October - Decmber 2015
Volume 18.4
Life in the Rocks
The Newsletter of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Nongame Aquatics Program
Please note: Life on the Rocks will now be published bi-annually instead of
quarterly, and it will now include submissions from Jeff Quin the Stream
Fisheries Biologist.
Liz Massey of Channel 11 was nice enough to do a TV segment
on the American Eel study.
American Eel:
Quite the interesting traveler!
By
Jeff Quinn, Stream Biologist
Imagine a fish that travels thousands of
miles during its life, sort of a marathon
swimmer. Many folks will immediately
think of marine fish like tuna. But there is
one fish in Arkansas’ waters that makes a
mind-blowing migration – the American
Eel. This species spawns in the Sargasso
Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean, which is
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near Bermuda. No one has been able to
actually observe them spawn, and some
eels have been caught nearby in very deep
waters. Larvae are captured in their
highest abundance in the Sargasso Sea,
which is how we know they spawn there.
Larvae drift and swim in the ocean
currents towards North America, but some
American eels drift to South and Central
America. Eels undergo several life history
stage changes, including glass eel,
elver,and yellow stages. Females
sometimes migrate far inland up
freshwater rivers as yellow stage eels, but
the males stay near the coastal areas.
When the females reach Arkansas, they
seem to be a little bit bigger than a #2
pencil, and by the time they migrate back
to the ocean some fish grow to 1-meter
length and they transform into silver eels.
The fish are believed to die after spawning.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has
been petitioned on two occasions to list the
American eel under the Endangered
Species Act, primarily in response to
dramatic declines of American eel along
the Atlantic Coast and especially in the St.
Lawrence River.
Because of the petition, I started a research
project to evaluate the species in the
Ouachita River. One day Lindsey Lewis
from USFWS called me. He asked if a
student from the University of Central
Arkansas who was working as their intern
could take over the project, with my
assistance and help. My reply was of
course! This was a big stroke of luck for
me: get great help and be tasked with less
work. Casey Cox started on the project
with Drs. Ginny and Reid Adams as co-
Life in the Rocks
advisors. He expanded the study to include
the Arkansas and White Rivers. The
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
funded the study through Section 6 funds
of the Endangered Species Act.
Our study collected 238 American eels
from the Ouachita River, 16 from the
Arkansas River, and 39 from the White
River between June 2011 and April 2014.
We believe we doubled the number of
records for the state of Arkansas, and we
documented synchronous large catches
during spring 2014 below dams in the
Ouachita River basin (Narrows, Remmel,
DeGray). Casey and Lindsey documented
the migratory phenology (timing) of
American Eel at Norrell Lock and Dam,
and this location is where White River fish
enter the Arkansas Post Canal. Casey is
now a fisheries biologist in northeast
Arkansas. We recently were notified that
the study will be published in the Journal
of Freshwater Biology soon. Publishing
our studies in peer-reviewed scientific
journals is a long and tedious process, but
once it is done the work is widely available
to scientists around the globe.
During October 2015, USFWS decided not
to list the species, and we like to think that
the information we collected assisted the
Service with making this important
decision. We still have conservation work
to accomplish with American Eels. For
example, we would like to have fish ladders
installed at select dams for fish passage
purposes. Although eels are slimy and are
not exactly the most beautiful fish in
Arkansas, they definitely are one of the
most interesting.
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Life in the Rocks
Aquatic
Nuisance
Species (ANS)
Program Update
By Jimmy Barnett, ANS Coordinator
Eels can be difficult to hold and yes they are
very slimy! Photo by Mike Winthroath.
A close look at the head of an American eel –
this fish traveled over 1,000 miles to reach
the Caddo River. Photo by Mike
Winthroath.
For more information on American
eels and streams found within The
Natural State, Jeff Quinn can be
contacted at the Mayflower Field
Office at 1-877-470-3309.
The ANS program is just starting to get off
the ground. The first job is to get a
database of known ANS locations around
the state. ANS observations from each
district biologist have been requested and
will be entered into this database. Stan
Todd, the Fisheries Database Analyst, is
working to construct the database. We are
also working on developing an app that will
allow new observations to be entered by
smart phone.
