the southeastern aquatic biodiversity conservation...

The Southeastern Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation Strategy

TheSoutheasternAquaticBiodiversityConservationStrategy

AreportforTheNationalFishandWildlifeFoundationpreparedby:

DuncanC.Elkins SarahC.SweatKatieS.Hill BernardR.Kuhajda

SethJ.Wenger AnnaL.GeorgeUniversityofGeorgia

RiverBasinCenter TennesseeAquarium

ConservationInstituteAthens,Georgia Chattanooga,TN

ProjectAdvisoryBoardSusieAdams USForestServicePaulAngermeier VirginiaTechUniversityKatherineBaer RiverNetworkArtBogan NorthCarolinaMuseumofNaturalSciencesBobButler USFish&WildlifeServiceStephanieChance USFish&WildlifeServiceTanyaDarden SouthCarolinaDepartmentofNaturalResourcesJessicaGraham SoutheasternAquaticResourcesPartnershipMikeHarris USFish&WildlifeServiceMichaelLaVoie EasternBandCherokeeIndiansPatO'Neil GeologicalSurveyofAlabamaPeggyShute USFish&WildlifeServiceToddSlack USArmyCorpsofEngineers-EngineerResearch&Development

CenterMattThomas KentuckyDepartmentofFish&WildlifeResources

Citation:Elkins,D.C.,Sweat,S.C.,Hill,K.S.,Kuhajda,B.R.,George,A.L.,Wenger,S.J.TheSoutheasternAquaticBiodiversityConservationStrategy.FinalReport.Athens(GA):UniversityofGeorgiaRiverBasinCenter;2016Dec.237p.

Acknowledgements

TheauthorswouldliketothankthefollowingIndividualswhocontributeddataortaxonomicexpertise:

SusieAdams,RebeccaBearden,TylerBlack,ArtBogan,BobButler,ArnieEversole,JeffGarner,WendellHaag,DonHubbs,BobJones,JessJones,ZachLoughman,StuartMcGregor,GuenterSchuster,Jeff

Simmons,ChrisSkelton,ChrisTaylor,RogerThoma,BronwynWilliams,CarlWilliams,JimWilliams,JasonWisniewski

Wewouldliketothankthefollowingindividualswhocontributedadviceorearlydraftreview:ScotDuncan,LaurieFowler,PaulFreeman

Fundingforthisprojectwasgenerouslyprovidedbygrantnumber0102.15.047037fromtheNationalFishandWildlifeFoundation.TheprojectteamwouldliketoacknowledgeDaveLawrence,Suzanne

Sessine,JayJensen,andJonScottfortheirsupportthroughoutthiseffort.

CoverPhotoCredits:Top:Awavy-rayedlampmussel,Lampsillisfasciola,nestledinthesubstrateusesitsluretobringfishclose.ClinchRiver.JeffreyBasinger,FreshwatersIllustrated.Middle:Awhitetailshiner,Cyprinellagalactura,swimsintheHiwasseeriver.JeffreyBasinger,FreshwatersIllustrated.Bottom:CrayfishintheConasaugaRiver.JeremyMonroe,FreshwatersIllustrated.

CONTENTS

EEXXEECCUUTTIIVVEESSUUMMMMAARRYY 11

IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN 33Lackoffundingforsoutheasternaquaticanimalsandhabitats 3HistoryofAquaticConservationPlanningandProtectionintheSoutheast 4ExistingPlanningEfforts 6

AnIntegratedPlan 8

MMEETTHHOODDSS 99

ProjectAdvisoryCommittee 9Box1.Presentationsduringtheprojectperiod 10

DefiningtheProjectArea 11

DataSourcesandAggregation 13Box2.IssuesinIntegratingStateWildlifeActionPlans 13

Fishes 14Crayfishes 14Mussels 16

PriorityCalculations 17

RREESSUULLTTSS 1177

PriorityAreasforFishes 17

PriorityAreasforCrayfishes 18

PriorityAreasforMussels 20

AllTaxaPriorityAreas 21

AParallelPrioritization:HotspotsforVulnerableSpecies 26

Sub-BasinPrioritybyState 27Alabama 28Florida 29Georgia 29Kentucky 30Mississippi 31NorthCarolina 32SouthCarolina 33Tennessee 34Virginia 35

Sub-BasinPrioritywithinSub-Regions(HUC-4) 36

Extinction,Extirpation,andErrorRates 45

SSOOUUTTHHEEAASSTTEERRNNCCOONNSSEERRVVAATTIIOONNCCAAPPAACCIITTYYAANNAALLYYSSIISS 5511

CapacityConclusions 55

WWHHAATTDDOOEESSCCOONNSSEERRVVAATTIIOONNCCOOSSTT?? 5566

CCOONNCCLLUUSSIIOONNSS 5588

RREEFFEERREENNCCEESS 5599

CitationsfromtheBodyoftheReport 59

ElectronicDataRequests 61

CitationsforVettingofFishData 61

AAPPPPEENNDDIIXXII::FFIISSHH,,CCRRAAYYFFIISSHH,,AANNDDMMUUSSSSEELLMMAAPPSS 6655

AAPPPPEENNDDIIXXIIII..NNAAMMEESSOOFFHHUUCC--88SSUUBB--BBAASSIINNSSIINNTTHHEESSOOUUTTHHEEAASSTT 7755

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EEXXEECCUUTTIIVVEESSUUMMMMAARRYYTheSoutheasternUnitedStatesisaglobalhotspotoffreshwaterbiodiversity,supportingalmosttwo-thirdsofthecountry’sfishspecies,over90%oftheUStotalspeciesofmusselsandnearlyhalfoftheglobaltotalforcrayfishspecies.Morethanaquarterofthisregion’sspeciesarefoundnowhereelseintheworld.Unfortunately,thisregionisalsoahotspotforimperilment.ThenumberofimperiledfreshwaterfishspeciesintheSoutheasthasrisen125%inthepast20years,inpartbecauserecentintensivehumandevelopmentofthisregioniscoupledwithalowpriorityforconservation.Scientificresearchhasextensivelydocumentedthecausesofspeciesimperilment,yeteffortstoreversethesetrendshavebeenhamperedbylimitedfundingandlackofpublicawareness.RelativetootherareasoftheUnitedStates,theSoutheasthaslittlelandinnationalparksorotherformsofprotectedareasandreceivesadisproportionatelysmallpercentageoffederalexpendituresforendangeredspeciesprotection;inthecaseoflistedfishesinbudgetyears2012-2014,Southeasternendemicsreceivedapproximately1%,perspecies,oftheamountspentonfishesfoundelsewhereinthecountry.Thisreportsummarizesanefforttoprioritizewatershedswithinthisregiontosupportfutureconservationinvestments.Wefirstdescribethedatasourcesandmethodsusedtoassembleadatasetofalmost1,050speciesoffishes,mussels,andstream-associatedcrayfishesandthelocationswheretheyarefound,thefirstentirelydata-drivenattempttomapthesethreetaxaonaconsistentfootingacrossthisbroadgeography.Weaggregatedthesecollectionpointsinto290watersheds,thencalculatedspeciesrichness,imperilment,andendemismscoresforeach.Workingwithanadvisoryteamoffourteenrespectedfederal,state,anduniversitybiologists,wecombinedthesescorestoderiveasingleoverallprioritizationforwatershedsintheSoutheast.WhileStateWildlifeActionPlans(SWAPs)thatincorporatedetailedsurveysofpopulationstatusandtrajectorymustcontinuetoguideconservationdecisionswithinindividualstates,ourregionalanalysisindicatesthatthehighestpriorityareasareintheAlabamaRiverbasin,particularlytheCoosasystem,andtheTennesseeRiverbasin,particularlytheMiddle-Tennessee.

