Endemic Fishes of the New River, by Don Orth

Anyone who travels in the New River valley know it’s a very special place.  Those who study the fishes know some secrets too.   The New River is the oldest major stream in the eastern United States – it should be the Old River.  The historic Teays River originated in the Tertiary Period and at that time drained much of eastern North American in the pre-glacial period.  However, the original route of the ancient Teays was altered by glacial advances which created a massive ice dam blocking the northward-flowing Teays. Geologists maintain that the river retained its course from headwaters in the Blue Ridge province, across the Valley and Ridge province and into the Appalachian plateau for 100 million years or more.  Through this period of slow uplift of the Appalachian region the river continued to slowly erode its bedrock streambed through gaps in major mountain ranges.  This wide, shallow, bedrock river flows northward across the strike or grain of underlying geological structures (Spotila et al. 2015).

New River supports 46 native fishes, 8 of which are endemic species.  Endemic species are unique to a defined geographic location.  The endemic fishes of the New River likely diverged after geographic isolation from ancestral forms during the Pleistocene glaciation. These glaciers, as they advanced southward, displaced fishes into unfrozen tributaries.  The upper New River drainage was likely an important refugia for fishes during this most recent ice age.  This history explains why the number of native fish species in the New River is low compared with similar sized rivers in the eastern US.  However, the number of endemic species is high.    

New River near Rich Creek, Virginia.  Photo by Valerie F. Orth. 

New River has a relatively high number of endemic fishes due to two main causes: (1) the presence of natural barriers and (2) the immobility of a species.  The Pleistocene glaciers did not reach Virginia though the climatic and barrier effect was a strong influence in the New River fish fauna.  During the Pleistocene, the climate cooled and for fish in the New River, it was “no way out and no way in.”  New River fish had to stay, adapt, or die.  The mainstem falls, cascades, rapids prevented upstream dispersal after the Pleistocene glaciation.   The Pleistocene ended 10,000 years ago, leaving many native New River fishes as cool-adapted.  Few native warmwater species are widespread.   Today, the New River has the highest proportion of introduced to native fishes of any eastern USA drainage as at least 57 introduced fishes persist in the New River alongside 44 native fishes (Easton et al. 1993; Easton and Orth 1994; Angermeier and Pinder 2015; Hilling in press).     

The eight endemic fishes include three minnows, two sculpins, and three darters, all groups that typically have little or no long-range migrations. The first three endemic fishes are in cyprinids.  Cyprinids are members of the family Cyprinidae (minnows), the most species rich family of fishes in North America.  There are 53 recognized genera and 286 species of minnows in North America (Mayden 1991).

The Bigmouth Chub Nocomis platyrhynchus occurs only in the New River drainage and its distribution is allopatric with its closest relatives, the River Chub Nocomis micropogon and the Bull Chub Nocomis raneyi.  Bigmouth Chub inhabits medium- to large-sized tributaries and the mainstem New River which have a moderate gradient, warm, usually clear water, and a good mix of gravel to boulder substrates.   For more information, click here.

Bigmouth Chub male (top) and female (bottom). Photos by Hunter Hatcher (top) and D. J. Orth (bottom) 

The Kanawha Minnow Phenacobius teretulus is one of five species of Phenacobius referred to as suckermouth minnows for obvious reasons.  The Kanawha Minnow is the only Phenacobius in the New River, has a limited distribution, and is an uncommon part of the fish assemblage.  Juveniles and adults typically occur in riffles and runs of gravel, rubble, and boulder in cool to warm creeks and small to medium rivers.   For more information, click here. 

Kanawha Minnow.  Photo by Fritz Rhode.

New River Shiner Notropis scabriceps occurs in pools and slow runs of cool to warm creeks and small to medium rivers. It is more common in Blue Ridge province than in the Appalachian or Ridge and Valley provinces.  As with other New River endemics, temperature has been postulated as a major factor governing its distribution.  In one of the few temperature preferenda studies, the final thermal preference of the New River Shiner was 19.3 °C, or 66.7 °F (Shingleton et al. 1981).   Two non-native species, the telescope shiner Notropis telescopus and whitetail shiner Cyprinella galactura may also compete with the New River Shiner (Keplinger 2007).

