Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for April–June 2025
Monitoring the Movement and Habitat Use of Stocked Carolina Madtoms in Sandy Creek
by Michael Fisk, Eastern Aquatic Wildlife Diversity Coordinator
A WD staff have initiated a new project looking at post release movement and habitat use of propagated Caro- lina Madtoms. Carolina Madtoms are a federally endangered fish, endemic to the Tar and Neuse River basins in North Carolina. Eighty-three Carolina Madtoms, propagated in 2024, were PIT tagged at the CAC in Marion in March. No tag loss or mortality, post tag insertion, was observed. The tagged madtoms were released this spring into Sandy Creek in the Tar River Basin and are being monitored with a float- ing PIT tag antenna and reader. The portable array is 10 ft by 3 ft, which allows for active tracking and has the ability to cover more area in a shorter time than traditional portable PIT tag antennas. Tracking efforts have focused around the stocking location but have gone ~ 5 km up and downstream. When a tagged madtom is located with the large floating array, a smaller handheld antenna is utilized to find the exact location of the fish. At these locations, habitat data is col- lected including depth, substrate, flow, and cover utilized. To date, the mean distance moved of relocated madtoms is 326 m. More than half of the madtoms have moved downstream of the stocking location and have been relocated up to ~5 km downstream and ~1.5 km upstream of the stocking site. These movement patterns are similar to other species where most fish stay close to the stocking location while a few make
NCWRC
greater movements. Relocated mad- toms are utilizing similar habitats and cover as wild madtoms. Moving for- ward, tracking will continue through- out each season of 2025 and into 2026. Another objective is to tag wild Caro- lina Madtoms and compare movement between them and propagated fish. Having a better understanding of sea-
Top: EAWD biologist Mike Walter tracking PIT tagged Carolina Madtoms in Sandy Creek with a floating antenna array. Left: Carolina Madtom (Noturus furiosus) collected during PIT scanning in Sandy Creek.
sonal movements and habitat use of released madtoms will lead to more informed management decisions when working to restore this species.
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