Fromthislistofprioritizedareas,weselectedtenforfurtheranalysisofthreatstobiodiversityanddevelopedmanagementrecommendationstoaddresseach.TheseanalysesrelyoninformationdrawnfromSWAPssupplementedbyfinerscalewatershedorspecies-specificplans,whereavailable.Ourgoalwasnottoidentifyadefinitivesetofconservationprioritiesfortheregion.Instead,weproposethesetenasatractablesetoflocationswhereconservation

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investmentsarelikelytohaveagoodreturn.Wehavealsoexcerptedstate-andbasin-levelprioritizations,forpotentialuseinsmallerscaleplanning,andananalysishighlightingareaswithhighnumbersofvulnerablespecieswherepilotconservationprojectsmighteffectrapidrecoveries.Asanadjuncttotheanalysisofbiodiversity,threats,andmanagementactions,weinvestigatedthecapacityoftheconservationcommunityacrosstheSoutheastusingadatabaseofwatershedgroupsassembledbytheEPA.Althoughthisanalysiswasinconclusiveduetolimitationsinthedataset,thegroupsthatdidrespondtoourinquiriesappeartoberobustandactivelyengagedinconservationprojectsacrosstheSoutheast.Finally,weassessedwhatlevelofinvestmentmightberequiredtoachievemeaningfulandlong-termconservationobjectivesatthescaleoftheregionalanalysis.AusefulcomparisontogetacomprehensivesnapshotofisRaccoonCreekintheEtowahRiverbasinofGeorgia.Basedonadecadeofactionsbyseveralgroups,weconductedapreliminaryassessmentofthefundingthatwouldbesufficientforacomprehensivesuiteofsuccessfulconservationactions(withaheavyfocusonacquisition)resultingingoodprobabilityofthelong-termhealthoftheentire35,100-acrewatershed.Thisisanimportantbenchmark,butitalsoimportanttoknowthattargetedprojectsthataddresskeythreatsandopportunitiesmayhavedisproportionatebenefitsforamuchsmallerpricetag.Whilethefundingneedsarehigh,therearenumerouslocationswhereconservationactivitiesonthegroundcanstillmakeameaningfuldifferencetoconserveandenhancethisgloballyimportantresource.

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IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONNFreshwaterecosystemsareinperilacrosstheglobe.Almost6%oftheworld’sdescribedspeciesliveinfreshwater,despitethefactthatthesehabitatsoccupyonly0.8%oftheEarth’ssurfaceandfreshwateritselfisonly0.01%oftheearth’swater(Dudgeonetal.2006).Declinesinbiodiversityarefargreaterinfreshwatersthaninthemostterrestrialecosystemsbecausehumanslivedisproportionatelynearwaterwaysandextensivelymodifyriparianzones.Eveninsparselypopulatedareas,freshwaterecosystemsmaybenegativelyaffectedbytherunoffandrefuseofhumanactivity(Salaetal.2000)orbyalterationsofhydrologyviadamsorwaterdiversions(Lehneretal2011).Almostone-thirdofknowncrayfishspeciesareimperiledworldwide(Richmanetal.2015),alongwithone-thirdoffishspeciesandnearlythree-quartersofmusselspecies(Williamsetal.1989;Williamsetal.1993;WarrenandBurr1994).IntheUnitedStatesapproximately39%freshwaterfishspeciesareatriskofextinction(Jelksetal.2008)andBurkhead(2012)estimatesthattheextinctionrateforU.S.fishesfrom1900-2010wasalmostninehundredtimeshigherthanthebackgroundextinctionrateinprecedingmillennia.However,thesedirefiguresmaybeunderestimates,asasignificantportionoffreshwaterbiodiversityremainsuncataloguedorundescribed—sowemaybelosingspecieswedonotevenknowexist(BurkheadandJelks2000).Fromthecold,clearmountainstreamsoftheAppalachianMountainstothebayousoftheEasternGulfCoastalPlain,andfromthepocosinsofNorthCarolinatothecavecomplexesofKentucky,thelakes,rivers,andstreamsofthesoutheasternUnitedStatesarethemostdiverseontheNorthAmericanContinentandarguablythemostbiologicallyrichinthetemperateworld.Theregionisgeologicallyandtopographicallydiverse,withstreamsthatdraintowardtheAtlantic,theGulfofMexico,andtheMississippiRiver.Thisdiversityofhabitats,whichweresparedthemostrecentglaciation,hasprovidedthelocusforsustainedevolutionarydiversification(BulkheadandJelks,2000).Globalassessmentsofaquaticbiodiversity(Abelletal.2000,Collenetal.2014)haverepeatedlyfoundthatstreamsandriversinthesoutheasternUnitedStatescontainlevelsofdiversityandendemismthatrivalthetropics.Approximatelyhalftheworld’scrayfishspeciesarefoundintheSoutheast(Tayloretal.2007),asarealmost40%oftheworld’sfreshwatermusselspecies(91%ofmusselspeciesintheUSaresoutheastern;GrafandCummings2007,Nevesetal.1997).Thesoutheasternlandscapehasalsobeenextensivelyalteredbyhumanactivities,andthesemodificationshavetakenatollonaquaticspecies(BenzandCollins1997).Therateofimperilmentmaybeincreasing;themostrecentassessmentbyWarrenetal.(2000)assignedanimperiledstatusto28%ofsoutheasternfishesandnotedthatthis“representsa75%increaseinjeopardizedsouthernfishessince1989anda125%increasein20years.”LackoffundingforsoutheasternaquaticanimalsandhabitatsAlthoughthesoutheasternUnitedStateshasthegreatestaquaticbiodiversityonthecontinentandinthetemperateworld,othersareasofthecountryreceivefarmorefundsforfreshwateraquaticconservation.FederalandstateexpendituresonfederallylistedaquaticspeciesintheUnitedStatesoverthreefiscalyears(USFWS2012,2013,2014)showslowerspendingonfreshwateraquaticspeciesfoundsolelywithintheareaofthisproject(290HUC-8sub-basins,seeDefiningtheProjectArea,below)versusthosefoundsolelyoutsideofourarea.For

