Total length in inchesAug. 19 1957Aug. 19-26 1958July 27-Aug. 4 19592131445161272118314293321046611241122132141
SpeciesMorning 5 hoursof effort expended6:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m.Afternoon 6 hoursof effort expended12:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m.Early night 18 hoursof effort expended6:30 p.m. 12:30 a.m.Late night 8 hoursof effort expended12:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m.Long-nosed Gar00.3 (2)1.2 (21)1.1 (9)Short-nosed Gar0.2 (1)00.2 (3)0.4 (3)Gizzard Shad0.2 (1)0.3 (2)0.1 (1)0.1 (1)Black Buffalo00.2 (1)0.1 (1)0Small-mouthed Buffalo0.4 (2)0.3 (2)0.8 (14)0.8 (6)River Carpsucker3.4 (17)3.3 (20)5.7 (102)4.9 (39)Redhorse00.2 (1)0.6 (10)0.6 (5)Carp1.8 (9)0.2 (1)0.7 (12)0.8 (6)Channel Catfish1.6 (8)1.0 (6)10.2 (183)10.5 (84)Flathead2.2 (11)1.3 (8)2.4 (43)3.6 (29)Spotted Bass0.4 (2)0.5 (3)0.3 (6)0.1 (1)Green Sunfish0.2 (1)0.2 (1)0.2 (3)0.1 (1)Long-eared Sunfish000.1 (2)0.4 (3)Orange-spotted Sunfish0.2 (1)000White Crappie0.2 (1)0.2 (1)0.2 (5)0.4 (3)Freshwater Drum1.0 (5)0.8 (5)5.6 (101)5.3 (42)Number captured per hour13.49.329.533.8
SpeciesMarais des Cygnes RiverUpperMiddleLower19571958195919571958195919571958Gar.71.31.2.62.7...2.29.4Gizzard Shad.9.2...9.92.5.......5Buffalo2.03.7.6.82.0...5.76.4River Carpsucker4.04.9.66.52.22.01.83.9Shortheaded Redhorse3.3.9.6.8.2.........Carp10.66.42.48.65.03.56.010.4Black Bullhead.........3.917.2.........Channel Catfish.5.9...4.72.5...1.8.7Flathead.2...2.4.5......1.8.5Largemouth1.0.......3.2.........White Crappie1.75.1.61.3.7.......2Freshwater Drum.91.6.624.52.2....7.2Hours shocked4½4½1⅔4422⅚4½Neosho RiverMiddleLower195719581959195719581959Gar3.24.23.85.34.98.4Gizzard Shad.5.2.41.91.0.4Buffalo2.91.81.26.2.91.5River Carpsucker5.57.42.97.513.36.3Shortheaded Redhorse1.9.61.6.7...1.6Carp2.12.11.43.41.21.1Channel Catfish2.68.8.9107.0.5.7Flathead7.63.72.710.8.21.2Bass1.6.4.1.2.2.1White Crappie....9.21.8.7.1Freshwater Drum3.93.3.815.92.8.7Hours shocked5⅔55⅚48½4⅙416⅚
SpeciesMarais des Cygnes stationsNeoshoUpperMiddleLowerLower station19571959195719591957195919571959Golden Shiner......—...............Creek Chub...—..................Silver Chub............—.........Gravel Chub.....................3.02.3Sucker-mouthed Minnow—6...31...1210.043.0Red-finned Shiner.........12.55.02...4.72.3Blunt-faced Shiner......—...............Red Shiner2161584192216.069.0152227111920.0102.0Mimic Shiner..................—...Ghost Shiner7.51...19.596.52175411.776Sand Shiner—7...821.53...1.3Mountain Minnow..................12259.313.6Blunt-nosed Minnow—2...81.0.516414.07.6Parrot Minnow..................12619.028.6Fat-headed Minnow10.51.545271.........8.33.0Stoneroller—6—.........—2.31.0Black Bullhead.............5.........Channel Catfish4.51.52111375.01.01061256.341.6Flathead—1——1.0...—.3Stonecat......—...6.0.5...—1.0Neosho Madtom.....................3.32.0Brook Silversides.............51.0......1.7Black-striped Topminnow............1.01.02...1.0.7Spotted Bass..................23.7.3Largemouth......1131......12...Green Sunfish97.589317311.012.0317210.03.6Long-eared Sunfish.............5...64.3.7Orange-spotted Sunfish4.56—2432.5...12512.05.0Bluegill1.51...613.511.3.3White Crappie......474............Logperch..................1.3.7Slender-headed Darter—13...26.515.03118.33.0Orange-throated Darter—7............1—Seining units⅔1112113
Collections at the upper Neosho station were more intensive than at any other station, especially in 1959. Rotenone was used in the summers of 1957, 1958 and 1959, to obtain large samples of the population in one section of the stream. In September, 1959, the shocker was used in other sections in order to estimate populations in particular pools and riffles, to measure variability in the fauna between areas having slightly different habitat, and to record movement of marked individuals in a short section of the stream.
