(DRAFT) - Taxonomy
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
TAXONOMY
NAME - CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
OTHER COMMON NAMES - CAVEFISH and ALABAMA
ELEMENT CODE -
CATEGORY - Fish
PHYLUM AND SUBPHYLUM - CHORDATA,
CLASS AND SUBCLASS - OSTEICHTHYES,
ORDER AND SUBORDER - PERCOPSIFORMES,
FAMILY AND SUBFAMILY - AMBLYOPSIDAE,
GENUS AND SUBGENUS - SPEOPLATYRHINUS,
SPECIES AND SSP - POULSONI,
SCIENTIFIC NAME - SPEOPLATYRHINUS POULSONI
AUTHORITY -
TAXONOMY REFERENCES -
COMMENTS ON TAXONOMY -
Alabama Cavefish
Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni Cooper & Kuehne, 1974
KINGDOM: Animal GROUP: Fish
PHYLUM: Chordata CLASS: Osteichthyes
ORDER: Percopsiformes FAMILY: Amblyopsidae
In life, the Alabama cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni) is
eyeless and colorless, and its fins, integument, and parts of its
cranial skeleton are relatively transparent (the skin contains
microscopic, widely scattered melanophores, which are few in number).
The fish's head and branchial chamber are very large, comprising more
than 33 percent of the standard length (SL). The snout is
dorsoventrally depressed and laterally constricted, giving the
anterior of the head a bill-like appearence. The nostrils have short,
tubular projections. As in other amblyopsids, the vent of
Speoplatyrhinus is jugular in position and the body is covered by
imbedded cycloid scales. Pelvic fins are lacking. The pectoral fins
are long and delicate, and the membranes of all fins are excised
between the fin rays, imparting a spiked appearence. Bifurcate fin
rays are absent from all fins. The lateral-line system is greatly
hypertrophied, with an extensive system of free neuromasts arranged in
Taxonomy - 1 (DRAFT) - Taxonomy
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
obvious ridges on the head and body. The caudal sensory papillae are
highly developed, larger and fewer than in any other amblyopsid. A
row of papillae borders the posterior edge of the caudal peduncle. A
row extends nearly the entire length of the medial borders of two fin
rays in the superior half of the caudal fin and two rays in the
inferior half. There are three nonpapilliferous fin rays between the
medial-most rows of caudal sensory papillae (Typhlichthys
subterraneus, the only other cavefish known from Alabama, has five
rays between these rows). Standard lengths of the nine specimens in
collections range from 31.2 mm to 58.3 mm (holotype), but larger
individuals have been observed.
The holotype and three paratopotypes (including one cleared and
stained) are deposited in the ichthyological collections of the
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM
204998). Two specimens are in the Museum of Zoology, University of
Michigan (UMMZ 197679), and two are in the University of Alabama
Ichthyological Collections (UAIC 3705). The ninth specimen, intended
for the Zoological Museum, University of Hamburg, Germany, currently
cannot be located.
A complete description of S. poulsoni was provided by Cooper and
Kuehne (01), and a partial description is in the Alabama cavefish
recovery plan (02). Black and white photographs of the fish, taken by
Dr. T.C. Barr Jr., University of Kentucky, and line drawings by Dr.
J.E. Cooper, are provided in Cooper and Kuehne, 1974 (01) and the
recovery plan (02). A drawing of the entire fish in lateral aspect is
in Cooper 1980 (03), and this drawing, along with other drawings are
in Culver (26:pp.23-25,27). The lateral aspect drawing also appeared
in promotional brochures from Harvard University Press. The negatives
of the photos, the original line drawings, and a number of 35 mm color
slides of varying quality are in Dr. Cooper's possession.