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example,thevastmajorityoffederallylistedfreshwatermusselsarerestrictedtotheSoutheast(50-60speciesor83.3-85.3%)butonlyreceive61.7-71.5%offundingallocated.SpeciesfoundsolelyoutsideoftheSoutheastreceive2.3-3.4timesmorefundingperspecies.Fewfreshwatercrustaceans(crayfishesincluded)werefederallythreatenedorendangeredin2012-2014,butasignificantpercentarepresentintheSoutheast(19.0-21.1,4species)yetonlyreceive2.1-5.0%offunding;speciesoutsideofthisareareceive4.4-12.5timesthefundingperspecies.Finally,ourstudyareahas35-36listedspeciesoffreshwaterfishes(28.8-29.2%)butonlyreceives0.8-1.1%offunding.SpeciesoutsideoftheSoutheastreceiveanastonishing35.3-52.0timesmorefundingperspecies.Thisdisparitywillcontinuetogrow,asmanyofthe404southeasternaquaticspeciesthathavebeenforlisting(CBD2010,USFWS2011)areultimatelyexpectedtoreceivefederalprotection.HistoryofAquaticConservationPlanningandProtectionintheSoutheastTheneedforaquaticconservationintheSoutheasthasnotgoneunremarked.Intheir“Global200”listofoutstandingandrepresentativeecoregions,OlsonandDinerstein(1998)listedMississippiPiedmontriversandstreamsandSoutheasternriversandstreamsastwoofthe18entriesintheircategoryforsmallriversandstreams.Twelveyearslater,AWorldWildlifeFundreportidentified145sitesasprioritiesforNorthAmericanfreshwaterconservation(includingCanadaandMexico),ofwhichalmostone-third(45)wereintheSoutheast(Abelletal.2000).In2002,TheNatureConservancyproducedanextensiveassessmentofpriorityareasforconservationintheSoutheast(Smithetal.2002).Theanalysisandprioritizationpresentedinthisreportoweasignificantdebttotheseefforts.TheexistingnetworkofconservationlandsisclearlyinsufficienttopreservetheaquaticbiodiversityoftheSoutheast.Onthenationalscale,mostprotectedlandsareintheintermountainWest(Figure1),whilepriorityareasforbiodiversityconservationareintheSoutheast,CaliforniaandTexas(Jenkinsetal.2015).ProtectedareassuchastheNationalParkssystemprovideafoundation,butonlysupport18%ofimperiledfishesnationwide(Lawrenceetal.2011).Oflandsinpublicorprivateconservationwithinourprojectarea,justunder3.5%haspermanentprotectionfreeofextractiveuses,withorwithoutdisturbancemanagement(GAPprogramstatuscodes1and2).ThereiscomparativelylittlefederallandintheSoutheast—alsoabout3.5%ofthestudyarea—althoughtherearescatteredlargetractssuchasGreatSmokyMountainsNationalPark,theOkeefenokeeSwamp,andseveralstateandnationalforestsincoastalFlorida.ManyoftheseconservationlandsbelongtotheNationalParksSystem,butonlyabout43%ofsoutheasternfishspeciesarerepresentedwithinthissystem,andsometimesonlyinsmallnumbers(Longetal.2012).ProtectedlandsalsodonotencompassthefullrangeofhabitatswithinwatershedsintheSoutheast(e.g.,Thiemeetal.2016),astheyaredisproportionatelyathighelevationswithlimitedaquaticbiodiversity(Warrenetal.2000).

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Figure1.ProtectedAreasoftheUS.Source:USGS(http://gapanalysis.usgs.gov/)

IfpubliclandsaremorefoundationthansolutionforconservationintheSoutheast,whatotheropportunitiesarepresent?Anumberofavenuesexisttoeffectmeaningfulconservationprojectsonprivatelands,includingthePartnersforFishandWildlifeProgramattheUSFishandWildlifeService,whichprovidesexperttechnicalassistanceandcost-shareincentivesdirectlytoprivatelandownerstorestorefishandwildlifehabitats.Partnersprojectsrequirethatlandownerssignavoluntarycooperativeagreementwithadurationofatleasttenyears.ThisprogramtracesitsauthoritybacktotheFishandWildlifeActof1956andwasformallyestablishedbythePartnersforFishandWildlifeAct,passedin2006,inwhichCongressrecognizedthat“itisimperativetofacilitateprivatelandowner-centeredandresults-orientedeffortsthatpromoteefficientandinnovativewaystoprotectandenhancenaturalresources.”ThePartnersprogramhasexpandedfromprairiewetlandsprotectionafterdroughtsinthe1980stoincludeplantedgrassbuffersaroundthewetlands,uplandhabitatwork,streamrestoration,fishhabitatandendangeredspecieshabitatrestoration.Itisimportanttonotethatprimaryresponsibilityforwildlifemanagementbeforeafederallistingisthepurviewofthe50states.Statefishandwildlifeagencieshavebeenparticularlysuccessfulatprojectsforconservinggamespecies,typicallywithfundsfromhuntingandfishinglicensefeesandfederalexcisetaxes.Theconservationofthefarmorenumerousnon-gamespecieshas,since2000,beenfundedsubstantiallythroughtheStateandTribalWildlifeGrants

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program,commonlycalled“StateWildlifeGrants”or“SWGs,”throughwhichfederaldollarssupportcost-effectiveconservationaimedatpreventingwildlifefrombecomingthreatenedorendangered.Awidevarietyofnon-governmentalorganizationsalsotakesresponsibilityforconservationonprivatelands.Theseorganizationsvaryinscopeandsophistication,fromlarge,science-drivennationalnon-profitssuchasTheNatureConservancytolocal“adopt-a-stream”groupsfocusedonclean-upsandmonitoringofafewmilesofriverinasinglewatershed.Insomeriverbasins,theremaybemanylocalNGOgroupsworkingalongsideoneanother;inotherbasins,theremaybenoneatall.Inalatersectionofthisreport,wereportontheresultsofapreliminary“capacityanalysis”—anattempttoestimatethenumberofNGOsoperatingindifferentbasinswithintheSoutheast.ExistingPlanningEffortsTherehavebeenmanyattemptstodefineareasoridentifypriorityspeciesforconservationacrosstheSoutheast.ThemostcomprehensiveoftheseeffortsistheStateWildlifeActionPlansdevelopedbythestatewildlifeagencies.Other,watershed-ortaxa-specificplanshavebeendevelopedbyfederalagenciesandNGOs.CongressestablishedtheSWGprogramin2001toaddressimportantwildlifeissuesthathavetraditionallybeenunderfunded.Fundsareawardedbasedonaformulathatconsiderseachstate’spopulationandtotalgeographicarea.Underthisprogram,statesarerequiredtodevelopcomprehensiveplanstoguidetheconservationofnongamespecieswiththegoalsofidentifyingspeciesinneedofconservationattentionandpreventingthreatenedandendangeredspecieslistings.ToqualifyfortheSWGprogram,eachstateandterritoryisrequiredtodevelopa“ComprehensiveWildlifeConservationStrategy,”sometimescalledaStateWildlifeActionPlanorSWAP.Ataminimum,SWAPsmustbeupdatedevery10years.IntheSoutheast,moststates’firstSWAPswereapprovedin2005,whichledtoaroundofrevisionsin2015.EachSWAPmustcontain8requiredelements(source:http://teaming.com/swap-overview):