New River Shiner.  Photo by Ben A. Cantrell.

Kanawha sculpin Cottus kanawhae was first considered a subspecies of the Banded Sculpin Cottus carolinae.  It is widely distributed in tributaries of the New River and often overlaps with the Mottled Sculpin Cottus bairdi.  Why?  I don’t know.

 

Kanawha Sculpin.  Photo by Derek Wheaton.  

 

Dorsal saddles of Kanawha Sculpin.  Photo by D.J Orth. 

Dorsal fin of Kanawha Sculpin. Photo by D.J.Orth

Bluestone sculpin Cottus sp. has a very limited distribution in the Bluestone River and little is known about its present status and distribution.   

 

Bluestone Sculpin.  Photo by Noel M. Bulkhead.  

Candy Darter Etheostoma osburni is a rare fish that’s currently under review for federal listing as an endangered species. Candy Darters are most abundant in shallow riffle and run habitats but only occurs in a limited number of streams and has declined or disappeared from some historic locations.   The proposed Mountain Valley pipeline would cross Big Stony Creek, which supports one of the remaining populations of Candy Darters.  The Candy Darter may be the most colorful local darter.  It’s occurrence in clear mountain streams means it can be seen by the avid snorkeler willing to crawl amidst the fast-flowing boulders and cobbles. Click on this video link to watch the Candy Darter behavior underwater. 

Candy Darter male.  Photo by Derek Wheaton.

Kanawha Darter Etheostoma kanawhae is a close relative of the Candy Darter and the two distributions do not overlap.  Kanawha Darter occurs in fast-flowing riffles in tributaries of the New River in North Carolina and Virginia.    Their ancestral form was likely widely distributed in the Teays and Old Mississippi rivers and separated by the Pleistocene glacial advance.  Other close relatives occur in the Ozark highlands and the upper Ohio drainage. 

Kanawha Darter male. Photo by Noel M. Burkhead. 

Appalachia Darter Percina gymnocephala is one of the rare, endemic darters of the New River.  Although it has no special state or federal status, its distribution and status has never been evaluated.    For more information,  click on this link.    Not much is known about the Appalachia Darter and its life history.  It's safe to say that as a New River endemic it's adapted for cool water and inhabits cobble and boulder habitats.  

Appalachia Darter.  Photo by Isaac Szabo. 

One cannot discuss the percid fishes of the upper New River without a mention of the Walleye Sander vitreus.  Jenkins and Burkhead (1994) considered the Walleye to be an introduced species.  However, a genetically unique walleye was discovered in the New River and is the basis for a restoration effort (Palmer et al. 2007).  Jenkins and Burkhead relied on the fact that there were no reports of Walleye by 19^th century investigators (Cope 1868 paper) and the Virginia Fish Commission.  However, no targeted investigations were ever done and intensive stocking of Walleye in Claytor Lake began after 1939.  These introductions were traceable to Lake Erie and Hudson bay stock.  Work is now underway in the Hallerman Genetics Lab at Virginia Tech to examine and continue marker-assisted selection.  The unique walleye strain is a river-spawning Walleye and may have adaptive traits that permit it to survive better in the New River.  They grow to large size (see photo). 

 

Historic state record Walleye from the New River.  22 pounds and 8 ounces.  

The endemic fishes of the New River are unique and their limited distribution means many anthropogenic activities may have a disproportionate influence on species viability.  The construction of dams on the mainstem New and its tributaries fragmented populations and eliminated coolwater habitats. In addition to hydropower dams, emerging threats include introduction of nonnative species and climate change (Angermeier and Pinder 2015).  New River is a special place for people – and now you know why its special for fishes.  

