Freshwater and Estuarine Fish of New York State
Table of Contents
	New York Species	Research Needs

CONSERVATION

Watercolor of bluespotted sunfish (Enneacanthus gloriosus) by Hugh Chrisp

One-fifth of the species present in New York are imperiled (Carlson 1998). One species, shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum), is identified as endangered on the federal list. Another 7 species (5%) are listed by New York as endangered. New York’s threatened fish include 11 species (7%) and 13 species (8%) are recognized as of special concern or are so rare that a change in environmental conditions could have serious impact on their abundance and distribution. Carlson (1998) lists and discusses each of the 32 species currently regarded as imperiled in the state. Recently, Musick et al. (2000) assessed the risk of extinction in North American marine, estuarine, and diadromous stocks and included 2 species that range into New York inland waters—the shortnose sturgeon and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Atlantic salmon has probably been extirpated from the state, although extensive reintroduction efforts have re-established populations of this species.

Diversity and richness vary among the drainages. For example, only the upper reaches of the Delaware and Susquehanna river drainages are present in the state. These systems, although richer downstream, are relatively depauperate in New York, and are home to the widely distributed species found in the upper reaches of most of the drainages in the state. The only exception is the ironcolor shiner (Notropis chalybaeus), a species of special concern, in one stream in the upper Delaware River system. The richest system, with 132 species known from New York, is the large Saint Lawrence River drainage that drains the northern tier of the state. Of the 32 species identified as imperiled, 17 (13% of the species in the drainage) species occur in this system. The Allegheny River system, a part of the Mississippi River drainage, includes 12 (13% of the species in the drainage; two of the species are also found in the Saint Lawrence system) of the imperiled species among its 95 resident species (Carlson et al. 1999). Two species each are found in the Hudson River system (Smith and Lake 1990) and in Long Island streams.

The centers of diversity of this taxon in the state are the lower-elevation tributaries and main channels of the Hudson, Allegheny, and Saint Lawrence rivers, and Lakes Ontario and Erie. Individual streams, however, are the basic management unit and provide a more reasonable boundary for determining and assessing richness and diversity. Certain hotspots can be identified and designated throughout the state and include streams with particularly high richness, and the presence of unusual species or habitats. For example, French Creek, Chautauqua County, is particularly rich in darter species and is home to such rare species as the silverjaw minnow and the Allegheny brook lamprey (Ichthyomyzon greeleyi). The streams of Allegany State Park, Cattaraugus County, support extensive populations of pool-dwelling minnows that are absent or rare in the rest of the drainage. Five species of redhorses have been reported from lower Oswayo Creek, Cattaraugus County; this is an unusually rich site for this genus (Moxostoma) and the endangered bluebreast darter (Etheostoma camurum) and threatened longhead darter (Percina macrocephala) also reside in this creek. Although these examples are from the Allegheny River drainage, similar sites can be identified in each of the other drainages as well.

It is rare to be able to identify a single factor affecting individual species abundance or distribution. However, there are exceptions. For example, Kinzua Dam is probably the most important factor affecting species distribution and abundance in the Allegheny River. The dam isolates the upper river from the more diverse lower river. Movement of individual fish, like the migratory redhorses, is blocked. The dam and reservoir also delimit populations; the dam itself is an effective barrier to population expansion, but so is the reservoir. The massive habitat change caused by the impoundment of the reservoir affects the population size and dispersal routes of such main-channel, riverine forms as the gilt darter and gravel chub (Erimystax x-punctatus). The decline of several species of minnows in northeastern lakes has been attributed to the stocking of exotic predatory fish (Whittier and Kincaid 1999). Overfishing is implicated in the decline of blue pike (see Smith 1985). Although there are cases where a single factor can be identified as the primary reason in the decline of a species, it is rarely simple, because other factors often come into play. Smith (1985) also noted that interbreeding with the more common walleye (S. vitreum vitreum) also affected the status of blue pike. In addition to overfishing, hybridization, the arrival of introduced or invasive species, and habitat alteration, point and non-point source pollution, eutrophication, acidification, chronic habitat degradation and changes in in-stream flow affect the distribution and abundance of fishes throughout New York.

In-stream or lake conditions dictate fish distribution, but equally important to fish abundance and distribution are the conditions present in the riparian corridor, along the shoreline, and in the watershed. Agriculture, mining, forestry, (sub)urbanization, and alterations to the watershed can affect water quality and habitat in streams and lakes. Such activity affects aquatic habitat slowly, over time, but the effects can be chronic and insidious.

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