1. Informationonthedistributionandabundanceofwildlifespecies,includinglowanddecliningpopulationsasthestatefishandwildlifeagencydeemsappropriate,thatareindicativeofthediversityandhealthofthestate’swildlife;

2. Descriptionsoflocationsandrelativeconditionofkeyhabitatsandcommunitytypesessentialtoconservationofthespeciesidentifiedin(1);

3. Descriptionsofproblemswhichmayadverselyaffectspeciesidentifiedin(1)ortheirhabitats,andpriorityresearchandsurveyeffortsneededtoidentifyfactorswhichmayassistinrestorationandimprovedconservationofthesespeciesandhabitats;

4. Descriptionsofconservationactionsproposedtoconservetheidentifiedspeciesandhabitatsandprioritiesforimplementingsuchactions;

5. Proposedplansformonitoringspeciesidentifiedin(1)andtheirhabitats,formonitoringtheeffectivenessoftheconservationactionsproposedin(4),andforadaptingtheseconservationactionstorespondappropriatelytonewinformationorchangingconditions;

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6. Descriptionsofprocedurestoreviewthestrategyatintervalsnottoexceedtenyears;7. Plansforcoordinatingthedevelopment,implementation,review,andrevisionofthe

planwithfederal,stateandlocalagenciesandIndiantribesthatmanagesignificantlandandwaterareaswithinthestateoradministerprogramsthatsignificantlyeffecttheconservationofidentifiedspeciesandhabitats;

8. Inclusionofbroadpublicparticipationasanessentialelementofdevelopingandimplementingtheseplans.

Tosatisfyobjective1,allplansidentifythe“speciesofgreatestconservationneed,”includingmanyspecieswhichhaveexperiencedsignificantpopulationdeclines.ThreatstothesespeciesarealsodescribedintheSWAPsandincludesuchfactorsashabitatlossorfragmentation,competitionfromnon-nativespecies,andstressorsrelatedtoclimatechange.TheSWAPsidentifyhabitatsandactionsneededtorestoreormaintainviablepopulationsofthesespecies.Becausetheseplansrepresentcontemporaryeffortswithidenticalgoals,albeitsubstantiallydifferingmethodologies,thathavebeenreviewedbystate,federal,academic,andNGObiologists,theyformthefoundationofouranalysisofwatershedthreatsandrecommendedconservationactions.Onedifficultywithdevelopingaregionalsynthesisfromasetofstatewideplansistheproblemofassessingthestatusofspecieswhoserangesencompassmultiplestates.Ifaspecieswithawidespreaddistributionisfoundinonlyasmallnumbersinaparticularstate,itsapparent“rarity”isoftengroundsforinclusionamongthatstate’sSpeciesofGreatestConservationNeed(SGCN).OtherdifficultiesinreconcilingprioritiesacrossstatebordersariseduetodifferencesinthescaleofanalysisorplanningchosenbythevariousstateSWAPcommittees.Somestatesusetherelativelyfine10-digitHydrologicUnitCode(HUC)or“watershed”level,whileothersuseacoarser8-digitHUCor“sub-basin,”whilestillothersuseamixofarealandlinear(i.e.stream-reach)unitsorsimplymajorhabitat/ecoregiontypes(seeBox2,below).Weultimatelychosetostandardizeouranalysisbyusingpublishedrange-wideimperilmentrankingsforeachspeciesfromthescientificliteratureandtostandardizeontheHUC-8sub-basinasourunitofanalysis,asdescribedinthenextsection.InadditiontotheSWAPs,therearenumerousbasin-level,regional,andsub-regionalplansfortheSoutheast.Someexamplesoftheseinclude:

• The2014ImperiledAquaticSpeciesConservationStrategyfortheUpperTennesseeRiverBasin(UTRB).Thisproject’sgoalwastodevelopacost-effectiveapproachtoguideconservationandmanagementofimperiledfreshwaterfishandmusselspeciesintheUTRB.

• TheDaleHollowNationalFishHatcherydevelopedaplanfortheLowerDuckin2014basedonalocalprioritization.

• TheSoutheastAquaticResourcePartnership(SARP)developedplansin2005forfourpilotwatershedsintheSoutheasternU.S.(theDuckRiver,theAltamahaRiver,theRoanokeinNC&VA,andthePascagoulainMS)totestthedevelopmentoftheSoutheasternAquaticHabitatPlan.

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• TheTennesseeFreshwaterMolluskStrategicPlandevelopedbyTheNatureConservancyin2013

• ApreliminaryprojectplanfortheConasaugaNationalWildlifeRefugedevelopedbytheFishandWildlifeServicein2009

• AGreenRiverConservationBusinessPlandevelopedbyTNCforFY2015-2019• AnUpperTennesseeMusselRestorationStrategypublishedin2010bytheVirginia

DepartmentofGameandInlandFisheries• AnAlabamaRiverandMobileBaywatershedassessmentpreparedfortheEPAin2014,

toidentifyhealthywatershedsandcharacterizerelativewatershedhealthacrossthestateandbasin

• AsetofFloridaSurfaceWaterImprovementandManagement(SWIM)Actplansdatedbetween1997-2011for

o St.JohnsRivero ApalachicolaRiverandBayo ChoctawhatcheeRiverandBayo OchlockoneeRiverandBayo PensacolaBaySystemo St.AndrewBayo St.MarksRivero PerdidoRiverandBay

• ATNCwatershedassessmentfrom2015assessingopportunitiespost-DeepwaterHorizonspillinthePerdido

AnIntegratedPlanThisprojectwasinitiatedbyagrantfromtheNationalFishandWildlifeFoundationtotheUniversityofGeorgiaRiverBasinCenterandtheTennesseeAquariumConservationInstitutetoidentifypotentialfreshwaterconservationprioritiesintheSoutheast,inordertohelpguidepotentialfutureconservationinvestments(byanyinterestedparty).Giventhelargenumberofexistingplans,includingrecentlycompletedSWAPs,weinitiallyproposedtostitchtogetheracoherent,integratedplanbydrawingonthispastwork.Thisapproachwasalsointendedtoavoidexacerbatingtheproblemof“planningfatigue,”particularlyamongovertaxedagencybiologists.However,itsoonbecameapparentthatdifferencesinSWAPmethodologies(seebox)wouldmakethisapproachchallengingandpotentiallyineffective.Atthesametime,wediscoveredthattherewasalargeramountofreadilyavailable,good-qualityspeciesoccurrencedatathatcouldbeusedasthebasisforanempirical,data-drivenapproachtospatialprioritization.Therefore,werevisedtheapproachtoincludethefollowingelements:

1) Aspatialanalysisthatscoredwatersheds(attheHUC8scale)onthebasisofrichness,endemismandimperilmentforavailabletaxonomicgroups.