Taxonomy - 2 (DRAFT) - Status
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
STATUS
Coded Status
Alabama; Federal Endangered
Alabama; State Listed
Alabama; Unofficially Listed
Tennessee; Federal Endangered
Mississippi; Federal Endangered
E: Federal Endangered
Commercial
Non-consumptive recreational
COMMENTS ON STATUS -
U.S. STATUSES AND LAWS:
The Alabama cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni) has been
designated a Endangered species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act
of 1973 (50 CFR 17.11; P.L. 93-205, 87 Stat. 884; 16 U.S.C.
1531-1540), as amended. The species has this status wherever found
including the States of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The
original listing of the cavefish identifies only Alabama as the
historical distribution of this fish. However, should the species be
found in Tennessee or Mississippi it would be Federally protected.
Critical Habitat has been designated in Lauderdale County, Alabama
(50 CFR 17.95(e)).
This species is protected by the Lacey Act (P.L. 97-79, as
amended; 16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.) which makes it unlawful to import,
export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any wild animal
(alive or dead including parts, products, eggs, or offspring):
(1) in interstate or foreign commerce if taken, possessed,
transported or sold in violation of any State law or
regulation; or
(2) if taken or possessed in violation of any U.S. law,
treaty, or regulation or in violation of Indian tribal law.
It is also unlawful to possess any wild animal (alive or dead
including parts, products, eggs, and offspring) within the U.S.
territorial or special maritime jurisdiction (as defined in
18 U.S.C. 7) that is taken, possessed, transported, or sold in
violation of any State law or regulation, foreign law, or Indian
tribal law.
RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL AGENCIES:
USFWS -Responsible for the management/recovery, listing, and
law enforcement/protection of this species.
All Federal agencies have responsibility to ensure that any
action authorized, funded, or carried out by that agency is not likely
to jeopardize the continued existence of the species or result in the
destruction or adverse modification of Critical Habitat (50 CFR 402),
and to utilize their authorities to carry out programs for the
Status - 1 (DRAFT) - Status
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
conservation of the species.
STATE STATUSES AND LAWS:
STATE: Alabama
DESIGNATED STATUS: Nongame Wildlife Species
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY: Div. of Game and Fish
STATE STATUTE: Game and Fish Reg. 87-GF-7.
UNOFFICIAL LIST: Endangered; IN: Boschung, H. 1976. Endangered
and Threatened Plants and Animals of Alabama.
Bulletin No. 2. Alabama Museum of Natural
History, University of Alabama, University, AL.
92 pp.
STATE: Tennessee, Mississippi
DESIGNATED STATUS: None. Should this species be found in
Mississippi or Tennessee it could be
recognized as Threatened by action of either
State Commission.
INTERNATIONAL STATUSES, TREATIES, AND AGREEMENTS:
The Alabama cavefish is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red Data
Book, Vol. 4, 1977.
ECONOMIC STATUSES:
The only values would be non-consumptive recreation and
commercially for aquarists.
77/01/12:42 FR 02507/02515 - Proposed rule
77/09/09:42 FR 45526/45530 - Final rule, list as Threatened
82/09/27:47 FR 42387/42388 - Five year review
87/07/07:52 FR 25523/25528 - Notice of Review
87/12/04:52 FR 46106/46108 - Proposed reclassification to Endang.
88/09/28:53 FR - Final rule; reclassified Endang.
Status - 2 HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS
HABITAT - AQUATIC
INLAND AQUATIC
LAND USE -
Industrial
Cropland and Pasture
Streams and Canals
Reservoirs
NATIONAL WETLAND INVENTORY CODES
NWI NWICLS NWIMOD NWISPEC
Riverine, intermittent
Riverine, upper perennial
COMMENTS ON HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS -
Key Cave, the only known locality for the Alabama cavefish
(Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni), is in the north bank of the Tennessee
River (Pickwick Reservoir), under cropland (cotton) and partly under a
mixed deciduous wooded slope (strip along stream bank). The habitat
is generally "lacustrine" (lentic, phreatic groundwater) and consists
of large carbonate conduits developed in thick-bedded limestones of
Mississippian age. Water probably enters the system by movement
through the porous limestone, induced by hydrostatic pressure, and
very slowly migrates laterally to discharge. Key Cave lies between
two minor, spring-fed tributaries that are seasonally active. A
single major surface stream, Sinking Creek, resurges at Woodland
Spring and enters the river some 3.2 km (2 mi) west of the cave
(Consult citations 01,02,30,09). The impact of these streams on the
species' habitat is not known at this time. Aquatic substrates
within the cave are variously bedrock and unconsolidated
rubble/gravel/sand. There is minimal vadose seepage.
