The freshwater scientists of the Tennessee Aquarium are sharing good news about the status of endangered fish living in streams near Chattanooga that this fall’s prolonged drought drastically impacted.
In late November, the area around Chattanooga received more than 2.5 inches of rain – more than five times the amount that fell in the area during the previous 72 days. This helped to restore some flow to streams on Walden Ridge, which are home to the world’s only known populations of Laurel Dace – one of North America’s 10 most-imperiled fish species.
During a trip late last month to conduct routine research on fish populations in streams along the ridge, scientists from the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute checked sites by mid-November had dwindled to a trickle or even a series of isolated pools. They observed significantly more water flow than during their previous visit Nov. 1.
The rain has helped offset some of the drought’s impact and led the U.S. Drought Monitor to downgrade the Chattanooga area from D5 (exceptional drought) to D4 (extreme drought). However, the region needs many more significant rainfall events to restore conditions to normal, says aquatic conservation biologist Dr. Bernie Kuhajda.
“The significant rain helped, but there is still very little water in the creek we visited. One site had pools that were full and some water flowing, which alleviates the immediate crisis. Another creek had full pools but very little flow.”
In addition to their observations of increased water volume in these streams, freshwater scientists conducting the stream movement study found that the fish they collected were healthy and not showing indications of stress.
While these signs point to a general improvement to conditions in these streams, Kuhajda stressed that the ship has not yet completely righted itself.
“A few more weeks without rain, and we might be back to where we were before the rain event a week ago. We’re still not out of the woods.”
Scientists from the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute and partnering agencies, such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will continue to monitor conditions in streams that are home to the Laurel Dace and the Barrens Topminnow, another endangered fish found in a handful of streams in Middle Tennessee.