Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Climate-Driven Impacts On Himalayan Aquatic Biodiversity: A Case Study Involving Snowtrout (Cyprinidae: Schizothorax), Riri Wiyanti Retnaningtyas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring biodiversity, to include its relative dispersal and contraction, has become a conservation task of great importance, particularly given the catastrophic and ongoing loss of habitat due to climate change. However, the timing, direction, and magnitude of these rates vary across taxa and ecosystems. Predicting specific impacts of climate change can thus be difficult and this, in turn, hampers management action. Metrics are needed to not only quantify contemporary requirements of species, but also predict potential distributions that fluctuate in lockstep with climate.

Montane ecosystems in the Himalayas are highly impacted by climate change, yet remain largely understudied due to …

Interactive Effects Of Flow Regime, Climate Change, And Angler Harvest On Smallmouth Bass At The Southern Range Extent, Christopher Middaugh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Ozark-Ouachita Interior Highlands of Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri are the southern extent of native Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu range. Smallmouth Bass are an important species economically and ecologically, but it is unknown how climate change may affect them in this region and in particular how Smallmouth Bass may be affected differently across streams from various flow regimes. Here I present three projects investigating how climate change, flow regime, and angler harvest may interact to affect Smallmouth Bass over the coming century. I first modeled present and future water temperatures and calculated growth rate potential for Smallmouth Bass from streams …

Habitat Modeling Of Three Endemic Crayfish Species In The Black River Drainage Of Missouri And Arkansas: Factors Affecting Distribution And Abundance, Matthew Stephen Nolen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Ozark faunal region of Missouri and Arkansas harbors a high level of aquatic biological diversity, especially in regards to endemic crayfish. Orconectes eupunctus, Orconectes marchandi, and Cambarus hubbsi are three such endemics that are threatened by a limited natural distribution and the invasions of Orconectes neglectus. I sought to determine how natural and anthropogenic factors influence these three species across multiple spatial scales. Local and landscape data were used in decision tree analyses (CART) to determine their influence effect on presence/absence and density of the three species. Predictive models were validated using k-fold cross validation. O. eupunctus presence was …

Letter From The Dean, Lalit Verma

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Commercial Fish Removal On Sport Fish Populations In Two Arkansas Reservoirs, Tommie Crawford

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Commercial netting occurred October through April, 1971-1976 on Nimrod Lake and from October through April, 1973-1977 on Blue Mountain Lake in west central Arkansas. Using 7.6 cm or larger mesh gill and/or trammel nets, commercial fishermen harvested commercial fishes (buffalofishes [Ictiobus spp.]; common carp [Cyprinus carpio], carpsuckers [Carpiodes spp.]; drum [Aplodinotus grunniens]; gars [Lepisosteus spp.]; suckers [Catostomidae); and catfishes [Ictalurus spp. and Pylodictis olivaris]). During the study period, cove rotenone samples were conducted on an annual basis. Fishes collected were placed into age classes and enumerated. Data were then grouped into general categories (black basses [Micropterus spp], crappie [Pomoxis spp.], …

Temperature Preference And Tolerance Of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon Idella), Marvin L. Galloway, Raj V. Kilambi

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Grass carp, acclimated at 24 °C, were tested for temperature preference in a laboratory, horizontal gradient tank. After a 6-day period of exploration the grass carp gravitated to a final thermal preferendum of 35 °C. In the temperature tolerance test the ultimate upper incipient lethal temperature (TL50), was estimated as 41.5°C. The results are compared to those of a similar study with hybrid carp (female grass carp x male bighead carp).

Comparison Of Two Year Classes Of Hybrid Grass Carp And Grass Carp For Aquatic Plant Control, Mike Freeze, Scott Henderson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Two year classes of grass carp and F, hybrids resulting from bighead carp male x grass carp female were compared at various stocking densities for aquatic plant control. One and two year old grass carp exhibited higher survival rates and better growth rates than the same age hybrid grass carp. The presence of grass carp or hybrid grass carp decreased both Secchi disc transparencies and dissolved oxygen values. Grass carp had a greater negative effect upon these measurements because they removed the vegetation quicker than the hybrid grass carp. These apparent detrimental effects on water quality are necessary trade-offs for …

Spawning The Grass Carp Female X Bighead Carp Male, Mike Freeze, Scott Henderson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Methods and procedures for artificially spawning the female grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) X male bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) are presented. Broodstock selection and treatment, hormone injections, ovulation, fertilization, hatching techniques and stocking rates are discussed. This paper outlines the procedures necessary to successfully produce hybrid grass carp

Water Quality And Benthic Invertebrate Communities In Lake Greeson Tailwater, Stephen B. Smith

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Little Missouri River below Lake Greeson, Arkansas, was sampled for water quality and benthos during summer 1979. The hydropower turbine water intakes, 20 m below the lake surface, released hypolimnetic water into the tailwater. Downstream water temperatures, total organic matter, and total inorganic matter varied considerably and benthic invertebrate communities immediately below the dam were stressed by waters released for power generation. Detrimental effects from altered temperature and flow regimes had decreased by 16.1 km downstream, where invertebrate communities were typical of less stressed environments.