Groundwaters are highly insulated from surface conditions and
display general constancy in a number of physicochemical factors (14,
17,18,25,26). This constancy, a major component of the predictability
of subterranean environments, is vitally important to the aquatic
biota. On June 22, 1981, water temperature at a sampling site in Key
Cave was 16 deg. C (02,07), which is close to baseline. Mean
discharge temperature of Lauderdale County springs in the fall and
winter of 1955 was 15.5 deg. C (02,30), and the temperature in a
90-foot (27.4 m) well in July 1929 was 15.6 deg. C (02,09). In Shelta
Cave, Huntsville, the greatest differential recorded at any water
temperature monitoring station from November 1968 to April 1970 was
only 0.9 deg. C (02,17). Dissolved oxygen levels in caves of northern
Alabama also are fairly constant and usually quite high. On June 22,
1981, the dissolved oxygen content of water at the site in Key Cave
was 9.0 mg/l (ppm) at the surface and 7.0 mg/l near the substrate (02,
07). Samples taken over a period of time in Shelta Cave ranged from
8.5 to 9.8 ppm (mean=9.1, N=11), which is 84 percent to 98 percent
saturation (02,07). Alkalinity, as would be expected, is high in
Alabama's carbonate aquifers. Johnston (09) reported 52 ppm calcium,
161 ppm bicarbonate, and 141 ppm clacium carbonate at Key Spring (east
of Key Cave) on July 22, 1929, and 48 ppm calcium, 152 ppm
bicarbonate, and 130 ppm calcium carbonate at Woodland Spring
(resurgence of Sinking Creek). On June 22, 1981, alkalinity at the
Key Cave sampling site was 169 mg/l calcium carbonate, as compared to
earlier measurements from Pickwick Reservoir that ranged from 48 to 57
Habitat Associations - 1 mg/l calcium carbonate. On the same date, cave water pH was 7.6 (02,
07).
Turbidity is an exceptional phenomenon in most water-table caves
of northern Alabama. Water in Key Cave has been highly transparent,
and visibility during diving is exceptionally high (02).
Habitat Associations - 2 (DRAFT) - Food Habits
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
FOOD HABITS
TROPHIC LEVEL -
CARNIVORE
LIFESTAGE FOOD FOOD PART
General Fish
General Zooplankton
General Crustaceans
Food Habits - 1 (DRAFT) - Environment Associations
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
G = General A = Adult
LIM = Limiting RA = Resting Adult
J = Juvenile FA = Feeding Adult
RJ = Resting Juvenile BA = Breeding Adult
FJ = Feeding Juvenile P = Pupae
L = Larvae E = Egg
RL = Resting Larvae
FL = Feeding Larvae
LIFESTAGE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
G Terrestrial Features: Caves, wet
Environment Associations - 1 (DRAFT) - Life History
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
LIFE HISTORY
FOOD HABITS:
Becuase of the small number of specimens of the Alabama cavefish
(Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni) in collections (nine), no dissections for
analysis of digestive tract contents have been done. Thus, the
specific prey items consumed by S. poulsoni have not been determined.