References

Angermeier, P.L., and M.J. Pinder. 2015.  Viewing the status of Virginia’s environment through the lens of freshwater fishes.  Virginia Journal of Science 66(3). Article 2 http://digitalcommons.odu.edu/vjs/vol66/iss3/2   

Cope, E.D. 1868.  On the distribution of freshwater fishes in the Allegheny region of southwestern Virginia. Journal of the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia, Series 2, 6, part 3, article 5 (1869):207-247.

Easton R.S. and D.J. Orth D.J. 1994. Fishes of the main channel New River, West Virginia. Virginia Journal of Science 45: 265–277.

Easton R.S., D.J. Orth, and N.M. Burkhead. 1993. The first collection of rudd, Scardinius erythrophthalmus (Cyprinidae), in the New River, West Virginia. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 8:263–264.

Hilling, C.D., S.L.Wolfe, J.R. Copeland, D.J. Orth, E. M. Hallerman. In press.  Occurrence of Two non-indigenous catostomid fishes in the New River, Virginia. Northeastern Naturalist

Jenkins, R.E. and N.M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland.

Keplinger, B.J.  An experimental study of vertical habitat use and habitat shifts in single-species and mixed-species shoals of native and nonnative congeneric cyprinids.  Masters thesis, West Virginia University, Morgantown.

Mayden, R.L. 1991.  Cyprinids of the New World.  Pages 240-263 in I.J. Winfield and J.S. Nelson, editors. Cyprinid Fishes: Systematics, Biology and exploitation.  Springer, Dordrecht

Palmer, G.C., J. Williams, M. Scott, K. Finne, N. Johnson, D. Dutton, B.R. Murphy, and E.M. Hallerman, 2007. Genetic marker-assisted restoration of the presumptive native walleye fishery in the New River, Virginia and West Virginia. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fisheries and Wildlife Agencies 61:17-22.

Shingleton, M.V., C.H. Hocutt, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1981.  Temperature preference of the New River Shiner.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 110:660-661.

Spotila, J.A., K.A. Moskey, and P.S. Prince.  2015.  Geologic controls on bedrock channel width in large, slowly-eroding catchments: Case study of the New River in eastern North America.  Geomorphology 230:51-63. 

Fish Can't Travel Like We Can, by Don Orth

You can walk or bike the New River trail from Pulaski to Galax, Virginia; the trail parallels 39 miles of the New River and 12 miles of Chestnut Creek, a tributary stream.  The New River Trail State Park was created from an abandoned Norfolk & Western rail line.  This historic trail line was built in the 1800s and a spur line to the town of Fries was built around 1900.  The trail now ends where the railroad stopped. While you can travel the many miles of the trail, fish cannot travel the New River corridor due to the dams that halt their migration. 

New River between Eggleston and Pembroke, Virginia.  Photo by D.J. Orth.

The New River is one of the world's oldest rivers and it's course was established before the uplift of the Appalachian mountains and dissects those very mountains. New River today flows 320 miles from the source in Ashe County, North Carolina, to the confluence with the Gauley River, Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, where it becomes the Kanawha River. The upper New River drainage was a refugia for coolwater fishes during the Pleistocene glacial advance and now supports eight endemic species of fishes.   The erosive force of water, resistant rock formations, and long history combined to create beautiful palisades, natural impassable falls (Kanawha and Sandstone) and many passable falls and rapids that provide numerous opportunities for whitewater enthusiasts. 
 

On May 21, 2016, we recognize World Fish Migration Day in order to enhance awareness of the human connections to rivers and migratory fishes.  Although we are frequently reminded of the long migrations of salmon, eel, shad, and striped bass in North American rivers, fish migrations are much more commonplace than previously assumed. Disruption of fish migrations are a world wide concern.  In the US, 74,000 dams block the rivers and streams.  These structures impede passage of fish, degrade water quality, trap sediments, and reduce river-based recreation and economic opportunities for local communities.  Building dams is long-term, irreversible decision, at least in terms of human life spans. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies have programs to promote fish passage around barriers.   All dams on the New River were built with no fish passage structures and there are no imminent plans for removal.

