N13 2014 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 21, No. 1 R.L. Hopkins II and B. Zimmerman First Observation of the Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) in Raccoon Creek (Ohio River Basin) in southeastern Ohio in 57 Years Robert L. Hopkins II1,* and Brian Zimmerman2 Abstract - Ammocrypta pellucida (Eastern Sand Darter) has a broad and sporadic distribution in eastern North America. Once common, the species has experienced a sharp decline in its range during the last 50 years primarily because of habitat destruction. Populations now persist only in isolated localities which contain clean, sandy substrates. In this paper, we document the presence of the Eastern Sand Darter in Racoon Creek in southeastern Ohio, where it had not been reported in over 57 years, and briefly review its historical and contemporary distribution throughout the state. This new distributional observation suggests stabilization and perhaps gradual recovery of an ecologically sensitive species recently considered for federal listing. Ammocrypta pellucida (Agassiz) (Eastern Sand Darter) is broadly distributed from the Ohio River basin northward to the drainages of Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Champlain, and the St. Lawrence River (Lee at al. 1980). Historically, it was quite common in areas of clean-swept sandy-bottomed habitat with moderate current in small to mediumsized rivers (Adams and Burr 2004, Daniels 1993, Page and Burr 1991). In recent decades, a sharp drop in local abundances accompanied by range curtailment has been documented (Grandmaison et al. 2004). As a result, several states (e.g., Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont) have identified the species as being of conservation concern (Grandmaison et al. 2004), although it is not federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. Likewise, Canada recognizes the species as threatened because of small, fragmented populations and is currently assessing recovery potential (FOC 2011). The specific habitat requirements of the Eastern Sand Darter make it particularly sensitive to environmental disturbance. Increased siltation from human land uses, especially agriculture practices leading to the removal of riparian vegetation, has been implicated as the primary cause of declines (Adams and Burr 2004, Daniels 1993, Kuehne and Barbour 1983, Tessler et al. 2012). The negative effects of fine sediments are manifest via two main pathways. First, sediments blanketing the stream bottom can reduce egg survival, as the darter deposits its eggs just below the sand surface (Johnston 1989). Secondly, adults exhibit a burying behavior that is impeded when silt fills the interstitial spaces in the sand (Daniels 1993). If darters cannot bury themselves, individuals are more likely to be washed out during high-flow events, making populations inherently unstable (Daniels 1989). Given these facts, populations of Eastern Sand Darter in Midwestern states with extensive agricultural land use have experienced the most dramatic declines. In Ohio, sandy areas of many streams were degraded by extensive siltation between 1925 and 1980 (Trautman 1981). As a result, in many systems, such as the Maumee River, this once common and widely distributed species was either extirpated or reduced to small, disjunct populations (Tessler et al. 2012, Trautman 1981). However, Tessler et al. (2012) recently rediscovered the species in the mainstem of the Maumee River, offering the possibility that the precipitous decline has stabilized. The authors report the presence of two age classes, suggesting an established, reproducing population. Reductions in sediment 1School of Science, University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, OH 45674. 2Museum of Biological Diversity, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210. *Corresponding author - rhopkins@rio.edu. Manuscript Editor: Valerie Barko Notes of the Northeastern Naturalist, Issue 21/1, 2014 2014 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 21, No. 1 N14 R.L. Hopkins II and B. Zimmerman loading and improved substrate quality were identified as major factors allowing recolonization. Notwithstanding some recent collections, habitat for the species has been so heavily degraded that recovery of populations in western and northern portions of Ohio is unlikely. In contrast, the comparatively well-forested southeastern region of the state holds the most promise for continued recovery of the species, and the Scioto and Muskingum River drainages appear to be current strongholds (Fig. 1). Trautman (1981) indicated that very few darters were captured from inland localities in Ohio from 1955 to 1980 in spite of extensive survey efforts. Thus, repopulation appears to have occurred after 1980, probably as the result of improved watershed-management practices and lower levels of siltation. Also, recent survey efforts by Ohio State University and state natural resource agencies (e.g., Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Ohio Department of Natural Resources) have documented additional observations of the species in minor direct tributaries of the Ohio River such as Symmes Creek (Fig. 1; B. Zimmerman, pers. observ.). Figure 1. Spatiotemporal map of Eastern Sand Darter collections in Ohio based on records available through the Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity. Records shown are represented by vouchered specimens. N15 2014 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 21, No. 1 R.L. Hopkins II and B. Zimmerman Here we report collecting the Eastern Sand Darter in Raccoon Creek for the first time in more than 57 years. Trautman (1981) documented only one confirmed collection from Raccoon Creek from 1924 to 1954, and one prior to 1924 (Fig. 2). No records for the species exist for Raccoon Creek after 1954, nor do any recent reports identify the system as containing known populations of the species (e.g., Adams and Burr 2004, Grandmaison et al. 2004, Tessler et al. 2012). Voucher specimens representing records reported by Trautman (1981) could not be located despite a search