TABLE 16. DATA ON MOVEMENT OF MARKED FISH AT THE UPPER NEOSHO
STATION, SEPTEMBER, 1959.
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| Number | Number | Number | Number
SPECIES | marked | recaptured | moved | moved
| | | upstream | downstream
------------------------+--------+------------+----------+--------------
Golden Redhorse | 24 | 16 | 0 | 2
Sucker-mouthed Minnow | 68 | 27 | 7 | 0
Red-finned Shiner | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0
Red Shiner | 1326 | 152 | 48 | 25
Blunt-nosed Minnow | 136 | 32 | 1 | 10
Fat-headed Minnow | 151 | 40 | 0 | 0
Stoneroller | 177 | 90 | 1 | 0
Black Bullhead | 25 | 6 | 2 | 0
Channel Catfish (j)[L] | 294 | 36 | 4 | 7
Channel Catfish (yy)[M] | 145 | 34 | 2 | 0
Stonecat | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0
Green Sunfish | 124 | 68 | 1 | 0
Long-eared Sunfish | 33 | 21 | 0 | 0
Slender-headed Darter | 70 | 1 | 0 | 0
Orange-throated Darter | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0
------------------------+--------+------------+----------+------------
[L] (j) denotes juveniles only.
[M] (yy) denotes young-of-year only.
Some measure was gained of the amount of movement exhibited by several
species of fish. Results are biased in favor of a conclusion that a
species is sedentary because a large percentage of the recaptures were
made in collections taken in the same immediate area three hours after
release of marked fish, the total area checked was not large (one mile),
and collecting was limited to an eleven-day period. Nevertheless, some
species were shown to be definitely mobile and others exhibited
pronounced sedentary tendencies. The results of experiments on movement
are presented in Table 16. Marked fish (dyed and fin-clipped) were taken
as long as seven days after being marked. Only those species in which
more than ten individuals were marked are included.
Blunt-nosed minnow, red shiner, and channel catfish (yearlings and
older) are more mobile than other species.
The mobility of channel catfish has been discussed by Muncy (1958) and
Funk (1957). My records show that of 36 marked channel catfish that were
recaptured, 11 were taken in areas other than the one into which they
had been returned. A pronounced mobile tendency on the part of the red
shiner and blunt-nosed minnow is shown by the fact that of 152 marked
red shiners recaptured, 73 had moved from the area of release; and of 32
marked blunt-nosed minnows recaptured, 11 had moved from the area of
release. The fact that the habitat occupied by these species is not
precise (ranging from swift riffles to quiet pools) supports a
conclusion that the species are mobile.
The fat-headed minnow, stoneroller, channel catfish (young-of-the-year),
green sunfish and long-eared sunfish form a sedentary element of the
population. With the exception of the fat-headed minnow, the sedentary
group also maintained relatively stable numbers in Areas 1, 3 and 6
throughout the study (Table 14). It is interesting to note that, in
contrast to the mobile group, the species forming the sedentary group
have rather well-defined habitat preferences.
A third group of species, represented by the red-finned shiner,
stonecat, slender-headed darter and orange-throated darter, was
characterized by having a low rate of recapture. I suspect that
mortality is a factor contributing to the failure to recapture
red-finned shiners, because in one collection only four of 31 red-finned
shiners captured were successfully marked and released, in another case
70 of 818. The red-finned shiner occurs most often in pools but is also
taken in other areas, is pelagic, and probably is a mobile species.
The stonecat, slender-headed darter and orange-throated darter are
generally restricted to riffle-habitats, and are probably sedentary. The
low number of recaptures for these three species probably is due either
to a slow rate of dispersal from the point of release or to latent
mortality resulting from shock. Table 14 shows that these three species
maintain comparatively stable populations, but there seems to be a
tendency for a reduction in numbers with continued collecting, even
though all fish captured were returned to the stream.
Golden redhorse showed a high rate of recapture. All individuals marked
were recaptured three hours after release in Areas 1 (two fish) and 3
(five fish). Nine individuals were taken from Area 4 on 11 September;
seven of these were marked and released in the next pool downstream
(Area 3). On 15 September, two fish were retaken in Area 3 and two were
retaken in Area 2, the next pool downstream. The species was common in
Area 5 also where five of eight marked individuals were recaptured two
days after release. It seems that the golden redhorse is somewhat
restricted in movement, at least for short periods.
The sucker-mouthed minnow and black bullhead showed some movement--less
than such mobile species as red shiners and channel catfish, but more
than the sedentary group. Seven of 27 marked sucker-mouthed minnows were
taken in areas adjacent to the one to which they had been returned. Two
of six black bullheads that were recaptured had moved. The black
bullhead moved the greater distance. The extent of short-term movement
by several of the species in the Upper Neosho correlates well with
redistribution subsequent to drought in the Wakarusa River, discussed by
Deacon and Metcalf (1961).
Similarity of the Fauna at the Upper Neosho Station to the Faunas of
Nearby Streams
The fauna that I found to be characteristic at the upper Neosho station
has affinity with the upland tributary-fauna described by Metcalf (1959)
for Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas. The primary difference
is a nearly complete absence at my station of the Ozarkian element of
the population. Some species (red-finned shiner, long-eared sunfish, and
spotted bass) listed by Metcalf as characteristic of the mainstream of
smaller rivers occur at the upper Neosho station in greater abundance
then elsewhere in the Neosho. This difference is probably due to the
fact that the upper Neosho station is somewhat larger and slightly more
turbid than Metcalf's "upland tributaries."
Hall (1952) reported on the distribution of fishes in the vicinity of
Fort Gibson Reservoir, an impoundment on the Grand (Neosho) River in
Oklahoma. He separated the fishes into three groups according to
habitat-preference: species restricted to upland tributaries on the east
side of Grand (Neosho) River, species restricted to lowland tributaries
on the west side of Grand (Neosho) River, and species occurring in the
Grand River proper and/or tributaries on one or both sides.
Several species found in the upper Neosho River also occur in the area
studied by Hall. Of these, only the creek chub was restricted to upland
tributaries on the east side of Grand (Neosho) River. The sucker-mouthed
minnow and red-finned shiner were restricted to the lowland tributaries
on the west side of Grand (Neosho) River in the Fort Gibson Reservoir
Area. Golden redhorse, stoneroller, yellow bullhead, spotted bass, green
sunfish, long-eared sunfish, and orange-throated darter were present in
collections from the Grand River proper and/or tributaries on both sides
of the river, most commonly in tributaries.
Hall's data show that black bullhead, large-mouthed bass, white crappie,
and logperch occurred most frequently in or near the quiet water of the
reservoir. In my study these fish were most common in the larger, quiet
pools at the upper Neosho station.