However, from our knowledge of the aquatic fauna of the cave (01,02)
and what we know about food habits of other troglobitic amblyopsids
(14,15,16), some educated guesses can be made. Small individuals
undoubtedly eat copepods and similar minute organisms. Larger
individuals also could consume copepods, and additionally (and more
probably, considering the energetics) the isopod Caecidotea
alabamensis, the amphipod Stygobromus cf. vitreus, and young of the
two troglobitic crayfishes, Procambarus (Remoticambarus) pecki and
Cambarus (Aviticambarus) cf. jonesi. Larger individuals could also
consume young of the epigean (troglophilic?) crayfish, Cambarus
(Erebicambarus) cf. tenebrosus, if this frequent cave inhabitant is
established in the aquifer (a single specimen has been reported from
the cave (01)). Speoplatyrhinus also might indulge in cannibalism;
Poulson (14) reported that the Ozark cavefish, Amblyopsis rosae,
consumed young of its own species. The Alabama cavefish recovery plan
(02:p.17) contains a tentative, qualitative aquatic food web diagram
for Key Cave.
If in the future there should arise a need to field preserve
additional specimens of this fish, the contents of the containers
should carefully be examined for regurgitated prey of all sizes.
HOME RANGE/TERRITORY:
No information is available.
PERIODICITY:
No information is available.
MIGRATION PATTERNS:
Nonmigratory.
COVER/SHELTER REQUIREMENTS:
Water depth requirements of S. poulsoni are unknown, but deep
water is almost always present somewhere in Key Cave, even during
extensive seasonal drops in the water table. Fluctuations in water
levels are probably more important in the fish's biology than absolute
levels. See reference 02.
REPRODUCTIVE SITE REQUIREMENTS:
No information is available, but not particularly applicable.
Speoplatyrhinus almost certainly practices branchial brooding and fry
protection.
REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS:
Very little is known about reproduction in the Alabama cavefish.
The largest specimen in collections is a 58.3 mm SL female, very
conservatively estimated to be at least eight years old, containing
Life History - 1 (DRAFT) - Life History
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
what appear to be mature ova (01;02:p.19). This is circumstantial
evidence that sexual maturity is late and reproduction is considerably
delayed in Speoplatyrhinus, a known adaptation of many troglobites to
energy limitations (02,14,17,18,19,20,21,22,23). In other
amblyopsids, Poulson (14) estimated that 100 percent of Chologaster
cornuta (epigean) and C. agassizi (troglobitic) females breed each
year, while the estimate was 50 percent for Typhlichthys, 20 percent
for Amblyopsis rosae, and 10 percent for A. spelaea. The percentage
for females of the Alabama cavefish, which is the most highly adapted
of the amblyopsids, quite likely is at least as low as the Amblyopsis
percentages, and perhaps even lower.
PARENTAL CARE:
The jugular position of the vent, and the size of the branchial
chamber, indicate that S. poulsoni practices branchial incubation and
fry protection (01,02). Eigenmann (24) observed an Amblyopsis spelaea
carrying eggs and yolk-sac fry in the gill cavity. Poulson (22) also
found this to be true of A. spelaea, and found 89 percent survival
rate from egg to fry stage.
POPULATION BIOLOGY:
No population size estimate or population structure analysis for
Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni has been possible, and no data are available
on population dynamics or sex ratios (see 02:p.18). Energy (food) is
unquestionably the primary limiting factor on population parameters,
the factor to which cave-adaptations in general are geared.
Troglobitic amblyopsids display very reduced reproductive potential
and greatly depressed intrinsic rates of population increase (r) (02,
14,22,23,25,26). The selection continuum for "r" within the family
shows values of 1.000 for Chologaster cornuta and C. agassizi, 0.010
for Typhlichthys subterraneus, 0.004 for Amblyopsis spelaea, and 0.002
for A. rosae. The value is uncalculated for S. poulsoni, but
undoubtedly lies at the lower end of the continuum. The intrinsic
rate decreases 500-fold with increasing cave adaptation (02,14). Some
other highly adapted troglobites show great longevity, long generation
time, late sexual maturity, produce few offspring but of high fitness,
and fail to reproduce in some years (02,17,18,19,20,21).
