FISHES
S taff conducted site visits in the Lumber River and two tributaries, Shoe Heel Creek and Joes Creek, for the state-listed Special Con- cern Broadtail Madtom, a rare, undescribed native catfish. Sites were visited 1-3 times during this period. Forty small, artificial cover structures, informally named “madtom motels”, that were previously deployed at four localities, were cleaned of sand and silt that had fouled entrances and buried some structures and redeployed. Five additional motels were added at two localities, one site on the Lum- ber River, and one site on Shoe Heel Creek. A total of fifty motels are currently deployed in Scotland and Robeson counties. No Broadtail Madtom were found in any of the motels but other native fishes and crayfish were found in the artificial structures including Flat Bullhead, Pirate Perch, and the White River Crayfish. During checks in the month of June, some of the motels were out of the water due to low water conditions. When this was the case, the motels were relocated to deeper water. Staff will continue to check motel occupancy for this ongoing project throughout the year. Additional deployments and surveys are planned for 2024. In addition to checking motels, staff conducted kick-seining sur- veys at each site. No Broadtail Madtom were located using kick sein- ing, however other native fishes such as the Margined Madtom, Tad- pole Madtom, and Flat Bullhead were captured. Staff also found Pinewoods Darter, which is a North Carolina Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Broadtail Madtom Surveys by Emilia Omerberg, Central Region Aquatic Wildlife Diversity Biologist
EMILIA OMERBERG/NCWRC
Top: Madtom motels in the Lumber River were out of the water due to low water in June. Bottom: Technician, Laurens Vermeulen, sets a seine in preparation for a kick-seine survey.
EMILIA OMERBERG/NCWRC
56 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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