Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for July–September 2025
Rare Coastal Fishes Surveys
by Langston Rimmer, Central Region Aquatic Wildlife Diversity Biologist
S taff conducted 15 surveys in Hoke, Scotland, Pender, Robeson, and Sampson counties targeting Broadtail Madtom and other rare coastal fishes. The methods used for these surveys included kick seining for a minimum of 25 kick sets followed by seine hauls and dip netting to target a range of species. While most of the effort and site selection was targeted to Broadtail Madtoms, we selected sites and gear that also targeted Ironcolor Shiner, Tail- light Shiner, Bluespotted Sunfish, Banded Sunfish, Blackbanded Sunfish, and Thinlip Chub. We collected 20 Broadtail Madtoms from four of the sites including one location in which Boradtail Madtoms had not been collected since 1988. Ironcolor Shiner (n = 1), Banded Sunfish (n = 8), Bluespotted Sunfish (n = 15), and Blackbanded Sunfish (n = 2) were also all collected during these surveys. Taillight Shiner and Thinlip Chub were not found during this time period but were captured during 2024 surveys. In addition to these surveys, we also monitored locations where motels (artificial habitats described in previous quarterly reports) were placed in hopes of attracting Broadtail Madtoms. At each of the 5 sites with motels in the Lumber River, we snorkeled to locate and check all motels. We were able to locate 45 of the 55 motels. No Broadtail Madtoms were found inside the motels, although a single individual was observed under leaf litter adjacent to one of the motels in Joes Creek. About half of the motels (n = 20) were inundated with sand and several had non-target species inhabiting them (e.g. Margined Madtoms and Yellow Bullhead). This data along with monitoring from previous years suggest that Broadtail Madtoms are not utilizing these motels and it is not an effective method to monitor populations, at least not using the current motel design. However, two of the Broadtails collected this year were found inside glass bottles on the streambed. In the future we will explore alternative motel designs as this still represents a promising method to monitor known populations.
LANGSTON RIMMER/NCWRC
LANGSTON RIMMER/NCWRC
Broadtail Madtom, Black Banded Sunfish, and Bluespotted Sun- fish from Joes Creek in the Lumber River Basin.
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