I also worked on developing public
awareness signs and fish truck tank wraps.
Three public awareness signs were created.
One design is a magnetic sign that will be
displayed on many AGFC vehicles to
promote the Clean, Drain, Dry message.
Magnetic signs that will displayed on various
AGFC vehicles, statewide. Photo by Andrea
Daniel.
Others will be placed along the Arkansas
River to promote Zebra Mussel awareness
and boat access areas along the Louisiana
border to promotes Giant Salvia awareness
and help prevent it coming into Arkansas.
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Giant Salvia signs that will placed along the
Arkansas / Louisiana border. Photo by Andrea
Daniel.
The tank wraps will be placed on fish
trucks from each agency hatchery with
awareness messages for Zebra Mussels,
Didymo, and Silver Carp. Magnetic signs
promoting the clean, drain, dry message
are already on several vehicles and will be
on many AGFC vehicles across the state.
The other big item was working with BASS
on a tournament scheduled for Bull Shoals
Lake (Zebra Mussel Positive) and Lake
Norfork (Zebra Mussel Negative). BASS
wants the tournament to be held some in
one lake and some in the other. An AGFC
team composed of Colton Dennis (Black
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Zebra mussel signs that will placed along various
Arkansas River boating accesses. Photo by
Andrea Daniel.
Bass Biologist), Kelly Winningham
(Pathologist), Jeremy Risley (District 2
Biologist) and myself met with Trip
Weldon and Gene Gilland with BASS in
Mtn. Home and have come up with a
decontamination plan which will help
reduce the risk of the event spreading
Zebra Mussels to Lake Norfork.
If you see any aquatic nuisance species
(ANS), please contact Jimmy Barnett at
1-877-847-2690. We all must do our part
and be proactive to protect the amazing
resources the state of Arkansas holds!
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Life in the Rocks
What is eDNA?
By
By Kelly J. Irwin, Herpetologist
In today’s society, I would contend that
most non-science minded people have
some basic awareness of DNA and genetics.
This is most likely the result of an increase
in references to DNA in television and
movie crime dramas and news stories.
However, if you were to mention eDNA (=
environmental DNA) the vast majority of
people would not have a clue as to what
you were talking about. Simply put, eDNA
is “genetic material extracted from
environmental samples,” such as soil or
water. By employing eDNA sampling
techniques, researchers have detected the
presence of rare or cryptic species without
having to conduct traditional labor
intensive field surveys to physically find
the target species. This process also allows
workers to avoid disturbing habitat, which
could negatively impact a sensitive species.
species, the American Bullfrog Lithobates
catesbeianus. Since then, a growing
number of studies have focused on
freshwater aquatic ecosystems, many with
direct conservation applications.
To obtain eDNA samples from freshwater
systems, water samples are collected in the
field, then with the aid of a vacuum pump,
water samples are run through filters that
capture minute traces of genetic material,
such as the epithelial cells from the skin or
gut lining. This genetic material is then
amplified in the laboratory using specific
primers for qPCR (quantitative polymerase
chain reaction) to increase the amount of
DNA, which can then be sequenced for
identification. This technique has been
used for the past several years, primarily
focused on the detection of endangered
and/or invasive species.
The relatively recent development of eDNA
sampling has important implications as
applied to wildlife and fisheries
conservation and management.
eDNA research was initially developed in
the late 1980’s as a means to obtain
microbe nucleic acids from environmental
samples. Since that time, researchers have
recovered eDNA of both extinct and extant
micro- and macro-organisms from a
diverse array of mediums: permafrost, dry
cave sediments, freshwater lakes and
streams, seawater, benthic and seabed
sediments, and even ice cores. The first
report using eDNA to search for the
presence of an aquatic vertebrate was in
2008, when researchers in France showed
it to be effective in detecting an invasive
A Ouachita Streambed Salamander in its
natural habitat. Photo © Renn Tumlison
On the surface this would appear to be a
quick and very effective way to detect
target species. However, there are three
major factors that can influence the
detection of eDNA: production, transport,
and degradation rate. The health, size,
gender, and density of organisms have
been shown to affect the rate of eDNA
production in an aquatic system. Research
has also shown that eDNA production can
vary greatly among individuals of the same
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Life in the Rocks
species under the same environmental
conditions. eDNA detectability is
influenced by transport or diffusion
depending on whether samples are
collected in rivers or lakes. Some research
has shown that detection distances from
known populations (fishes) have been as
much as 12 km away. Persistence of
suspended eDNA within a system has been
estimated at 14-60 days. However, as
eDNA settles it can be adsorbed to soil
particles that delay degradation processes
and lengthens persistence time. It has
been suggested that high flow rates or
other disturbances could re-suspend eDNA
many months later. Degradation rates of
eDNA are most strongly influenced by
temperature, pH, and exposure to UV-B
radiation. The colder, darker, and more
alkaline the waters are the longer eDNA
will persist in a freshwater aquatic system.
