RE: NANFA-- How fish get from A to B

Hoover, Jan J WES (HOOVERJ_at_wes.army.mil)
Tue, 14 Dec 1999 10:18:27 -0600

>>>regarding this particular refuge in Delaware.
Again, I will ask, how else could the fish get there? From my knowledge
of the area, floods and artificial placement are not possible. The
appearance
of the fish is an _annual_ event. The only other way the fish could get
there is if eggs were able to survive in dry conditions for several months.
Is _that_ possible?<<<

Shireen -

Are there crayfish there?

Crayfish burrows provide refugia from dessication for a variety of animals
including: bluefin killifish, pirate perch, pygmy sunfish, tadpole madtoms,
and high densities of some invertebrates like ostracods. Aquatic animals are
believed to survive in them as long as 3-4 months.

This is a real phenomenon, but unfortunately not very well-studied.

In Florida, I would sometimes see adult golden topminnow and flagfish
miraculously appear in newly-flooded, but apparently isolated wetlands.
Now, I would look for crayfish burrows.

- Jan


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