. Mitochondrial DNA analysis (Gladwell 2002) supports the origin of R. bowersi from hybridization between cyprinids R. cataractae and Nocomis micropogon. Previous investigators have hypothesized a relationship between fish hybridization and environmental disturbance. The habitat of R. bowersi has experienced severe environmental degradation from mineral and timber extraction. In this study, environmental quality was compared between stream systems in which parental species of R. bowersi were found with and without resulting hybridization. Environmental quality indicators included biotic diversity and stream structure …