RE: NANFA--now pet peeve r (hellbenders plus!)

Nick Zarlinga (njz_at_clevelandmetroparks.com)
Wed, 14 Jan 2004 07:39:37 -0500

Have you tried asking your DOW as to the reasonings behind the species being
listed? Or is it just a throwback from when (if) they were less numerous?

Nick Zarlinga
Aquarium Biologist
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
216.661.6500 ext 4485

><)> -----Original Message-----
><)> From: owner-nanfa_at_aquaria.net
><)> On Behalf
><)> Of R. W. Wolff
><)> Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 12:40 AM
><)> To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
><)> Subject: Re: NANFA--now pet peeve r (hellbenders plus!)
><)>
><)>
><)> Nick, others
><)>
><)> I don't argue that.
><)>
><)> I am going to shift gears here just a bit, to use
><)> actual examples to
><)> hopefully try to explain what I am getting at.
><)>
><)> I think fish like the slender madtom here should
><)> be listed in WI. They are
><)> probably only found in one river, and probably not
><)> even there anymore. That
><)> is serious, and an edge of the range thing. I have
><)> been to this "river" and
><)> it is still impacted heavily by run off. Listing
><)> did not stop that. Even at
><)> low flow during this summers drought, it still was
><)> chocolate milk.
><)>
><)> The longear sunfish though, has rebounded in most
><)> areas, if it ever was
><)> rare, after carp eradication efforts in the 70's.
><)> It did not come back I
><)> guess in some metro areas, due to pollution and
><)> habitat destruction. But
><)> these are sunfish, and do what sunfish do. All the
><)> sites I have found them
><)> in the Lake Michigan drainage, they were either
><)> the most common sunfish, or
><)> right up there. I have not been able to make it up
><)> north to check out those
><)> sites. Locally here in the Mississippi drainage I
><)> catch a few , and they are
><)> rare. These may trickle down from sites up north,
><)> which most are in the
><)> Mississippi drainage. These are not an edge of the
><)> range thing, but the
><)> distribution of high density populations follows
><)> the eastern edge of the
><)> state, and supposedly cuts across the north into
><)> MN. As far as I know MN
><)> doesn't list them. There range in MN is just as
><)> small and oddly shaped as it
><)> is here. In other words, they are not in every
><)> lake and river like
><)> bluegills.
><)>
><)> Fundlus dispar is the one WI fish I have the
><)> problem with. Like Bruce
><)> mentioned, these guys can be tough to find. I
><)> think their greatest risk is
><)> global cooling, the onset of another ice age. I
><)> doubt they are very tolerant
><)> of our winters. But nothing listing will do will
><)> improve our climate, or
><)> stop the most hellish winter from doing them in. I
><)> believe dams are the only
><)> thing that are problems with this specie. If they
><)> were not blocking them,
><)> they would spread out on favorable years, and on
><)> bad years the population
><)> would shrink.
><)>
><)> I guess I want to know, why are fish found in
><)> several bodies of water, in
><)> bands around the state listed? The madtom makes
><)> sense, one small area, one
><)> small impact could do something to damage the
><)> entire WI population. The
><)> entire southeast corner of WI could sink into Lake
><)> Michigan, and there would
><)> still be longears and dispar further north or to
><)> the west respectivly. If
><)> something that ridiculous has to happen to take
><)> away only a third of the
><)> habitat of both these fishes ( the ranges over lap
><)> there), then why are they
><)> listed?
><)>
><)> Ray
><)> > I must have lost the idea on the thread but to
><)> answer your question on
><)> > how a species can be protected in one side of
><)> the line and not the other
><)> > does not necessarily refer to the edge of the
><)> range. It has to do
><)> primarily
><)> > with habitat loss and use of land in the state.
><)> By listing an animal it
><)> > *should* afford some protection to stressors of
><)> that species- collection
><)> or
><)> > disruption of the habitat. No?
><)> >
><)> > Nick Zarlinga
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