salamander in the Trap and Caddo
mountains. The second project using
eDNA would be to determine if any
federally endangered Ozark Hellbenders
remain in portions of the upper White and
Spring rivers, where populations have
seemingly disappeared.
Given this brief introduction to the concept
and practices of eDNA sampling and
detectability, just how can this technique
be applied by AGFC biologists? For
starters, eDNA testing in certain situations
could potentially aid fisheries managers in
implementing management actions to
control the spread of invasive species, such
as Asian Carp (Hypophthalmichthys spp.)
or Snakeheads (Channa spp.). Several
studies have shown that eDNA detection of
rare or cryptic species is more sensitive
than implementing traditional field survey
techniques. This would make eDNA
sampling readily applicable for detecting
the presence of endangered species with
low population densities.
A Spring River Ozark Hellbender, one of the last
observed at the Spring River hatchery in 2003.
Photo by Lisa Irwin
I will be involved in two projects this year
that will be based on eDNA sampling. The
first will be to search for new localities of
the recently described Ouachita Streambed
Salamander Eurycea subfluvicola. We
hope to expand the known range of this
diminutive and cryptic paedomorphic
I think eDNA sampling will become an
increasingly important tool for state and
federal fish and wildlife management
agencies to survey and monitor imperiled
and invasive species.
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Life in the Rocks
We are pleased to announce that Mr. Kendall Moles is AGFC’s new statewide
Malacologist and Commercial Fisheries Biologist. He comes to Arkansas from
Tennessee and with an extensive background in malacology and fisheries. A native of
Dardanelle, Arkansas, Kendall is anxious to be back in Arkansas. We are extremely fortunate
to have him on the team and he will be a great asset for the resource! Welcome Kendall!
Kendall holding a Blue Sucker.
A few words from Kendall: My name is Kendall Moles and I am excited to be back in
Arkansas. I am a native of Yell County, AR and an avid outdoorsman. I enjoy hunting,
fishing, trapping, backpacking, and canoeing. I always find some outdoor activity to partake
in, as this is where I feel the most at home. I received my Bachelors of Science Degree in
Fisheries Biology from Arkansas Tech University. While attending ATU I was fortunate to
work on many different aquatic research projects across Arkansas. After receiving my B.S., I
moved to Tennessee to pursue a Master’s in Biology from Tennessee Tech University. My
Master’s research focused on the reproductive ecology of mussels in a regulated river.
Currently, I am finishing my Doctoral research that is determining the effects of reductions in
streamflow on endangered mussels. For the last 13 years I have worked as a Research
Associate at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Tennessee Cooperative Fishery Research Unit
located at Tennessee Tech University. While at TTU, I worked on a variety of projects ranging
from rare endemic spring fish to large river fish but my primary area of research has been
freshwater mussels. The southeastern United States is blessed with the greatest diversity of
freshwater mussels in the world. This diversity has afforded me the opportunity to conduct
many research projects on mussels including status and distribution of species, life history
studies, propagation and culture, and augmentation and reintroduction of rare mussel
species. I am happy to be back home in Arkansas and am eager to help conserve these unique
and often misunderstood animals. Mussels are more than just living rocks.
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Life in the Rocks
Pebbles…
•
Jeff answered questions from the public
at the mobile aquarium display at the
State Fair.
•
Kelly, with the assistance of the
Missouri Department of Conservation
herpetologist and personnel from the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Arkansas Field Office, looked for egg
clutches of the Ozark Hellbender in 82
nest boxes in the Eleven Point River.
