Fishes of the Wakarusa River in Kansas Part 2

_Notropis percobromus_ (Cope). KU 12; DM 1, 2. The plains s.h.i.+ner shows little tendency to move far upstream from the Kansas River, where it is abundant.

_Notropis umbratilis_ (Girard). KU 5, 11, 14; UMMZ 1, 4, 5; DM 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41. In our survey the redfin s.h.i.+ner was the most abundant species at several stations, especially at those in the lower and middle portions of tributaries to the mainstream.

_Notropis cornutus frontalis_ (Aga.s.siz). KU 1, 2, 3, 8, 11, 14; DM 16. Judging from the numbers preserved in early collections, the common s.h.i.+ner was more abundant and widespread in the 1890's than in 1959. A watershed improvement program effecting more stable flow and decreased turbidity might benefit this s.h.i.+ner.

_Notropis lutrensis_ (Baird and Girard). KU 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15; UMMZ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; DM all stations _except_ 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 35. The red s.h.i.+ner was ubiquitous, and was the dominant species at a majority of stations.

_Notropis stramineus_ (Cope). KU 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15; DM 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 24, 25, 31, 37. The sand s.h.i.+ner was most common in two environments: (1) near the mouth of the Wakarusa where abundance of the species may be attributed to the close proximity of a large population of _N. stramineus_ in the Kansas River, and (2) in upland tributaries that drain areas in which sand is found (especially in Cole Creek).

_Notropis topeka_ (Gilbert). KU 1, 14; UMMZ 1, 4, 5; DM 22, 25, 27, 33. Minckley and Cross (1959) describe the habitat of the Topeka s.h.i.+ner as pools of clear upland tributaries with slight flow. We found the Topeka s.h.i.+ner in such habitat in Deer Creek, Strowbridge Creek and Burys Creek. The largest population occurred in a tributary of Strowbridge Creek. This stream probably was intermittent in 1958, and Deer and Burys creeks may have been intermittent at some time in 1957-1959. Although Minckley and Cross (1959:215) have stated that Rock Creek is "unsuitable for this species," we suspect that Rock Creek served as a refugium for _N.

topeka_ in time of drought. It was found there (KU 14) in 1952, and again (DM 16) on April 8, 1960.

_Notropis buchanani_ Meek. UMMZ 3. Inclusion of the ghost s.h.i.+ner is based on two specimens (UMMZ 63107) collected by C. W. Creaser in 1924.

_Phenacobius mirabilis_ (Girard). KU 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15; UMMZ 4; DM 3, 6, 16, 18, 21, 22, 34. The suckermouth minnow occurred in several collections but was nowhere dominant. The largest populations were at DM 3, 6, and 22.

_Hybognathus nuchalis_ Aga.s.siz. KU 8, 15; UMMZ 3; DM 1, 6. The silvery minnow was taken only in the downstream portion of the Wakarusa and its lower tributaries.

_Pimephales promelas_ Rafinesque. KU 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15; UMMZ 1, 4, 5; DM all stations _except_ 1, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 30. The fathead minnow was ubiquitous, and was dominant at several stations on the smallest creeks.

_Pimephales notatus_ (Rafinesque). KU 1, 6, 11, 12, 14, 15; UMMZ 1, 4, 5; DM 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26, 37, 41. The bluntnose minnow occurred at several stations on tributaries but was not common.

_Campostoma anomalum_ (Rafinesque). KU 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; UMMZ 4, 5; DM 3, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 30, 32, 33, 34. The stoneroller was usually abundant at upstream stations and was found in the mainstream of the Wakarusa River.

_Ictalurus punctatus_ (Rafinesque). KU 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15; DM 1, 2, 18, 24. Channel catfish were taken by us only in the mainstream; anglers sometimes catch channel catfish in several of the tributaries.

_Ictalurus melas_ (Rafinesque). Black bullhead. KU 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 14; UMMZ 2, 5; DM 5, 6, 7, 16, 17, 21, 25, 26, 31, 32, 33, 38, 39, 40.

_Ictalurus natalis_ (LeSueur). Yellow bullhead. KU 9, 14.

_Pylodictis olivaris_ (Rafinesque). KU 8, 10; DM 18. The flathead catfish comprises a small but consistent part of the sport fishery of the Wakarusa, especially in the mainstream.

_Noturus flavus_ Rafinesque. Stonecat. KU 10, 11, 12.

_Noturus exilis_ (Nelson). DM 11. The slender madtom is recorded only from riffles in Was.h.i.+ngton Creek below Lone Star Lake. These riffles, because of the influence of the reservoir, are probably the most permanent in the drainage at present. The slender madtom may become more widespread if other reservoirs are built that stabilize stream flow in the basin.

