FISHES
Sicklefin Redhorse Conservation by Dr. Luke Etchison, Western Region Aquatic Wildlife Diversity Coordinator
I t was a successful year for Sicklefin Redhorse, Moxostoma sp. (State Threatened), long-term monitoring in the Little Tennes- see and Hiwassee river basins. Western Region Aquatic Wildlife Diversity biologists teamed up with colleagues from the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Duke Energy, and Tennessee Valley Authority to capture this sucker species that is endemic to the Little Tennessee and Hiwassee river basins in western North Carolina and northern Georgia. The Sicklefin Redhorse can only be caught in high numbers during its Spring spawning run, when males and females congregate in shallow, swift shoals. The spawning period is very brief, so biologists must attempt to time their sampling efforts when tem- peratures and water levels are just right. This year biologists used boat electrofishing surveys to collect 51 Sicklefin Redhorse from the Little Tennessee River Basin and 31 from the Hiwassee River Basin. Survey locations in the Little Tennessee River Basin included a small section of the Oco- naluftee River downstream of Ela Dam and several long stretches in the Little Tennessee River and Tuckasegee River. Survey locations in the Hiwassee River Basin were conducted in the Hiwassee and Valley rivers near Murphy, NC. All Sicklefin Red- horse collected are tagged, weighed, measured, and have their health and reproductive condition evaluated. Biologists are also conducting a long-term Mark/Recapture study, which requires each fish to be implanted with a unique Pas- sive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag. These PIT tags give each tagged fish a unique identifying code that is scanned when a fish is recaptured. This monitoring effort provides additional insights into some of the Sicklefin Redhorse’s basic biology such as population size, movement patterns, and lifespan. Twelve of the fish captured in the Little Tennessee River Basin surveys this year had been caught and tagged in pre- vious years.
LUKE ETCHISON /NCWRC
Top: NCWRC Biologist Chantelle Rondel scans a female Sicklefin Redhorse col- lected from the Little Tennessee River. Bot- tom: Biologist Chantelle Rondel injects a PIT tag into a juvenile Sickle fin Redhorse.
LUKE ETCHISON /NCWRC
57 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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