James E. Deacon

“ The following species, common to both rivers, were more abundant in the Neosho: long-nosed gar, short-nosed gar, river carpsucker, creek chub, sucker-mouthed minnow, red-finned shiner, red shiner, ghost shiner, blunt-nosed minnow, fat-headed minnow, stoneroller, yellow bullhead, channel catfish, flathead, stonecat, largemouth, long-eared sunfish, slender-headed darter, and freshwater drum. These species, collectively, reflect the more diversified habitats (more gravel-bottom, more riffle-areas, more gradient, greater range of stream-size sampled) in the Neosho River. ”

“ When permanent flow is re-established the more mobile and the more generalized species (with respect to habitat) are able to utilize the available space immediately. As a result, these species increase rapidly in numbers. This increase occurs both by movement from more permanent waters and by reproduction. Channel catfish, flathead, freshwater drum, and river carpsucker are mobile species (Funk, 1957; Trautman, 1957) and long-nosed gar probably are mobile. ”

“ Minckley and Cross (1959) describe the habitat of the Topeka shiner as pools of clear upland tributaries with slight flow. We found the Topeka shiner in such habitat in Deer Creek, Strowbridge Creek and Burys Creek. The largest population occurred in a tributary of Strowbridge Creek. This stream probably was intermittent in 1958, and Deer and Burys creeks may have been intermittent at some time in 1957-1959. Although Minckley and Cross (1959:215) have stated that Rock Creek is "unsuitable for this species," we suspect that Rock Creek served as a refugium for N. topeka in time of drought. ”

“ Bullhead, bass and crappie commonly occur in farm ponds and lakes in Kansas and seem less well adapted to streams. It is therefore not surprising to find that these species decreased in abundance when flow was resumed.
A second group, composed of rosy-faced shiner, blunt-faced shiner, mimic shiner, slender madtom, freckled madtom, spotted bass, and fan-tailed darter, normally is characteristic of clear tributaries rather than the mainstream of rivers. These species probably used the mainstream as a refugium during drought ”

“ Our study indicates a much slower rate of dispersal by many of the same species. This is presumably attributable to the ecological barrier presented by the Wakarusa mainstream.
During the drought (1952-1956) the mainstream with its turbid water and mud bottom could hardly have served as a refugium for species requiring the clear water and gravel bottom of upland tributaries. Probably the main refugia for these species [group (3) ] were in the upper portions of Rock Creek, Washington Creek and possibly Deer Creek. ”

“ Suckers, minnows and catfishes constitute the main fauna of the Neosho and Marais des Cygnes rivers, because these families contain many species that have generalized habitat-requirements. Many of these fish are able to live successfully in either ponds or flowing waters and others are capable of long migrations. Because these fish predominate in the streams of Kansas, attempts should be made to utilize them more effectively. ”

“ The channel of the mainstream is intrenched in its own alluvium (Dufford, 1958:36) and has high, muddy banks and mud- or sand-bottom; the upper parts of tributaries have lower banks and bottoms of gravel, rubble, or bedrock, although a few (such as Cole Creek) have areas of sandy bottom. A fringe forest of deciduous trees occurs along most streams. ”

“ Spotted bass normally form a small part of the game-fish fauna in the lower Neosho River. The species attains greater abundance in smaller, clear streams of the Arkansas River Basin in Kansas (Cross, 1954, and unpublished data of State Biological Survey of Kansas) . During the drought, the lower Neosho probably assumed many characteristics of a smaller stream in normal times. Flow was reduced or entirely interrupted and turbidity was lessened. These conditions resulted in faunal changes in which spotted bass were more prominent than in years of normal flow. ”

“ Several species showed no tendency for redispersal following drought, in that they were confined to Washington Creek or Rock Creek in 1959. Noturus exilis was taken only in Washington Creek immediately below Lone Star Lake. Rock Creek is the last stream in the Wakarusa Basin in which Notropis cornutus, Hybopsis biguttata and Etheostoma nigrum have survived. These species require comparatively permanent streams having pool-and-riffle habitats and gravelly bottoms for spawning. ”

“ The relative abundance in 1959 remained nearly stable. If stream-flow remains essentially continuous for the next few years, the number of black bullheads probably will decline as individuals of the 1956 year-class reach the end of their life-span.
Reference has been made to the large hatch of channel catfish in 1957, in a discussion of that species. Conditions for survival of young channel catfish at the upper Neosho station in 1957 were good because there was continuous flow over many gravel-rubble riffles, which were largely unoccupied by other fish, in the spring and summer of 1957. ”

“ While collecting we observed that these creeks had larger proportions of gravel-rubble bottom, clearer water, deeper pools, and appeared to be more stable than other creeks in the drainage. In Washington Creek, Lone Star Lake enhanced stability of flow.
At the end of the drought, fishes in group (3) probably were extirpated or decimated in other tributaries of the Wakarusa. After normal flow recommenced in 1956, fishes re-entered the previously uninhabitable streams or stream-segments. ”

“ Because collecting was intensive and several methods were used, I think that the population of gars was sampled adequately. Wallen (Fishes of the Verdigris River in Oklahoma, 1958:29 [mimeographed copy of dissertation, Oklahoma State University] ) took large individuals in the mainstream of the Verdigris River in Oklahoma and small specimens from the headwaters of some tributaries. Because I took young-of-the-year at the lower Neosho station, it is possible that long-nosed gar move upstream when small and then slowly downstream to the larger parts of rivers as the fish increase in size. ”

“ Such a program should have a long-range effect on the physical and biological characteristics of the streams of the basin. With this in mind we think it important to document the nature of the present fish-fauna and to attempt a historical résumé of the fauna, based on collections made in the past sixty years. ”

“ Stomachs of a few gar from the Neosho River were examined and found to contain minnows and some channel catfish.
Long-nosed gar have a relatively long life span (Breder, 1936) . This longevity and their ability to gulp air probably insure excellent survival through periods of adverse conditions. The population of long-nosed gar probably would not be drastically affected even in the event of a nearly complete failure of one or two successive hatches. Maturity is attained at approximately 20 inches, total length. ”

“ Collections at the upper Neosho station were more intensive than at any other station, especially in 1959. Rotenone was used in the summers of 1957, 1958 and 1959, to obtain large samples of the population in one section of the stream. In September, 1959, the shocker was used in other sections in order to estimate populations in particular pools and riffles, to measure variability in the fauna between areas having slightly different habitat, and to record movement of marked individuals in a short section of the stream. ”