_Perca flavescens_ (Mitchill). The yellow perch is present in Lone Star Lake, and probably will become established in future reservoirs that are constructed.

_Percina caprodes_ (Rafinesque). Log perch. KU 11, 14, 15; DM 11, 12, 16, 37, 41.

_Etheostoma nigrum_ Rafinesque. KU 8, 14; UMMZ 1, 3, 4, 5; DM 16, 17. The johnny darter, like the common s.h.i.+ner, has been taken recently only in Rock Creek, where darters flourish. Often, ten to fifteen johnny darters were taken with one sweep of a 6- or 12-foot seine in shallow pools having mud bottoms. Watershed improvement may benefit this species.

_Etheostoma spectabile pulch.e.l.lum_ (Girard). KU 7, 10, 12, 14; UMMZ 4, 5; DM 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26. The orangethroat darter was most abundant in Deer Creek, Rock Creek and Was.h.i.+ngton Creek.

_Micropterus salmoides salmoides_ (Lacepede). DM 16, 17, 21, 30, 32, 34, 37. The largemouth ba.s.s occurs throughout the drainage at present, and should become established without supplemental stocking in future reservoirs. The absence of this species in early collections suggests that widespread stocking of ba.s.s in various impoundments in the area in recent years has increased populations in the streams. An anomalous individual, lacking a right pelvic fin, was found in Lone Star Lake.

_Chaen.o.bryttus gulosus_ (Cuvier). The warmouth is present in Lone Star Lake. This species typically inhabits lakes and probably will establish itself in other reservoirs.

_Lepomis cyanellus_ Rafinesque. Green sunfish. KU 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15; UMMZ 2, 4, 5; DM all stations _except_ 11, 12, 13, 14, 27, 30, 31, 39, 40.

_Lepomis macrochirus_ Rafinesque. KU 6; DM 10, 16, 17, 24, 31, 33, 37, 41, 42. Both bluegill and green sunfish are common throughout the drainage and will contribute to the sport fishery of any reservoir constructed. The absence of the bluegill in early collections suggests that its population has increased recently owing to introductions in many impoundments.

_Lepomis humilis_ (Girard). Orangespotted sunfish. KU 6, 9, 11, 14, 15; UMMZ 1, 2, 4, 5; DM 4, 6, 16, 17, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42.

_Lepomis megalotis breviceps_ (Rafinesque). Longear sunfish. KU 8 (one individual taken in Rock Creek, 1951).

_Pomoxis annularis_ (Rafinesque). KU 9, 15; UMMZ 2. White c.r.a.ppie occur in Lone Star Lake and in farm ponds in the basin.

_Pomoxis nigromaculatus_ (LeSueur). Specimens of black c.r.a.ppie were obtained from Lone Star Lake and in farm ponds in the basin.

_Aplodinotus grunniens_ Rafinesque. Drum. KU 12.

_Discussion_

Our data show that the present fish-fauna of the Wakarusa River has three major components:

(1) A group of species that are mainly restricted to the lower mainstream; all of them are common in the Kansas River (_Lepisosteus osseus_, _Carpiodes carpio carpio_, _Ictiobus cyprinella_, _Moxostoma aureolum_, _Cyprinus carpio_, _Hybopsis storeriana_, _Hybopsis aestivalis_, _Notropis percobromus_, _Hybognathus nuchalis_ and _Pylodictis olivaris)_.

(2) A group of species that are ubiquitous; they comprised the entire fauna in some tributaries, despite the existence of habitats that seemed suitable for other species (_Notropis lutrensis_, _Pimephales promelas_, _Ictalurus melas_, and _Lepomis cyanellus_).

(3) A group of species having distributions centered in Rock Creek, Was.h.i.+ngton Creek, Deer Creek, and some nearby tributaries (_Catostomus commersonnii_, _Semotilus atromaculatus_, _Hybopsis biguttata_, _Notropis cornutus_, _Notropis topeka_, _Notropis umbratilis_, _Phenacobius mirabilis_, _Pimephales notatus_, _Campostoma anomalum_, _Noturus exilis_, _Percina caprodes_, _Etheostoma nigrum_ and _Etheostoma spectabile_).

The distributions of groups (2) and (3) provide clues to the effect of drought on the fish-population, and on the relative ability of various species to repopulate areas where they have been extirpated.

