3.5 Freshwater Fish
and 230 are vulnerable. Additionally, though they may survive in captive populations, 61 taxa are presumed extinct or extirpated from the wild (Jelks et al.2008) . Habitat degradation and restricted range appear to be the primary factors associated with imperilment of North American fshes. Te National Park Service (NPS) assessed the status of freshwater fsh biodiversity in the southeastern United States (Long et al. 2012). Te NPS assessment used fsh assemblage data for noncoastal park system locations (Long et al. 2012) and included four NPS sites in North Carolina: Blue Ridge Parkway, Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. Many of the same species identifed by AFS (Jelks et al. 2008) as imperiled have been found within these sites. Human disturbance, especially urbanization, was noted to be the most import- ant impact to freshwater fsh in the park units. Linear park units such as the Blue Ridge Parkway have numerous nonnative species that represent a high threat to native species (Long et al. 2012) . A list of freshwater fsh SGCN is provided in Table 3.13 and the Freshwater Fish Taxa Team evaluation results can be found in Appendix G. River basin and habitat associations for these species can be found in Appendix H. Conservation recommendations for the associated habitats have been incorporated into the natural community descriptions in Chapter 4. Additional recommendations can be found in the river basin descriptions (Section 4.5). Te following paragraphs provide infor- mation about species identifed by the Freshwater Fish Taxa Team as SGCN or a priority species for research or management, and for which work has been conducted to implement conservation and management recommendations. 3.5.2 Comparison of 2005 and 2015 Priority Species Te 2015 evaluation identifed 161 species as conservation concern, knowledge gap, or management concern priorities. Some species may be considered a priority in more than one of the evaluation categories (see Appendix G). Of these priority species, 69 were identi- fed as SGCN and another 40 were designated research priorities. In comparison, the 2005 WAP listed 84 freshwater fshes as priority species, which may have included concerns for knowledge gaps. However, the 2005 Taxa Team did not identify knowledge gaps or manage- ment concerns as separate priorities. Tese changes do not necessarily indicate a change in the concern status of these species; they are more likely a result of diferent evaluation methodologies from the 2005 process (see Appendix F) or refect an increase in our knowl- edge base for the species.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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