Reintroduction of Four Imperiled Fishes in Abrams Creek, Tennessee

Abstract

This project's goal was to restore populations of four rare fishes into Abrams Creek, Blount County, TN. These species, all on the US Endangered and Threatened Wildlife List, include two catfishes, the smoky madtom (Noturus bailey) and the yellowfin madtom (N. flavipinnis), the duskytail darter (Etheostoma percnurum) and the spotfin chub (Erimonax monachus). Captive propagation, reintroduction, and non-invasive monitoring techniques were used for this restoration effort, which began in 1986. By 2000, there was evidence of reproduction for all four species. As of 2003, the number of these species stocked in Abrams Creek was 3167 smoky madtoms, 1574 yellowfin madtoms, 3430 duskytail darters, and 11,367 spotfin chubs. Increasing population sizes were indicated for three of the four fishes, and smoky madtom and duskytail darter abundances were nearly comparable to native populations in Citico Creek, Monroe County, TN.