Larimore _et al._ (1959) studied the re-establishment of stream-fish following drought in Smiths Branch, a small warmwater stream in Illinois. They found that 21 of the 29 species regularly occurring there reinvaded most of the stream-course within two weeks after the resumption of normal flow, and that all but three species were present by the end of the first summer. Our study indicates a much slower rate of dispersal by many of the same species. This is presumably attributable to the ecological barrier presented by the Wakarusa mainstream.

During the drought (1952-1956) the mainstream with its turbid water and mud bottom could hardly have served as a refugium for species requiring the clear water and gravel bottom of upland tributaries. Probably the main refugia for these species [group (3)] were in the upper portions of Rock Creek, Was.h.i.+ngton Creek and possibly Deer Creek. While collecting we observed that these creeks had larger proportions of gravel-rubble bottom, clearer water, deeper pools, and appeared to be more stable than other creeks in the drainage. In Was.h.i.+ngton Creek, Lone Star Lake enhanced stability of flow.

At the end of the drought, fishes in group (3) probably were extirpated or decimated in other tributaries of the Wakarusa. After normal flow recommenced in 1956, fishes re-entered the previously uninhabitable streams or stream-segments. The rate of redispersal by various species probably depended upon their innate mobility, and upon their tolerance of the muddy mainstream of the Wakarusa.

Our observations suggest that certain species in group (3) dispersed rapidly from refugia in Rock Creek, Was.h.i.+ngton Creek, and possibly Deer Creek. These species may, of course, have survived in a few remaining pools in tributaries throughout the basin, thereby necessitating only minor redispersal within these tributaries following drought.

Species of group (3) that were most tolerant of drought or that dispersed most rapidly are _Catostomus commersonnii_, _Notropis umbratilis_, _Pimephales notatus_, and _Percina caprodes_; these were present in the uppermost portions of the basin in 1959. Fishes having lesser capacity for survival or dispersal are _Semotilus atromaculatus_, _Notropis topeka_, _Phenacobius mirabilis_ and _Campostoma anomalum_; in 1959, they were not found farther upstream than Burys Creek. _Etheostoma spectabile_, the orangethroat darter, was taken in Rock Creek, Was.h.i.+ngton Creek, Deer Creek, Strowbridge Creek, Elk Creek, and at station 24 on the Wakarusa. This is a riffle-dwelling, comparatively sedentary fish, not a strong swimmer.

These traits, coupled with the long, muddy pools and infrequent riffles of the Wakarusa mainstream, provide a reasonable explanation of the comparatively slow rate of dispersal by the orangethroat darter.

Several species showed no tendency for redispersal following drought, in that they were confined to Was.h.i.+ngton Creek or Rock Creek in 1959.

_Noturus exilis_ was taken only in Was.h.i.+ngton Creek immediately below Lone Star Lake. Rock Creek is the last stream in the Wakarusa Basin in which _Notropis cornutus_, _Hybopsis biguttata_ and _Etheostoma nigrum_ have survived. These species require comparatively permanent streams having pool-and-riffle habitats and gravelly bottoms for sp.a.w.ning.

_Hybopsis biguttata_ has been recorded only from Rock Creek, where it was last taken in 1924. It is interesting to note that this species had not reinvaded Smiths Branch, in Illinois, three years after the resumption of stream-flow (Larimore _et al._, 1959). _Notropis cornutus_ and _Etheostoma nigrum_, although formerly more widespread in the Wakarusa Basin, have been taken recently only in Rock Creek.

Faunal changes that have occurred in the basin in the past 60 years indicate a decrease in extent of clear, continuously flowing stream-habitat.

_Comparisons with Faunas of Nearby Streams_

Minckley (1959) reported 13 species from the Big Blue River Basin that were not taken in our survey of the Wakarusa. Most of the 13 are fishes that probably occur throughout the lower mainstream of the Kansas River and might enter the lower Wakarusa occasionally. _Chrosomus erythrogaster_ and _Notropis rubellus_ were reported by Minckley but have not been found in the Kansas River Basin east of the Flint Hills, either in recent or in early collections. On the other hand, five species have been reported from the Wakarusa but not from the Big Blue River. Two of these, _Notemigonus crysoleucas_ and _Chaen.o.bryttus gulosus_, may have been introduced by man. The remaining three, _Hybopsis biguttata_, _Noturus exilis_ and _Percina caprodes_, have not been taken farther west than Mill Creek, Wabaunsee County. In general the faunas of the two systems are similar; forty species are common to both.

Comparison of the faunal list reported from the Cottonwood River drainage (Arkansas River System) by Cross (1954) with that here reported reveals 26 species in common, 19 found only in the Wakarusa and 15 species found only in the Cottonwood.