Most people divide the New River in three major segments: (1) upper New River above Claytor dam; (2) lower New River from Claytor Dam to West Virginia; (2) New River Gorge from Bluestone dam to the confluence with the Gauley.  Moving from the upper New River downstream, the dams include Fields, Fries, Byllesby, Buck, Claytor, Bluestone, and Hawks Nest.  None of these structures permit upstream fish passage.    Fields Dam is an old woolen mill dam. 

Fields Dam, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Source Panoramio

Fries Dam is a 41-foot high, rock masonry dam that was built in 1902 to power a textile mill.  Today the textile mill is gone and the project produces hydro power with four turbines.  The impoundment is filled with accumulated sediments and average depth is less than 4-6 feet.   For a slide show of photos around the Fries Hydroelectric project, click here.   Only when flow exceeds the hydraulic capacity of the turbines does water spill over the dam; at these times the water carries a high sediment load.  See video of Fries dam spilling. 

New River impounded by Fries Dam.  Island (upper right) was formed since the Dam was constructed.

Historically, Walleye ran through this reach of the river upstream to Fields Dam. Palmer et al. (2006) contends that the New River supports a unique southern strain and the current Walleye stocking program has increased abundance and angling effort for Walleye (Palmer et al. 2007).  This strain is regionally significant as they are adapted for riverine spawning and grow to an impressive size (Virginia’s record was 15 pound, 15 ounces, caught by Anthony P. Duncan in 2000).     

Byllesby and Buck Dams are only 2.7 miles apart and were constructed from 2011-2012 in one of the steepest gradient sections of the New River; historical photos are available here.  To view a flyover of Byllesby, click here. Each dam is a constructed 44-foot high concrete dam;  the two dams operate as one joint hydroelectric project with 30.1 MW capacity.  Byllesby-Buck powerhouses are operated by Appalachian Power Company.  There are no fish passage facilities and walleye fingerlings must be stocked above Byllesby in order to restore a native walleye population in the reach between Byllesby and Fries dams. Further, there are no minimum releases, other than leakage, in the Buck Dam bypass reach.
  

New River, Byllesby Impoundment, near Crooked Creek inflow.

Aerial view of Byllesby Dam

Buck Dam with no minimum flow release. Source

Claytor Dam is 137-foot high concrete dam built by Appalachian Power Company in 1938.  The Claytor Hydroelectric project has four generating unit with a total capacity of 75 MW.  It began operation in 1943 under a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.    Claytor Lake is a 4,363 acre lake impounded by the dam and provides numerous water-based opportunities along its 21-mile length.  Fish cannot pass upstream though some downstream passage does occur. 

Claytor Dam  Source CardCow.com

Bluestone dam, near Hinton, West Virginia, impounds a 10.7 mile stretch of the river, creating Bluestone Lake, a flood control impoundment.  During times of flooding the river backs up to the Virginia line.  Construction of the dam began in 1941and, due to suspension of work during world war II, it was not completed until 1949.  There are no fish passage structures on the Bluestone Dam.

Bluestone Dam Source

Hawks Nest Dam was completed in 1933.  It created a 250-acre lake and during much of the year all river flow is diverted through a tunnel to power a metals plant at Alloy, West Virginia.  The diversion creates a 5-mile reach called "the Dries" that consists of large bedrock and boulders amidst a frequently dewatered river.  The tunnel construction began in 1930 and was one of the worst occupational disasters in US history.  Over 700 mostly black, mostly migrant workers died from acute silicosis from work in the tunnel (Chermiack 1986).  

Hawks Nest Dam.  Photo by Duncan. source

Eight endemic species of fish live in the upper New River; these include the Appalachia Darter, Bigmouth Chub, Candy Darter, Bluestone Sculpin, Kanawha Darter, Kanawha Minnow, Kanawha Sculpin, and New River Shiner.  These and other fishes, such as the Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish, White Sucker, Northern Hogsucker, Smallmouth Bass, persist in the New River but are unable to migrate very far.    They are also blocked from entering large tributaries, such as the Little River and Wolf Creek, due to dams that block passage into these tributary waters. 