2) Multiplerankingsofwatershedsbasedonthesescores,includinganoverallcombinedranking,astate-by-stateranking,andawithin-basinranking,tosupportdifferentapplicationsoftheresults.Wealsocreatedauser-friendlydatabasetoallowadditionalanalysesofthewatershed-scaledata.

3) Alimited,preliminarycapacityanalysis.

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4) Abriefanalysisofthecost-benefitofconservationspendingintheregion,basedonacasestudy.

5) Analysisoflikelythreatsandpotentialmanagementactionsfortenofthehighest-scoringwatersheds.ThisextensivedocumentisincludedasAppendixIII.

MMEETTHHOODDSS

ProjectAdvisoryCommitteeAlthoughthecoreprojectteamhasover90yearscombinedexperiencewithaquaticconservationintheSoutheast,ourknowledgeisprimarilywithfishesandconcentratedintheAlabama/MobileandTennessee/Cumberlanddrainages.Toensuresufficienttaxonomicandgeographicbreadth,ourfirststepwastoassembleanadvisorycommitteecomposedofexpertswithdiversespecializationsfromacrosstheprojectareaandincludingbothstateandfederalbiologists,alongwithacademics(Table1).Thiscommitteehadseveralroles:tofacilitatedataacquisition,tohelpdeveloptheoverallanalyticapproach,andtovettheinterimandfinalresults.Wecommunicatedwiththisgroupprimarilythroughwebinarsbutconvenedonein-personworksessioninNovember,2015.Table1AdvisoryBoardMembers

Name Affiliation

SusieAdams USForestService

PaulAngermeier VirginiaTechUniversity

KatherineBaer RiverNetwork

ArtBogan NCMuseumofNaturalSciences

BobButler USFish&WildlifeService

StephanieChance USFish&WildlifeService

TanyaDarden SCDepartmentofNaturalResources

JessicaGraham SoutheasternAquaticResourcesPartnership

MikeHarris USFish&WildlifeService

MichaelLaVoie EasternBandCherokeeIndians

PatO'Neil GeologicalSurveyofAlabama

PeggyShute USFish&WildlifeService

ToddSlack USArmyCorpsofEngineers-EngineerResearchandDevelopmentCenter

MattThomas KYDepartmentofFish&WildlifeResources

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Beyondregularconsultationwithouradvisorycommittee,weconductedseverallevelsofoutreachandreviewthroughoutthisprocess.Wepresentedseveralsetsofinterimresultsatregionalandnationalmeetings(SoutheasternFishesCouncil,AmericanSocietyofIchthyologistsandHerpetologists)andtomeetingsofthe“At-RiskSpeciesCommittee”oftheSoutheastAssociationofFishandWildlifeAgencies(Box1).Onceourprioritizationmethodwasfinalized,wepublishedadraftprioritizationinAugust,2016,onourwebsite,askedouradvisorycommitteeandthoseonthecrayfishandmusselcommitteestoreviewandsolicitthereviewoftheirprofessionalnetworks,andrequestedcommentsfromtheScienceManagersoftheLandscapeConservationCooperativeswithinourprojectboundaries(theSouthAtlantic,Appalachian,GulfCoastPrairieOzark,andPeninsularFloridaLCCS).

Box1.PresentationsduringtheprojectperiodPresenterisshowninboldElkins,D.C.,A.L.George,S.C.Hazzard,B.Kuhajda,andS.J.Wenger.2016.Thesoutheasternaquaticbiodiversityconservationstrategy.CumberlandPlateau,Ridge&Valley,andNorthernPiedmontNationalForestAt-riskSpeciesWorkshop,Asheville,NC.Elkins,D.C.,A.L.George,S.C.Hazzard,B.Kuhajda,andS.J.Wenger.2016.Thesoutheasternaquaticbiodiversityconservationstrategy.Mississippiandnorth-centralAlabamapubliclandsAt-riskSpeciesWorkshop,Jackson,MS.Elkins,D.C.,A.L.George,S.C.Hazzard,B.Kuhajda,andS.J.Wenger.2016.Thesoutheasternaquaticbiodiversityconservationstrategy.TennesseeRareFishesmeeting,Nashville,TN.Elkins,D.C.,A.L.George,S.C.Hazzard,B.Kuhajda,andS.J.Wenger.2016.Thesoutheasternaquaticbiodiversityconservationstrategy.AnnualMolluskandCrayfishMeeting,FortPayne,AL.George,A.L.September2016.Protectinganunderwaterrainforest:AdvancingfreshwaterconservationscienceinthesoutheasternUnitedStates.AssociationofZoosandAquariums,SanDiego,CA.George,A.L.,D.C.Elkins,S.C.Hazzard,B.R.Kuhajda,andS.J.Wenger.August2016.Conservationplanningforsoutheasternaquaticbiodiversity.TennesseeRiverBasinBiodiversityNetworkMeeting,Chattanooga,TN.George,A.L.,D.C.Elkins,S.C.Hazzard,B.R.Kuhajda,andS.J.Wenger.July2016.Conservationplanningforsoutheasternaquaticbiodiversity.JointMeetingofIchthyologistsandHerpetologists,NewOrleans,LA.Elkins,D.C.,A.LGeorge,S.C.Hazzard,B.R.Kuhajda,andS.J.Wenger.July2016.Whofollowsthefish?Patternsinthefishes,mussels,andcrayfishesoftheSoutheast.JointMeetingofIchthyologistsandHerpetologists,NewOrleans,LA.Elkins,D.C.,A.LGeorge,S.C.Hazzard,B.R.Kuhajda,andS.J.Wenger.November2015.TheSoutheasternAquaticBiodiversityConservationStrategy(Poster).AnnualMeetingoftheSoutheasternFishesCouncil,Gainesville,FL.

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DefiningtheProjectAreaWedefinedtheprojectarea(Figure2)usingacombinationofgeographicandbiogeographicboundariesdrawnfromfishdistributions,asfollows:

AtlanticSlopeThenorthernlimitistheRoanokeRiverinVirginia/NorthCarolina.ThisisthelastmajordrainagesouthoftheChesapeakeBaydrainages,andisthemostspecies-richAtlanticSlopedrainageforfishes.ThereisalsoadistributionalbreakbetweentheRoanokeRiverandtheJamesRiverdrainagetothenorth,withninespeciesoffishesreachingtheirnorthernlimitintheRoanokeandsixdifferentspeciesreachingtheirsouthernlimitintheJames.ThesouthernlimitistheSt.JohnsRiverdrainageinFlorida.Thisiswhere20speciesoffishesreachtheirsouthernlimitalongtheAtlanticSlope.