Warmwater Fish Community Of A Cool Tailwater In Arkansas, Richard A. Frietsche

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A diverse warmwater fish community has persisted in the Lake Greeson tailwater, despite hydropower releases of cold hypolimnetic water. Forty-eight species of fish were collected by electrofishing in the upper 16.1 km of the tailwater. Hydropower releases have reduced the abundance of some of the warmwater sport fish in the upper tailwater, and their populations are probably maintained in part by recruitment from downstream. Angling effort has been diverted from the warmwater sport fish populations to a put-and-take trout fishery.

Effects Of Water Released From Stratified And Unstratified Reservoirs On The Downstream Water Quality, Stephen B. Smith

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Water quality samples were collected from the Little River system in Pine Creek Lake, Oklahoma, and Gillham Lake, Arkansas, and their associated tailwaters during the winter (reservoirs unstratified) and summer (reservoirs stratified) of 1980. Downstream water quality was not affected by reservoir water releases while the reservoirs were unstratified. When the reservoirs were stratified water quality in the tailwaters was dependent on the release depth of the water. The practice of flushing out a tailwater following an extended low flow period should be examined on a site by site basis. Anoxic water released from a reservoir may contain high amounts …

Food Of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) In Degray Reservoir, Arkansas, 1976, Horace E. Bryant, Thomas E. Moen

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Stomach contents were examined from 748 largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (<125 mm total length), collected from DeGray Reservoir during April-November 1976. Fish constituted 59% by weight of the total diet and occurred in 81% of the stomachs; crayfish made up nearly 38% of the weight and occurred in 24% of the stomachs. Sunfish, the principal fish food (about 28% by weight), were observed in 36% of the stomachs. Shad were the second most important prey (23% by weight and 29% frequency in occurrence). Crayfish constituted about 42% of the total weight of the food of bass 200 mm long or longer, but only 12% in bass less than 200 mm. Crayfish consumption was greatest during the fall.

Food Of Bluegill And Longear Sunfish In Degray Reservoir, Arkansas, 1976, Horace E. Bryant, Thomas E. Moen

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Stomach contents were examined from 544 bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and 709 longear sunfish (L. megalotis) collected from nearshore areas of DeGray Reservoir April-November 1976. Major foods of bluegill (percentage of total weight of food in parentheses) were insects (33), bryozoa (7.3), planktonic crustaceans (6.5), and plant materials (15.4). The major food items contributing to the diet of longear sunfish were insects (52.6%), crayfish (12.5%), fish (7.4%), and plant material (6.7%). Although bluegill and longear sunfish are closely related species, their diets were not as similar as expected: bluegill consumed zooplankton, adult dipterans, and adult ephemeropterans associated with limnetic areas; while …

Growth And Year Class Composition Of The White Bass (Morone Chrysops) In Degray Lake, Arkansas, Thomas E. Moen, Michael R. Dewey

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Addendum To "Fishes Of The Fourche River" In North Central Arkansas, Steve M. Bounds

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Distribution, Habitat Notes, And The Status Of The Ironcolor Shiner, Notropis Chalybaeus Cope, In Arkansas, Henry W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Field work throughout Arkansas since 1971 and a search of museum records have yielded 35 collections of the iron color shiner, Notropis chalybaeus Cope (Cyprinidae), not previously documented in Arkansas. From these data the iron color shiner is considered to be confined to the Coastal Plain physiographic province of Arkansas below the Fall Line, becoming most abundant in the Ouachita and Red River drainages of southern Arkansas. Notes on habitat preference, species associates, and current status of N. chalybaeus within Arkansas are presented.