Flathead Catfish are the largest native fish in the New River. Photo by Jason Emmel

The Flathead Catfish can and do migrate long distances to find suitable summer habitats and overwintering habitats (Vokoun and Rabeni 2005).  Channel catfish are also a highly mobile fish, moving upstream during spring and seeking deepwater refugia during winter (Butler and Wahl 2010).

White sucker and Northern Hogsucker migrate into small, shallow tributaries during spawning, where they are easily observed by local citizens.  Walleye in the New River are restricted to movements between Claytor Lake and Buck Dam.  The net effect of these barriers to migration is fragmentation of fish populations into smaller, perhaps less viable, units that are less able to move and adapt to future climate changes. 

Northern Hogsucker Photo by Ben Cantrell

Fish are not the only creatures influenced by this string of impassable dams.  Freshwater mussels are unable to move far on their own; consequently they rely on a host fish to transport and disperse their glochidia.  In the New River, the Pistolgrip, Quadrula verrucosa, is a state endangered mussel that relies on catfishes for a host. 

Pistolgrip, Quadrula verrucosa, Endangered in Virginia.  source

After the dams were built, sediment loads were trapped upstream and not replenished immediately downstream.  Land disturbance and sediment inputs are now far greater than in pre-settlement times.Large reservoirs, in particular, are very efficient at trapping much of the annual sediment loads.  As the reservoirs age, the fine sediments create new bedforms, such as dunes, deltas and midchannel islands, while the channel immediately downstream from the dam degrades and sediments are armored. Conditions we observe in the New River today are the result of the legacy effect of past land use, dam operations, and dam constructions.  The legacy of dam construction means that we will forever be dealing with reservoir changes, in particular formation of more shallow flats and coves.    Sediments move with river flows until they are incorporated into new bedforms or floodplains.   

Fries Dam and dewatered intake canal showing fine sediments filling reservoir and canal. Source p 128.

Take a moment to remember that fish can't travel like we can.  Further, remember that the many fishes, mussels, and crayfishes that make the New River home are blocked from moving into or out of the river fragments.  We do not fully understand the long term effects of fragmentation; however, we know that fish have to move in order to adapt to changing climate and thermal regimes.    Support local conservation activities in the New River, by joining the New River Conservancy. Explore the many areas of the New River that can be paddled through (Trout 2003).   Perhaps, organize an event to link people to the river on or around World Fish Migration Day.  Take a river float and enjoy your ability to move along the river! Fish for trophy size Smallmouth Bass and Muskellunge.  Plan your trip using access maps available from the National Park Service and Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.  Refer to the New River Guide by Bruce Ingram to assist in selecting segments to paddle or fish.  

References

Butler, S.E., and D.H. Wahl. 2011.  Distribution, movements and habitat use of channel catfish in a river with multiple low-head dams.  River Research and Applications 27:1182-1191.

Chermiack, M. 1986. The Hawk's Nest Incident. Yale University Press. 224 pp. 

Copeland, J.R., D.J. Orth and G.C. Palmer. 2006. Smallmouth bass management in the New River, Virginia: A case study of population trends with lessons learned.  Proceeding of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 60:180-187.

Easton, R. S., and D. J. Orth.  1994. Fishes of the main channel New River, West Virginia. Virginia Journal of Science 45:265-277.

Ingram, B. 2014.  New river guide: paddling and fishing in North Carolina, Virginia, and West      Virginia.  Secant Publishing, Salisbury, Maryland. 

Palmer, G.C., J. Williams, M. Scott, K. Finne, N. Johnson, D. Dutton, B.R. Murphy, and E.M. Hallerman.  2007.  Genetic marker-assisted restoration of the presumptive native walleye fishery in the New River, Virginia and West Virginia. Proceeding of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 61:17-22.

Trout, W.E.  2003.  The New River atlas: rediscovering the history of the New and Greenbrier rivers.  Virginia Canals and Navigation Society, Lexington, VA.
Vokoun, J.C., and C.F. Rabeni. 2005.  Variation in an annual movement cycle of flathead catfish within and between two Missouri watersheds.  North American Journal of Fisheries Management 25:563-572.