Unfortunately not a single egg clutch
was found and only five boxes were
occupied by hellbenders. The nest
boxes will be cleaned out and reinstalled this summer after heavy
winter flooding. We hope that the
boxes will yet produce eggs for
inclusion in the head-start program at
the St. Louis Zoo. Thanks for all the
help Jeff, Chris, Tommy, and Melissa!
•
Jeff made measuring boards to measure
large fishes like paddlefish.
(Quick notes on what we’ve been up
to…)
•
Jeff collected biological data from
paddlefish captured by commercial
fishers from the White River.
•
Andrea assisted Matthew Irvin with two
Stream Team streambank stabilization
projects in Ferndale and Malvern.
•
Brian continues to work with USFWS
and other states on a range-wide status
assessment for Arkansas Darter.
•
Kelly manned the AGFC fish tank booth
at the state fair.
•
Andrea continues to issue scientific
collection permits, as well as
coordinating fish farmer permits and
renewals and entering various data.
•
Kelly took some leave time to attend the
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
annual meeting in Dallas.
•
Andrea assisted the Lonoke Fish
Hatchery with freeze branding
largemouth bass fingerlings.
•
Brian met with Post-Doctoral student
Whitney Anthonysamy, Dr. Michael
Douglas, and Dr. Marlis Douglas to
discuss an upcoming crayfish genetics
study and tour the Douglas Lab at U of
A – Fayetteville.
•
Jeff, Bill, and Kelly answered
information requests from the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service about megapetition species.
•
Jeff, Bill, Brian, and Kelly attended an
AGFC Wildlife Diversity Team Meeting.
•
Bill and Kelly conducted mussel surveys
in Lawrence and Pike counties. These
surveys were to ensure that no federally
listed species of mussels would be
impacted at the sites of, a proposed
pumping station on the Black River at
Shirey Bay Wildlife Management Area
and a Stream Team streambank
stabilization project on the Caddo
River, respectively.
•
Jeff presented results of the Coal Pile
dredging survey report to the Arkansas
Bass Association.
•
•
Jeff submitted a manuscript about
channel catfish stocking to the North
American Journal of Fisheries
Management.
Kelly spent several days surveying
stream habitat for the Ouachita
Streambed Salamander. These efforts
produced a new locality upstream from
the previously known sites. Thanks go
to Tony, Renn, and Emily for help with
survey work. As part of ongoing
research on this recently described
species Kelly installed temperature data
loggers at several sites within the range
of this salamander.
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Life in the Rocks
•
•
Brian delivered a fish specimen to Dr.
Tom Buchanan at U of A – Fort Smith,
with assistance from South Arkansas
Fisheries Management Biologist Andy
Turner and Staff Biologist Andrea
Daniel. Dr. Buchanan confirmed
identification of this fish from Lake
Columbia as a Nile Tilapia. Hopefully
our cold winter will lead to the demise
of any additional tilapia that may be in
the lake!
•
Andrea, Jeff and Brian surveyed for
Leopard Darters in the Robinson Fork.
None were documented, however we
were fortunate to find ourselves
snorkeling in a mass of freshwater
jellyfish.
•
Jeff Quinn coordinated Arkansas
Chapter of the American Fisheries
Society activities as the Chapter
President.
Andrea assisted Kelly Winningham, the
Statewide Fish Pathologist with genetic
work prep and largemouth bass health
assessments.
•
Jimmy has been working on getting
ANS signs of several types produced
and posted.
Snorkeling in Robinson Fork looking for Leopard Darters – inset is one of the Jellyfish we
encountered!
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The Northern Snakehead is an aquatic nuisance specie that is present in the Piney Creek Basin, just
east of Brinkley, AR. Aquatic nuisance species come in all forms, such as zebra mussels, silver carp,
and water hyacinth to name a few. We all must do our part to help prevent the spread of these species
by reporting any sightings and following ANS precautions such as “Clean, drain and dry” boats and
other equipment.
Art by Susan Trammel, courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
Nongame Aquatics Program
915 E. Sevier Street
Benton, AR 72015
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