Two sections of the stream, each about one-half mile long (See p. 366), were studied. Additional description of particular areas is presented below. Area 1 and the pools in which rotenone was used are on the Bosch Farm approximately two miles upstream from the White Farm where Areas 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are situated.
Area 1 has a length of 210 feet, an average width of four feet, and a maximum depth of two feet. The upper half is a swift, rubble riffle four inchesin average depth; the lower half is one and one-half feet in average depth and has a slow current (Pl. 29, Fig. 1).
Area 3 has a length of 186 feet, an average width of 34 feet, and a maximum depth of two and one-half feet. This area includes a shallow riffle at both upstream and downstream ends of a pool 73 feet long and approximately one foot in average depth (Pl. 29, Fig. 2).
Area 5 has a length of 250 feet, an average width of 50 feet, and a maximum depth of two and one-half feet. This is a shallow, quiet pool over rubble and bedrock bottom except for a small area of mud bottom (backwater) above the point where a short riffle drains into this pool from Area 6 (Pl. 30, Fig. 1).
Area 6 has a length of 200 feet, an average width of 50 feet, and a maximum depth of one and one-half feet. This is a shallow, quiet pool over bedrock bottom, except for a small area of mud bottom at one side of the upper end of the pool. A short, steep, rubble-riffle is included in this area at the upstream end (Pl. 30, Fig. 2).
Areas 2, 4, and 7 resemble at least one of the areas described above but were sampled less intensively. Data from areas 2, 4, and 7 are included in discussion of the total fauna of the upper Neosho river but are excluded from the discussion of representative parts of that fauna.
Rotenone was applied to an intermittent pool in 1957. In 1958 and 1959 rotenone was applied to the upper end of a pool and mixed by agitating the water. The concentration in the pool was maintained by slowly introducing part of the rotenone into the riffle at the head of the pool. This was the most effective means of obtaining a large sample of fish from the deeper, slowly flowing water of the upper Neosho. Pools in which rotenone was used had areas of as much as one-half acre and depths in excess of six feet.
In 1959 the shocker was used extensively in several areas of the upper Neosho. Because of the small size of the stream, "tennis-racket" electrodes were used effectively by two men—one carrying the electrodes and one picking up fish and placing them in a live-box. In fast water, many fish floated into a seine placed across the lower end of the area. A large segment of the population was collected in this manner. Areas in which fish were collected by means of the shocker included riffles, and pools having flowing water no more than three feet in maximum depth. The bottom-type was usually gravel, rubble or bedrock, but a small amount of mud bottom was present in many pools.
Because of the necessity of wading, we could not use the shocker effectively in water more than three feet deep. In addition, turbidity of the water prevented effective collection of stunned fish in the deeper pools. Therefore, rotenone was more effective in deep water than was the shocker. In shallow, swift riffles and pools, the shocker yielded more reliable samples than did rotenone, because of difficulty in maintaining adequate concentrations of rotenone where flow was swift.