Survival and mortality rates for Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni are
unknown. Caves are stable, predictable systems not prone to natural
catastrophes (17,18). Except for the possibility of cannibalism,
predation on the species is unlikely. However, on two occasions in
other caves, troglobitic crayfish have been observed with live,
medium-sized Typhlichthys grasped firmly in their chelae (02). Both
occurrences were in areas of very low water where the cavefish likely
were trapped. One of the crayfishes involved, Cambarus (A.) jonesi,
is a very aggressive species (02,17) that occurs in Key Cave with S.
poilsoni. The branchiate salamander, Gyrinophilus palleucus, is a
voracious aquatic predator that occurs in caves of northern Alabama
but is not known to occur in Key Cave. No data are available on
diseases or parasites of the Alabama cavefish [but see item (10)].
SPECIES INTERRELATIONSHIPS:
No direct data are available for Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni.
Life History - 2 (DRAFT) - Life History
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
Likely prey species include unidentified copepods; the isopod
Caecidotea alabamensis; the amphipod Stygobromus cf. vitreus; and
young of the crayfishes Procambarus (R.) pecki, Cambarus (A.) cf.
jonesi, and Cambarus (E.) tenebrosus (01,02). The only members of the
Key Cave aquatic community capable of preying on Speoplatyrhinus are
adults of the crayfishes listed above, but such predation is probably
rare and suspectibility could well be limited to fish trapped in areas
of low water. No data are available on parasites of S. poulsoni, but
Nickol and Whittaker (27) reported and acanthocephalan from an
Amblyopsis spelaea, and Whittaker and Hill (28) reported on parasites
of Chologaster agassizi. Mizelle et al. (29) described the
monogenetic trematode, Gyrodactylus chologastrix, from Chologaster
agassizi and C. cornuta.
Diminished trophic inputs by reductions in the resident Gray Bat
maternity colony could seriously affect the food web in Key Cave (02:
pp.15,24-26). Preliminary evidence indicates that abandonment on
Shelta Cave, Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama, by a Gray Bat
maternity colony has produced reductions and perhaps deletions in the
aquatic invertbrate and Typhlichthys populations of the cave.
OTHER LIFE HISTORY DESCRIPTORS:
No information is available.
Life History - 3 (DRAFT) - Management Practices
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
RESULT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE
Beneficial Restricting/regulating human disturbance of populations
Beneficial Controlling water levels
Beneficial Land Acquisition
Beneficial Controlling/Restricting Agricultural Practice
Beneficial Controlling/Restricting Noncommercial Harvest
Adverse Inherent Reproductive Characteristics
Existing Inherent Reproductive Characteristics
Adverse Low Gene Pool
Existing Low Gene Pool
Adverse Rural Residential/Industrial Areas
Existing Rural Residential/Industrial Areas
Adverse Groundwater drawdown
Existing Groundwater drawdown
Adverse Irrigating
Existing Irrigating
Adverse Applying pesticides
Existing Applying pesticides
Adverse Environmental Contamination/Pollution
Existing Environmental Contamination/Pollution
Adverse
Existing
COMMENTS ON MANAGEMENT PRACTICES -
Major concerns for the continued survival of Speoplatyrhinus
poulsoni (Alabama cavefish) are based on its apparent endemicity,
its very small population size, and its undoubtedly depressed
reproductive potential (01,02,03). It appears to be the rarest of
American cavefishes and perhaps of all American freshwater fishes, and
possibly one of the rarest vertebrates in the world (03,04). These
factors combine to make the monotypic genus highly susceptible to
extinction on a worldwide basis. Unless additional populations are
found in other aquifers, the tenuous condition of S. poulsoni cannot
be ameliorated. Any environmental insults that drastically affect
groundwater quality in the aquifer, or alter thermal regimes,
hydrological patterns, and flood cycles, or diminish trophic inputs to
the system, could directly or indirectly eliminate the Alabama
cavefish from the world's fauna.