Growth, Mortality, Food Habits, And Fecundity Of The Buffalo River Smallmouth Bass, Raj V. Kilambi, Walter R. Robison, James C. Adams

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Total length-scale radius, and length-weight relationships were determined for smallmouth bass from the Buffalo River. The back calculated lengths were used in analyzing the age-length data by the Bertalanffy growth formula. Asymptotic length and weight were estimated as 58.3 cm and 4.6 lbs, respectively. Annual mortality of 36 percent was estimated by the catch curve method. Insects (54%), fishes (16%), and crayfish (14%) were the abundant food organisms by frequency of occurrence; while fishes (64%) and crayfish (29%) were the dominant food items by the gravimetric method. Based on the gonosomatic indices and frequency distribution of ovum diameter measurements, smallmouth …

Fishes Of The Eleven Point River Within Arkansas, Michael B. Johnson, John K. Beadles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A survey of the fishes of the Eleven Point River and its tributaries was made between 31 January 1976 and 13 February 1977. Sixty-three collections, literature records and personal communications revealed 90 species distributed among 19 families. This study revealed 31 species previously not reported for this river system. The Eleven Point River is a clear, predominantly springfed Ozark stream which is located in western Randolph County. From the Arkansas-Missouri state line, the Eleven Point River flows south for approximately 64 km before joining the Spring River. Terrain in the Arkansas portion of this river is rugged as the river …

Fishes Of Crowley's Ridge In Arkansas, Robert F. Fulmer, George L. Harp

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Crowley's Ridge is one of the six natural geographic divisions of Arkansas which rises out of the Mississippi embayment as a relatively steep, uncultivated loessial mass. The ridge is drained by a network of headwater streams which are relatively clear with alkaline pH values and uniformly low alkalinity values. Carbon dioxide values were moderate and oxygen values were adequate. The fish species collected were basically headwater in composition. Isolated groups of characteristically upland species indicate that environmental quality of adjacent deltaic streams was better at one time.

Fishes Of Sylamore Creek, Stone County, Arkansas, George C. Frazier, John K. Beadles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A survey of the fishes of Sylamore Creek in northcentral Arkansas yielded a total of 15,041 specimens representing 44 species, including one hybrid, distributed among 11 families. The three most abundant fishes collected were: Notropis pilsbryi Fowler, Dionda nubila (Forbes), and Notropis telescopus (Cope), respectively. Two species, Campostoma anomalum pullum (Agassiz), and N. pilsbryi, were collected at every station. Sylamore Creek is a clear predominantely spring-fed stream that originate in the Ozark Mountains of northcentral Arkansas and empties into the White River 72.3 km above Bates vilie. Sylamore Creek is composed of two branches, North and South Sylamore, which comprise …

Fishes Of Randolph County, Arkansas, Steve M. Bounds, John K. Beadles, Billy M. Johnson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A survey of the fishes of Randolph County in northcentral Arkansas was made between June 1973 and March 1977. Field collections, literature records, and museum specimens revealed the ichthyofauna of Randolph County to be composed of 128 species distributed among 24 families. Cyprinidae was the largest family, being represented by 34 species while Percidae was represented by 24 species. Randolph County is composed of Ozark Uplands and Coastal Plain areas. All of the stream systems flow into the Black River system with the exception of Village Creek in the southeastern corner of the county which flows into White River. The …

Macrobenthos Population Changes In Crystal Lake, Arkansas, Subsequent To Cage Culture Fish, James C. Adams, Raj V. Kilambi, William A. Wickizer, Arthur V. Brown

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A three-year study was conducted to determine the possible effects of cage culture of fish on the environment of Crystal Lake, Arkansas. The investigation consisted of three periods: pre- (November 1971-October 1972), during- (November 1972-October 1973), and post- (November 1973-October 1974) cage culture. Numbers and biomass of benthos per square meter for pre-, during-, and post-culture periods were 1353 (10.0g), 730 (8.8g), and 1028 (4.1g), respectively. Numerically, Chaoborus sp., Chironomidae, and Oligochaeta comprised more than 97%. Chaoborus was the most numerous organism before fish culture (>68%), but dominance shifted to the Oligochaeta (>58%) after culture.

Fishes Of The Cane Creek Watershed In Southeast Missouri And Northeast Arkansas, Bruce E. Yeager, John K. Beadles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A survey of the fishes of Cane Creek in southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas was made between 25 August 1974 and 16 July 1975. Field collections, literature records, fisherman reports, and museum specimens showed the fishes of Cane Creek to be composed of 90 species distributed among 20 families. Records of Lampetra aepyptera (Abbott), Hiodon alosoides (Rafinesque), Etheostoma histrio Jordan and Gilbert, and Percina uranidea (Jordan and Gilbert) were either the first records of these species in this stream or reaffirmed their presence. The fish collected were common to the Ozark, Ozark lowland, lowland, and wide-ranging faunal groups of Pflieger …

Fishes Of The Fourche River In Northcentral Arkansas, Steve M. Bounds, John K. Beadles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A survey of the fishes of Fourche River in northcentral Arkansas was made between June 1974 and March 1976. Field collections and literature records revealed that the river system was inhabited by 94 species of fish representing 21 families. The collected fishes represent both the Ozark and the lowland faunal groups. Fourteen species of Etheostoma and four species of Percina were collected. The records of Etheostoma asprigene and Elassoma zonatum represent extensions of the previously known ranges of these species within the state. Noturus gyrinus and Etheostoma histrio were recorded from the Black River system in Arkansas for the first …