GulfSlopeTwelvefishspeciesreachtheireasternlimitintheSuwanneeRiverdrainageinFlorida/Georgia,butbyextendingourareaslightlysouthtoincludetheCrystal-PithlachascotteandWithlacoocheeHUC-8(i.e.,the8-digithydrologicunitcodewatersheds)sub-basinswewereabletoincludetheentiredistributionofanadditionaleightspecies.ThewesternlimitofourareaalongtheGulfSlopeistheLakePontchartraindrainageinSoutheastLouisianaandsouthMississippi,wheretwelvespeciesreachtheirwesternlimit.

MississippiRiverDrainageAlldirecteasterntributariestotheMississippiRiverdownstreamofthemouthoftheOhioRiverareincluded.Thesesystemscontainnumerousnarrowendemicspeciesofmadtomsanddartersandarethewesternterminusformanymorewide-rangingsoutheasternfishes.

OhioRiverDrainageWithoneexception(seebelow),theeasternlimitforadrainageconnectingtotheOhioRiveristheLickingRiverdrainageinKentucky.ThisdrainageisthestrongholdformanyfishesfoundfurtherupstreamintheOhioRiverbasin,andthelastupstreamstrongholdonthesouthernsideoftheOhioRiverforfivefishspecies.OhioRiverBasintributariesfurtherupstreamareexcludedduetologisticalconstraints,asareHUCsthatstraddlethemainstemoftheOhioRiverinKentuckyandextendintoOhio,Indiana,andIllinois.TheoneexceptionistheKanawhaRiverdrainageinWestVirginia,Virginia,andNorthCarolina,whichisincludedduetoitsreach(theNewRiver)intotheSoutheast(NorthCarolina).ThedownstreamextentforourareaisatKanawhaFalls;eightendemicfishspeciesarefoundabovethesefallsintheNewandGauleyrivers.

12

Figure2ProjectArea:“TheSoutheast.”AdditionalmapsofallHUC-8sub-watershedsintheprojectareamapbefoundinAppendixII.

13

DataSourcesandAggregation

Toidentifythewatershedswhich,ifprotectedandrestored,wouldcontainthehighestbiodiversityofnativeaquaticorganismsintheSoutheast,wecompileddatasetsoffieldobservationsfromuniversityresearchers,museums,stateagencies,andonlinedatabasesderivedfromthesesources(seefish,crayfish,andmusselsectionsforfulllistofdatasources).Wefoundthatthenumberanddistributionofobservationswassufficienttobuildmapsforfishes,crayfishes,andmussels,butnotforotherinvertebratessuchasaquaticsnails.Weelectednottoincludeamphibiansinthisanalysisduetologisticalandtimeconstraints,particularlybecauseoftheadditionalanalysisrequiredtoexcludespeciesthatwereonlyminimallydependentonaquatichabitat.Mostoftheobservationsconsistedofpointrecords,reflectingonesurveyataspecifictime,butsomeagenciesprovideduswithpolygoncoverages,reflectingareasinwhichaparticularspecieshasbeencollectedoveralongerperiodoftime.Polygoncoveragesweremoretypicalforimperiledspecies.

Box2.IssuesinIntegratingStateWildlifeActionPlansOnekeytothesuccessofthiseffortwastobuildonthefoundationoftheSWAPs,whichcontainthebestcontemporarysynthesisofpopulationstatus,threats,andconservationopportunitiesforthestatesintheSoutheast.However,weencounteredseveralchallengesinourattemptstointegrateSWAPs.First,thestatecommitteeschosedifferingspatialscalesfortheSWAPanalysesandpriorityareas.ThiswasaproblemevenwhereAlabama’sprioritizationextendedintoGeorgiaandFlorida.Forexample,notalloftheareasinAlabama’sUpperCoosaRiverTributariesStrategicHabitatUnitbasinwererankedhighprioritybyGeorgia’sanalysis.Similarly,Alabama’sConecuhStrategicRiverReachisinneitherofthelistsof12riverbasinsFloridahighlightsasspecialpriorityforconservationorenhancement.Second,primarilybecauseSpeciesofGreatestConservationNeed(SGCN)aredesignatedonthebasisofraritywithinastate’spoliticalboundariesratherthanacrosstheirnativerange,therewereanumberofdiscrepanciesbetweentheSGCNlistsofadjacentstatesthatderivedfromwidespreadspeciesthatwerefoundonlyinwatershedsthatcrossedstatelines.Wecalledthis“S1G5inflation”inreferencetospeciesthatwere,accordingtotheNatureServeconservationstatussystem,globallysecure(G5designation)butlocallycriticallyimperiled(S1designations).Resolvingthiswouldhaverequiredaspecies-by-speciesreviewofeachstate’sSGCNlisttoavoidincorrectlyelevatingaregionallysecurespeciestoimperiledstatus.Third,thestatestookdifferentapproachestodevelopingandcategorizingtheirSCGNlistsanddifferentinterpretationsofthechargeto“keepcommonspeciescommon”topreventfederallistingofspeciesundertheEndangeredSpeciesAct.Insomecases,notablyTennessee,thehighestprioritySCGNtierspecificallyexcludedESA-listedspecies,whileinGeorgiaaquaticspecieswereaddedtotheSCGNiftheyhadbeenpetitionedforlistingundertheESA.This,asabove,wouldhaverequiredanextensivereanalysisofeachstate’sspecieslist.

14

Weaggregatedallpointandpolygoncollectiondataby8-digitHydrologicUnitCode(HUC-8;thisistechnicallyreferredtoasa“sub-basin”butherewealsousethecommon-languageterm“watershed”).Thisresultedinspeciesrangemapscovering290planningunitsfortheSoutheastwithanaveragesizeof3,500squarekilometers(1,351squaremiles)each.Althoughmanagementdecisionsareoftenmadeatfinerscales,wejudgedthistobeanappropriatescaleforaggregationtominimizediscontinuousdistributionsresultingfromunevensampling.Foralltaxonomicgroupsweonlyincludednativespecies.Weincludedundescribedspeciesiftheywererecognizedinliterature(publishedpapers,books,SWAPs)andtherewasinformationavailableontheirdistributionandimperilmentstatus.Wedidnotincludespeciesknowntobeextinctbutretainedrecordsofspeciesthoughttobecurrentlyextirpated,ontheassumptionthatre-introductionfromanotherpopulationcouldbepossible.Wherepossible,weexcludedintroducedranges.Specieswhichhadtheirentirerangewithinthe290HUC-8sub-basinareawereclassifiedassoutheasternendemics.Itshouldbenotedthatbiogeographicpatternsforothertaxamaynotalignexactlywithourrepresentationofasoutheasternfaunaforfishes.Speciescharacterizedas“southeasterncrayfishes,”inparticular,mightreasonablyextendintoportionsofLouisianaandArkansas.Wedidnotanticipatebeingabletodevelopacrayfishlayerfortheentireregionwhenwesettheprojectboundaries,andacknowledgethatthismayimposeadownwardbiasonthecrayfishendemismscoresforsub-basinsinwesternMississippiandwesternTennessee.