The relative abundance of each species in the upper Neosho was calculated from cumulative results obtained by use of the shocker in seven areas in 1959. Population estimates were made by collecting fish with the shocker, marking them by clipping fins or staining them in Bismark Brown Y at a concentration of 1:20,000 (Deacon, 1961), returning them to the stream, and making a second collection three hours (Areas 1 and 3) or 24 hours (Area 6) later. The same area was shocked again within two to eight days. Collections throughout the one-half-mile section yielded information on movement.
The following discussion is based principally on collections made with rotenone in 1957, 1958 and 1959 (Table 12). Other supplementary data aid in understanding the changes that occurred after the resumption of normal flow at the upper Neosho station.
The population in 1957 was strongly dominated by black bullhead and young-of-the-year channel catfish. Other common species were long-eared sunfish, red shiner, yellow bullhead, orange-spotted sunfish and green sunfish. This fauna, with the exception of young-of-the-year individuals, was a fauna produced during the years of drought. Deacon and Metcalf (1961:318-321) found a similar fauna in streams of the Wakarusa River Basin that had been seriously affected by drought.
The black bullheads taken in 1957 were predominately yearlings. It is likely that by 1956 the total fish population in the upper Neosho had been decimated by drought. The ponded conditions prevalent in that year were conducive to production and survival of young black bullheads. Fig. 3 shows that this dominant 1956 year-class reached an average length of approximately 6.5 inches by August, 1959.
Reproduction by black bullheads was limited in 1957, 1958, and 1959, and slight reduction in relative abundance occurred from 1957 to 1958. The relative abundance in 1959 remained nearly stable. If stream-flow remains essentially continuous for the next few years, the number of black bullheads probably will decline as individuals of the 1956 year-class reach the end of their life-span.
Reference has been made to the large hatch of channel catfish in 1957, in a discussion of that species. Conditions for survival of young channel catfish at the upper Neosho station in 1957 were good because there was continuous flow over many gravel-rubble riffles, which were largely unoccupied by other fish, in the spring and summer of 1957.
Species195719581959Big-mouthed Buffalo.......................T[D]TSmall-mouthed Buffalo............................TRiver Carpsucker..................T0.81.8Golden Redhorse...................T3.05.7Creek Chub................................T0.8Red-finned Shiner.................1.33.00.8Red Shiner........................6.513.112.1Ghost Shiner......................TT........Blunt-nosed Minnow................TTTFat-headed Minnow.................TT1.4Stoneroller.......................0.81.53.5Black Bullhead....................40.830.532.0Yellow Bullhead...................5.38.82.5Channel Catfish...................28.415.518.5Flathead..........................TTTStonecat..........................TT1.4Spotted Bass......................TT0.8Largemouth........................TTTGreen Sunfish.....................3.16.86.4Long-eared Sunfish................8.83.71.9Orange-spotted Sunfish............3.18.92.5Bluegill..........................TTTWhite Crappie.....................T.......TLogperch.........................T2.10.8Slender-headed Darter.............0.60.63.1Orange-throated Darter....................T2.5Total number of fish..............786965513Size of sample-area in acre-feet...002.33.33
Channel catfish also showed a slight decline in relative abundance after 1957, resulting from mortality in the 1957 year-class. With continuous flow, channel catfish will probably remain abundant, although annual reproductive success probably will be less than in 1957.
The big-mouthed buffalo, small-mouthed buffalo, creek chub and orange-throated darter were not taken in 1957, but appeared in collections in 1958. The river carpsucker, golden redhorse, red shiner, fat-headed minnow, stoneroller, stonecat, and slender-headed darter also increased in abundance between 1957 and 1959. The increased abundance of all these species in 1958 and 1959 resulted in a more diversified fauna, with lesser predominance by any single species, than in 1957 (Table 12); this change is related to the increased, permanent flow in 1958 and 1959.
The shallow areas in which the shocker was used in 1959 are the prevalent habitat in the upper Neosho River. The relative abundance of fishes found in these areas is presented in Table 13. The red shiner was most abundant and was followed (in decreasing order) by long-eared sunfish, minnows of the genusPimephales, green sunfish, red-finned shiner, channel catfish, and stoneroller. Other species combined comprise less than ten per cent of the population.