On January 12, 1977, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
proposed the Alabama cavefish for Threatened status, stating "It is
threatened by disruption of the ecosystem through interference with
bat populations and groundwater pesticide pollution due to
agricultural operations. A proposed industrial park in this area
constitutes an additional threat." (02,05). [The final rulemaking,
establishing the fish as Threatened and Key Cave as Critical Habitat,
on September 9, 1977 (02,06)]. Agriculture and general forest
management are allowed within the Tennessee Valley Authority Colliers
Cave/Key Cave Protection Area in Tract 75 of the Authority's Pickwick
Reservoir Plan (02,07).
Management Practices - 1 (DRAFT) - Management Practices
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
No incontrovertible threats from groundwater contamination by
pesticides, herbicides, other toxins, or nutrient fertilizers have
been identified. Coliform (fecal & total) and fecal streptococci
levels in Key Cave water samples indicated probable inputs by Myotis
grisescens, the Gray Bat (02,07). Although the fecal coliform/fecal
streptococci ratio of 0.67-0.78 could indicate livestock or poultry
sources of the bacteria, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) biologists
concluded it was doubtful that the cave water was polluted from any
recent agricultural sources, or from influences of Pickwick Reservoir,
where bacterial levels often are very high as a downstream effect of
municipal outfalls (03:p.21;07). Further and more comprehensive
testing is desirable.
Hydrologic patterns and annual flood cycles could be altered by
interferences with runoff and surface streams, changes in discharge
capacities, or extended lowering of the water table. The areal extent
of influence on the hydrology of northwestern Alabama by the cut
through the drainage divide between the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers
during construction of the Tenn-Tom Waterway is yet to be assessed.
Concerns for its influence were expressed by Alabama biologists,
including Ramsey et al. (08), who stated, "The water table in this
cave (Key Cave) may be disturbed by deep cutting for the proposed
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway." The caption on their S. poulsoni
distribution map said, "Threatened by aquifer undermining" (08).
During a 1970 trial in Washington D.C., however, the Alabama State
Geologist maintained that the drop between Key Cave and the cut would
be negligible (02). While distance may mitigate the effects of the
cut on water in Key Cave, this may not be the case for present
possible sites of S. poulsoni occurrences farther west in Lauderdale
County and in northeastern Mississippi (02).
Diminished trophic inputs by reductions in the resident Gray Bat
maternity colony could seriously affect the food web in Key Cave (02:
pp.15,24-26). There were an estimated 38,000 Myotis grisescens in Key
Cave in the summer of 1969 (02,10) and between 18,200 and 26,000
(mean=22,300) in 1970 (02,11), a considerable drop in numbers. The
colony had returned to near normal size by 1971 (10). Guano
measurements made by USFWS and TVA biologists on June 22, 1981
indicated that as many as 39,000 bats may then have been using the
cave (02,07). Thus, the maternity colony at Key Cave appears to be in
good shape. Nevertheless, vigilance is required, since Gray Bat
numbers at many other localities, including hibernacula, had declined
47 percent by 1970 and and additional 54 percent by 1976 (12). The
reasons for the declines in M. grisescens populations were discussed
in detail in the Gray Bat recovery plan (13).
Development of an industrial park at a site in the river bend
west of Florence, as proposed by the Muscle Shoals-Forence Council of
Governments (02,05), could affect the Key Cave aquifer by seepage from
sewage, introduction of chemical toxins, thermal pollution, changes in
runoff patterns and stream flow, pumping groundwater, and siltation,
and by creating untenable conditions for Gray Bat feeding. The
biological effects on the Key Cave community of these and other
environmental changes were addressed in the Alabama cavefish recovery
plan (02).