Predictably,manyoftheoriginalrecordscontainederrors,eitherspatialortaxonomic.S.Hazzardorganizedandcorrectedrawdatasodraftmapscouldbeproducedforallspecies.Furthercorrectionsweremadebyotherteammembers,advisoryboardmembersandotherexperts,asdescribedinthesubsequentsections.FishesFishdataweredownloadedfromMultistateAquaticResourcesInformationSystem(MARIS),FishNet2,andtheGlobalBiodiversityInformationFacility(GBIF).AggregatedfishdatawerevettedbyspeciesandHUC-8sub-basinsbyB.Kuhajdausingpublished“Fishesof”statebooks,onlineatlases,orprimaryliteratureforrecentlydescribedspecies.(AlistofthereferencesconsultedisprovidedintheReferencessectionunderthesub-heading“Citationsforvettingoffishdata.“)Asagroup,fishesarethebest-studiedfreshwatertaxonintheSoutheast,bothwithregardtotaxonomyanddistribution,withnumerousdistributionalreferencesatthecountry,stateanddrainagelevels.Forthisreason,itwasnotnecessarytoheavilyconsultwithoutsideexpertsaswedidwithmusselsandcrayfishes.WeassignedimperilmentstatusforfishspeciesusingtheranksinJelks,etal.,2008,modifiedinsomecasesfornewtaxonomyorwhereanupdatedassessmentwasavailable.Imperilmentcategorieswere“endangered,“threatened,”and“vulnerable.”ThesecategoriesdonotnecessarilycorrespondtolistingstatusundertheEndangeredSpeciesActorstateprograms.CrayfishesWecontactedsoutheasternastacologistsbeginningwiththosewhohadattendedthe2015symposium“Conservation,Ecology,andTaxonomyofSoutheasternCrayfish”attheannual

15

meetingoftheSouthernDivisionoftheAmericanFisheriesSocietyinSavannah,Georgia,andaskediftheyhadrelevantdatasetsofcrayfishdistributionsthattheywouldbewillingtohaveaggregatedforthisproject.Insomecases,theyreferredustoanotherresearcheroramuseumdatabase.Ultimately,wereceivedpolygonorpointdatafrom17sources(Table2),includingonequeryoftheGBIFonlinedatabaseforrecordsfromtheFloridaMuseumofNaturalHistoryandonequerycoveringmostofGeorgiafromtheSmithsonianMuseum’sdatabase,whichreturnedrecordsthatwemanuallygeoreferencedusingroadandstreamintersections.WeconvenedameetinginChattanooga,TN,onJune1and2,2016,thatincludedmostoftheresearcherswhohadprovideddata.Inthismeeting,wereviewedthedistributionmapsforHUC-8levelrangemapsgeneratedbythecombinationandaggregationoftheinputdatasets.Thisinitiallistincludedcavespeciesandspeciesnotclassifiedasprimaryburrowersandcontainedsomespecieswithunclearordisputedtaxonomy.Thegroupcorrectedtaxonomicandgeographicerrorsandassignedsoutheastendemismformostspecies,althoughapproximatelytwentyspecieswereflaggedforfurtherreviewbyindividualsnotatthemeetingorwhereamoreextensiveliteraturesearchwasrequired.Thesemapsweresubsequentlycorrectedviaemailcommunications.Thecrayfishcommitteealsoaddedtoourspeciessetasmallnumberofprimaryburrowerswhichthegroupagreedweresufficientlyflowing-waterassociatedtobeconsideredstream-dependent.Whilewereferto“crayfishes”throughoutthedocument,itshouldbenotedthatourexclusionofprimaryburrowingspeciesneglectsapproximately15%ofdescribedspecies,includingalmostathirdofthosewith“criticallyimperiled”conservationstatus(WelchandEversole,2005).WeassignedcrayfishimperilmentranksbasedonconsultationwithChrisTayloroftheIllinoisNaturalHistorySurvey,whomaintainsanupdatedlistfromthemostrecentAmericanFisheriesSocietystatuspaper(Taylor,etal,2007).Table2Astacologistswhocontributeddataorreviewedcrayfishdistributionmaps

Name AffiliationProvidedData

In-PersonReview

EmailReview

SusieAdams USFS X X X

TylerBlack NCWildlifeResourcesCommission X X

ChrisSkelton HNTBCorporation X X

ArnieEversole ClemsonUniv. X X X

BobJones MSMuseumofNaturalScience X

ZachLoughman WestLibertyUniv. X X X

GuenterSchuster EasternKYUniv.(retired) X X

ChrisTaylor ILNaturalHistorySurvey X X

RogerThoma MidwestBiodiversityInstitute X X

BronwynWilliams NCMuseumofNaturalSciences X X

CarlWilliams TNWildlifeResourcesAgency X

DavidWithers TNDepartmentofEnvironmentandConservation

X X X

16

Name AffiliationProvidedData

In-PersonReview

EmailReview

GeologicalSurveyofAL X

ILNaturalHistorySurvey X

KYDepartmentofFish&WildlifeResources

X

JeffSimmons TNValleyAuthority X X

SmithsonianNMNH X

GBIF X

StuartMcGregor GeologicalSurveyofAL X X

RebeccaBearden GeologicalSurveyofAL X

MusselsMuseumrecordsweretheprimarysourceofmusselpointlocations.WerequestedallmusselrecordsforthestudyareaorqueriedtheonlinedatabasesoftheOhioStateUniversityMuseumofBiologicalDiversity,theNorthCarolinaMuseumofNaturalScience,andtheMississippiMuseumofNaturalScience.WealsoobtainedthestatedatabasesforAlabama,Kentucky,andGeorgia.AllcontributorsarelistedinTable3.Table3Malacologistswhocontributeddataorreviewedmusseldistributionmaps

Name Affiliation Data ReviewJeffGarner ALDepartmentofConservation&

NaturalResourcesX

StuartMcGregor GeologicalSurveyofAL X JasonWisniewski GADepartmentofNaturalResources X XBobJones MSMuseumofNaturalScience X XArtBogan NCMuseumofNaturalSciences X X

OhioStateUniversityMuseumofBiologicalDiversity

X

JimWilliams FloridaMuseumofNaturalHistory X XBobButler

USFish&WildlifeService X

WendellHaag

USForestService X

JessJones

VADepartmentofFishandWildlifeConservation

X

DonHubbs

TNWildlifeResourcesAgency X

KYDepartmentofFishandWildlife X GeologicalSurveyofAL X GADepartmentofNaturalResources X

Thesepointrecords(HUC-12polygonsforKentucky)wereaggregatedandspeciesrangemapswereproducedasforfishes.Weemployedanexpert-opinionapproach,emailingcollectionsofrangemapstomalacologistswithregionalexpertise(Table3)whoassignedendemismanddeliveredcorrectedmapsinwritingoroverthephone.Mostareaswereassignedtomorethan

17

onereviewer,andconflictswererare.However,thisprocesswasnotasthoroughasthemulti-partydiscussionthatoccurredwithinthecrayfishreviewgroup.Musselimperilmentscoresweredrawnfromanin-pressdistributionandimperilmentappendixformusselsfromJimWilliams,developedfortheFreshwaterMolluskConservationSociety.