Table 13 also shows the variability in relative abundance of different species among areas that have the same general kind of habitat. The species composition is similar in all areas. The sample obtained with rotenone in 1959 is included in Table 13 to show differences in the fauna of deep, slowly flowing areas and shallower areas with stronger current. The differences in relative abundance indicate the kind of habitat that each species is able to utilize most fully.
Golden redhorse and black bullhead were most abundant in large, deep, quiet pools (5.7 per cent and 32 per cent of the total population) and were more abundant in Area 5 (3.2 per cent and 7.3 per cent respectively) than in any of the other shallow areas. Area 5 has greater average depth, more mud bottom, and less riffle area than areas 1, 3 and 6.
The golden redhorse and black bullhead have specific habitat preferences that are not evident in the above discussion. My collections indicate that the golden redhorse prefers deep water having some current, whereas the black bullhead prefers little or no current.
Species that prevailed in or near riffles were: creek chub, sucker-mouthed minnow, stoneroller, channel catfish (young-of-the-year only), flathead (young-of-the-year only), stonecat, slender-headed darter, and orange-throated darter. Of these species, the sucker-mouthed minnow, slender-headed darter and orange-throated darter reached their greatest abundance at Area 3, where the riffle is shallow, slow, and has a bottom composed of flat limestone rubble.
The riffle at Area 1 is, for the most part, deeper and faster than at Area 3 and has a bottom composed of gravel and small rocks. The creek chub, stoneroller, channel catfish (young-of-the-year), flathead (young-of-the-year), and stonecat reached their greatestabundance in Area 1. All species that showed a preference for riffles were rare or absent in Area 5 where no riffle-habitat was sampled. The riffle-dwelling species that were present in collections made with rotenone in the deeper pools were taken from the riffle into which rotenone was introduced.
Area 1Area 3Area 5Area 6RotenoneAll areasBig-mouthed Buffalo........T[E]....TTSmall-mouthed Buffalo.........6....TTRiver Carpsucker....T10.6T1.8.8River Carpsucker (yy)[F].....8T3.7....1.0Short-headed Redhorse.........6........TGolden Redhorse.81.03.2....5.7TCarp....................TGolden Shiner....................TCreek Chub1.6TTT.8TSucker-mouthed Minnow....11.2T3.4....1.4Red-finned Shiner............4.0.88.1Red Shiner18.224.07.820.112.135.9Sand Shiner....5.2....1.1....TPimephales (yy)....................6.7Mountain Minnow............T....TBlunt-nosed Minnow.....84.111.7T3.4Parrot Minnow....................TFat-headed MinnowTT3.412.11.42.6Stoneroller27.717.4.65.83.55.1Black Bullhead2.1T7.3T32.0.6Yellow BullheadTT....T2.5TChannel Catfish (j)[G]5.87.641.3T14.64.2Channel Catfish (yy)9.57.0T4.33.92.5Flathead (j).....82.1TTTFlathead (yy)1.6T............TStonecat10.31.4........1.4.7Spotted Bass....T.6T.8TLargemouth........T....TTGreen Sunfish11.23.55.912.26.410.1Long-eared Sunfish5.46.05.114.61.912.8Orange-spotted SunfishTT1.41.82.5.5Bluegill........1.0....TTWhite Crappie................TTLogperchTTTT.8TSlender-headed DarterT11.41.11.63.11.3Orange-throated Darter.81.8T.52.5TFreshwater Drum........T........TTotal number of fish24248472792451317,796Area in square feet84063241250010000........Volume................⅓ acre-foot
The river carpsucker, blunt-nosed minnow, fat-headed minnow, channel catfish (yearlings and two-year-olds), flathead (yearlings and two-year-olds), green sunfish and long-eared sunfish showed a preference for shallow, quiet water. All of these species were more common in collections from Areas 5 and 6 than in collections from other areas.
The variability of the population in successive collections from the same area is presented in Table 14. Supplementary data obtained in Areas 2, 4 and 7 support conclusions discussed below for Areas 1, 3 and 6. The abundance of some species maintained a constant level, whereas that of others varied.