of regional ichthyological collections, including Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, California Academy of Sciences, University of Louisville, Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates, National Museum of Natural History, Ohio State University Museum of Biological Diversity, University of Tennessee David A. Etnier Ichthyological Collection, and University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute. Records reported by Trautman (1981) were probably based on either personal observation or third-party collections with an accompanying description. Our observation is the first to be supported by voucher material for the Raccoon Creek watershed and represents a new distributional locality. We first collected Eastern Sand Darters incidentally in September 2011 during an aquatic-sampling lab field trip at Raccoon Creek County Park for an Ecology and Field Biology course at the University of Rio Grande (URG). The park is moderately forested, and the stream is bounded by an intact riparian zone along much of its course through the park. Figure 2. Spatiotemporal distribution of Eastern Sand Darter collections in Raccoon Creek based on Trautman (1981) and our recent collections. Only the 2012 collection is represented by a voucher specimen. 2014 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 21, No. 1 N16 R.L. Hopkins II and B. Zimmerman The two individuals captured in 2011 were immediately released. After consulting Lee at al. (1980), Trautman (1981), and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the significance of this field observation became clear. We returned to the site in September 2012 to collect voucher specimens as part of an aquatic-sampling lab for a Limnology course at URG. A variety of sampling methods were used over a 90-minute sampling period including backpack electroshocking with dip-netting, kick sets, downstream seine hauls, and combination of electroshocking and passive seining in higher-current areas. The seine was 1.2 m x 3.7 m (4 ft. x 12 ft.) with a 0.48-cm (3/16-in) mesh. Seventeen individuals were captured, including nine that were retained as vouchers deposited in the Ohio State Museum of Biological Diversity (OSUM 114999). The capture locality is located on the northwestern edge of the Raccoon Creek County Park (38.8037°N, 82.3706°W). A cursory estimate based on microhabitat analyses using quadrat sampling indicated that only about 5% of the stream reach was suitable for the Eastern Sand Darter. Individuals were restricted to a small area just above and immediately below a sandy point bar with 80 ± 9% sand coverage, depths of 35 ± 11 cm, and flows of ≈0.1 m/s. The darters were not found in deeper and more rapidly flowing sections, or in areas with large amounts of organic debris such as leaves or wood. These narrow habitat requirements coincide with previous reports (e.g., Daniels 1993, Grandmaison et al. 2004). In sum, this report documents the first observation of the Eastern Sand Darter in the Raccoon Creek drainage in over 57 years. The observation also represents a new distributional locality and the first voucher-based record for the species in the watershed. The collection of individuals in two consecutive years (2011 and 2012) suggests a possible sustaining population. This is an encouraging sign for a watershed historically negatively impacted by agricultural runoff and acid mine drainage (Hopkins et al. 2013). A recent study by Hopkins et al. (2013) indicated that the upper areas of the watershed continue to be impacted by high conductivities in excess of 300 μS/cm and heavy metal pollution stemming from past coalmining activities. These problems seem to be mostly alleviated in the more downstream reaches of the watershed, which receive additional flow from tributaries flowing through less-disturbed areas. However, the Eastern Sand Darter may remain relatively uncommon in Raccoon Creek because the lower reaches are of low gradient and consist primarily of long, sluggish pools containing abundant woody debris and few areas with the appropriate clean-swept sandy habitat required by the species. Also, the site at which we collected the Eastern Sand Darters was the target of a stream “clean-up” initiative in summer 2013 by the Raccoon Creek County Park. The clean-up included the removal of woody debris, partial clearing of the riparian zone, trash clean up, and some channel dredging. The effects of these activities on the Eastern Sand Darter population remain to be determined. For future studies, we are planning a broad systematic sampling effort in minor tributaries of the Ohio River in southern Ohio, such as Campaign Creek, Leading Creek, and the Shade River. These streams are generally more heavily forested and receive less human disturbance compared to streams in central and northern Ohio, but have been either unsampled or undersampled for fishes. Such streams could potentially serve as refugia for Eastern Sand Darter populations and play an important role in the long-term persistence and recovery of the species in Ohio. We also plan to monitor the effects of stream clean-up efforts on the population in Raccoon Creek. Acknowledgments. Fish specimens were collected under Ohio Division of Wildlife Wild Animal Scientific Collection permit number 14-149. Many thanks to the students of URG’s Ecology and Field Biology and Limnology classes who assisted in collection efforts. The manuscript was much improved by the constructive comments of two anonymous reviewers and the manuscript editor. N17 2014 Northeastern Naturalist Notes Vol. 21, No. 1 R.L. Hopkins II and B. Zimmerman Literature Cited Adams, G.L., and B.M. Burr. 2004. Conservation assessment for the Eastern Sand Darter, Ammocrypta pellucida. Report prepared for: Hoosier National Forest, USDA Forest Service. Bedford, IN. 33 pp. Daniels, R.A. 1989. Signfiicance of burying in Ammocrypta pellucida. Copeia 1:29–34. Daniels, R.A. 1993. Habitat of the Eastern Sand Darter, Ammocrypta pellucida. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 8:287–295. 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