New Distributional Records Of Fishes From The Lower Ouachita River System In Arkansas, Henry W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Fishes collected from the lower Ouachita River system in Arkansas during 1971-1974 are reported. As a result of these collections six species were added to the Ouachita River system ichthyofauna of Arkansas including an undescribed species of Notropis, Hybopsis aestivalis (Girard), Ictiobus bubalus (Rafinesque), Fundulus chrysotus (Gunther), Lepomis symmetricus (Forbes) and Etheostoma fusiforme barratti (Holbrook). New distributional records for Ichthyomyzon gagei (Hubbs and Trautman), Notropis maculatus (Hay), N. lutrensis (Baird and Girard), Erimyzon sucetta (Lacepede), Fundulus notti (Agassiz) and Lepomis marginatus (Holbrook) within the system also are presented.

Age And Growth Of Bluegill, Lepomis Macrochirus Rafinesque, From Lake Fort Smith, Arkansas, Jacob J. Hogue, Raj V. Kilambi

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A total of 337 bluegill from Lake Fort Smith were used for this study. Annuli were formed between late February and early June, the younger fish forming annuli earlier than older fish. Total length-scale radius and length-weight relationships were determined. Growth of bluegill was compared with that reported in other studies. Growth curves were analyzed by the Von Bertalanffy growth formula and the parameters were evaluated in terms of physical and biological factors.

Ichthyofaunal Diversification And Distribution In Jane's Creek Watershed, Randolph County, Arkansas, Cheryl Lynn Fowler, George L. Harp

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The purposes of this study were to determine the qualitative and quantitative distribution of fishes in the Jane's Creek watershed. Jane's Creek is a clear, spring-fed Ozark stream in northeastern Arkansas. A knowledge of the ichthyofauna of this stream prior to a long-range impoundment is of significance to the natural history of Arkansas. Jane's Creek and its tributaries were found to be alkaline, with no measurable turbidity, and to have low levels of carbon dioxide. Dissolved oxygen values ranged from 6.1 to 16.0 ppm. Only slight differences in physicochemical conditions were noted among stations and between pool and riffle areas …

Some Physiochemical Parameters And Phytoplankton Standing Crop In Four Northeast Arkansas Commercial Fish Ponds, Haldor Marvin Wilkes, John K. Beadles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Physicochemical conditions and chlorophyll a standing crop were studied from July 1970 through June 1971 in four commercial catfish ponds at the Arkansas State University Experiment Farm near Walcott, Greene County, Arkansas. Determinations of dissolved oxygen, free carbon dioxide, total alkalinity, temperature, pH, transparency, and chlorophyll a standing crop were made at two-week intervals except during fish harvesting operations. One diurnal measurement of dissolved oxygen, free carbon dioxide, and temperature was conducted 25-26 June 1971. Increased oxygen concentrations coincided with increased chlorophyll α concentrations. Free carbon dioxide and chlorophyll α values varied inversely throughout the study. Diurnal concentrations of free …

Ichthyofaunal Diversification And Distribution In The Big Creek Watershed, Craighead And Greene Counties, Arkansas, James T. Jenkins, George L. Harp

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Big Creek is a relatively small deltaic stream, in northeastern Arkansas, in an area of intense cultivation. Recently it has been dredged in the interest of flood control. Lost Creek and Mud Creek are the major tributaries of Big Creek and collectively drain the Big Creek watershed. The streams were found to have relatively low alkalinity, moderate carbon dioxide, adequate oxygen values, and relatively high turbidity. Channeling of Big Creek and Lost Creek has effectively destroyed distinct pool-riffle biocies and reduced the number of acceptable spawning areas. Lost Creek, also, receives effluent from residential dwellings, a secondary treatment sewage plant, …

Effect Of Domestic Effluent On Two Spring Surveys Of Fishes In Lost Creek, Craighead County, Arkansas, John K. Beadles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Lost Creek is representative of deltonic streams of the St. Francis Basin possessing characteristics of being turbid. It has a low flow velocity except during the annual spring rains. Lost Creek meanders approximately 18 km. before receiving effluents and empties into Big Creek approximately 4 km. west of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Five collecting stations were studied in 1966 while six stations were sampled in 1970. Some fishes have been found to tolerate moderate amounts of domestic effluents and it is probable that the two species Lepomis cyanellus and Ictalurus melas, collected within the effluents, were more resistant than the other species …