Management Practices - 2 (DRAFT) - Management Practices
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
APPROVED PLAN:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1985. Revised Recovery Plan for the
Alabama Cavefish, Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni Cooper and Kuehne 1974.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta, Georgia. 64 pp.
The following actions are recommended for recovery of the Alabama
cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni):
1) Study local and regional hydrological patterns and determine
recharge and drainage area of Key Cave and the extent of potential
continuous habitat.
2) Conduct field surveys of caves near Key Cave including Collier
Slough Bone Cave, caves in adjacent counties, and other caves in
the Warsaw limestone formation and the Fort Payne chert formation.
3) Monitor the Key Cave aquifer to assess past trends in water table
flows and changes.
4) Develop baseline data on water quality.
5) Limit human access to protect extrinsic energy inputs (i.e. gray
bat colonies). Other sources of energy inputs into the cave
should be assessed. The impact of the loss of bats on cavefish in
Shelta Cave should be assessed. Also collecting for
scientific/educational or novelty value could be deleterious to
the breeding population.
6) Conduct biological/ecological studies of Key Cave ecosystem and
cavefish.
7) Land aquisition by purchase, conservation agreement or donation of
important habitat areas.
8) Protect the drainage or recharge area for the aquifer.
9) Control agricultural practices in recharge area.
10) Maintain water table and water quality.
Field surveys of caves near Key Cave including Collier Slough
Bone Cave, caves in adjacent counties, and other caves in the Warsaw
limestone formation and the Fort Payne chert formation have been
conducted.
Management Practices - 3 (DRAFT) - References
Species CAVEFISH, ALABAMA
Species Id ESIS254012
Date 13 MAR 96
References
***** REFERENCES FOR ALL NARRATIVES EXCEPT N-OCCURRENCE *****
01 Cooper, J.E. and R.A. Kuehne. 1974. Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni,
a new genus and species of subterranean fish from Alabama. Copeia
1974(2):486-493.
02 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1982. Alabama Cavefish Recovery
Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv., Atlanta, GA. 72 pp.
03 Cooper, J.E. 1980. Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni Cooper and Kuehne,
Alabama cavefish. P. 482 IN: Atlas of North American freshwater
fishes. D.S. Lee, et al. N.C. State Museum of Natural History,
Raleigh. x + 867 pp.
04 Cooper, J.E. 1977. American cave fishes and salamanders. Paper
presented to Interpretive Biology Session, National
Speleological Society Convention, Alpena, MI. 8 pp., ms.
05 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1977. Proposed endangered and
threatened status for 41 U.S. species of fauna. Fed. Reg.
42:2507-2515.
06 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1977. Final and threatened status
and Critical Habitat for 5 species of southeastern fishes. Fed.
Reg. 42:45526-45530.
07 Tennessee Valley Authority. 1981. Unpublished information from
Key Cave trip reports of TVA and USFWS biologists, on water quality
survey results and Pickwick Reservoir Plan.
08 Ramsey, J.S., W.M. Howell, and H.T. Boschung, Jr. 1972. Rare and
endangered fishes of Alabama. Pages. 57-86. IN: Rare and
endangered vertebrates of Alabama. Alabama Dept. Conserv. Nat.
Resour., Tuscaloosa. 92 pp.
09 Johnston, W.D., Jr. 1933. Ground water in the Paleozoic rocks of
northern Alabama. Part I: Text, 414 pp. Part II: Well and spring
tables (pages unnumbered). Special Report 16. Geol. Surv. Ala.,
University, Alabama.
10 Tuttle, M.D. 1975. Population ecology of the gray bat, Myotis
grisescens: Factors influencing early growth and development.
Occas. Pap. Mus. Nat. Hist. Univ. Kansas 36:1-24.
11 Tuttle, Merlin D. 1976. Population ecology of the gray bat,
Myotis grisescens: Factors influencing growth and survival of newly
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Date 13 MAR 96
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Date 13 MAR 96
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