PriorityCalculationsWecalculatedspeciesrichnessforfishes,crayfishes,andmusselsforeachHUC-8sub-basinasthesumofindividualspeciespresentineach.WecalculatedweightedimperilmentsumsforeachHUC-8byassigning3pointsforeachendangeredspeciesfoundthere,2pointsforeachthreatenedspecies,and1pointforeachvulnerablespecies.Thispointsystemwasadmittedlyarbitrary;otherpointsystemsarepossible.InanefforttocapturenotonlythetotalbiodiversityinanareabutalsothedistinctbiotaoftheSoutheast,wederivedanendemismscoreforeachHUC-8area.Weconsideredaspeciestobeasoutheasternendemicifitsentirerangeoccurredwithinthe290-HUCstudyarea.Foreachofthesespecies,wecalculatedanendemismscoreasthereciprocalofthenumberofHUC-8sub-basinsinwhichitoccurs.Thus,anarrowendemicwhichoccurredinasingleHUC-8receivedascoreof1/1(1),whileamorewidely-distributedspeciesoccurringin10HUC-8sreceivedascoreof1/10(0.1).Thesumoftheendemismscoresofallthefish,crayfish,ormusselspeciesthatoccurwithinaHUC-8wastheendemismscoreforthatwatershed.Althoughthereareexceptions,asnotedbelow,thesimilaritiesinthepatternsofdistributionandimperilmentamongfishes,crayfishes,andmusselssuggestedthatitwasreasonabletoproduceanoverallprioritizationforthethreegroupsinaggregate.Weconsideredtwoapproachestocombinethesetaxa-specificpriorities.Thefirstwastogivefishes,mussels,andcrayfisheseachanequalcontributiontowardamaximum9-pointfinalpriorityscore.However,weultimatelydecidedthattheoveralldiversityanalysisoughttoaccountforthefactthatthereare589fishspecies,234musselspecies,and221crayfishspecies;weightingeachgroupequallywouldhaveeffectivelymadeeachfishspeciescountforlessthanhalfofamusselorcrayfish.Therefore,ourfinalpriorityscoreisan“allspeciesequal”sumthatusesall1,044speciesinthenormalizedbiodiversity,endemism,andimperilmentsums.

RREESSUULLTTSS

PriorityAreasforFishesTheresultingmapsofspeciesrichness,endemism,andimperilmentforfishes,crayfishes,andmusselshighlightareasofparticularconcernforeachgroup.FishspeciesrichnessisgenerallyhighestintheLowerTennesseeRiverandAlabamaRiverBasins,withtheareaofhighestendemismincludingtheseregionsbutalsotheUpperCoosaRiversystemandtheUpperClinchRiver.WeightedimperilmentissimilarlyhighestintheCahaba,Etowah,Conasauga,PickwickLake,andUpperClinch.

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Figure3Richness,endemism,andimperilmentscoresforfishes.Note:large,highresolutionversionsareincludedinAppendixI.

Thestandardizedandsummedrichness,endemism,andimperilmentscoresforfishleadtothehighestprioritiesinthePickwickLakeHUC-8,followedbytheUpperClinchandmostoftheAlabama-CoosaRiversystem.Table4Top15sub-basinsbycombinedpriorityscoreforfishes

FishOnlyRank HUC-8Name MajorDrainage Score(Max3)1 PickwickLake Tennessee 2.652 UpperClinch Tennessee 2.583 Cahaba Alabama 2.464 Etowah Alabama 2.455 Conasauga Alabama 2.176 LowerDuck Tennessee 2.137 Locust Alabama 1.988 LowerCoosa Alabama 1.959 WheelerLake Tennessee 1.9110 MiddleCoosa Alabama 1.8211 Barren Green 1.8212 LowerTallapoosa Alabama 1.8013 WattsBarLake Tennessee 1.7414 LowerLittleTennessee Tennessee 1.7315 SouthForkCumberland Cumberland 1.71

PriorityAreasforCrayfishesCrayfishspeciesrichnessishighestinthePickwickLakeandWheelerLakeHUCs,alongwiththeLowerandMiddleTombigbeeRiver,theBarrenRiverinKentucky,andthePascagoulaRiver.

19

CrayfishendemismishighestinWheelerLake,withPickwickLakescoringthirdonthismeasurebehindtheSt.Andrews/St.JosephsBayHUCinFlorida.Weightedimperilmentscoreswerelessevenlydistributed,withWheelerLakeagainscoringhighest.

Figure4Richness,endemism,andimperilmentscoresforcrayfishes.Note:large,highresolutionversionsareincludedinAppendixI.

ThesescorescombinetogiveWheelerLakethehighestoverallpriorityforcrayfishes,withscoresdroppingoffrapidlythereafter.NotethatthemajorityofthetopwatershedsforcrayfisheslieoutsidetheTennesseeRiversystem.Table5Top15sub-basinsbycombinedpriorityscoreforcrayfishes

CrayfishOnlyRank HUC-8Name MajorDrainage Score(Max3)1 WheelerLake Tennessee 3.002 PickwickLake Tennessee 1.743 Pascagoula Pascagoula 1.654 LowerTombigbee Mobile-Tombigbee 1.525 Noxubee Mobile-Tombigbee 1.366 Yalobusha LowerMississippi-Yazoo 1.307 Black Pascagoula 1.298 St.Andrew-St.JosephBays Choctawhatchee-Escambia 1.259 GuntersvilleLake Tennessee 1.2210 Obey Cumberland 1.2211 LowerTennessee-Beech Tennessee 1.2212 MiddleTombigbee-Lubbub Mobile-Tombigbee 1.1813 MississippiCoastal Pascagoula 1.1314 Sucarnoochee Mobile-Tombigbee 1.1015 LowerAlabama Alabama 1.10

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PriorityAreasforMusselsMusselspeciesrichnessishighestforthePickwickLake,WheelerLake,theUpperGreen(GreenRiver,Kentucky),GuntersvilleLake(TennesseeRiver),andLowerCumberland(CumberlandRiver)sub-basins.TheCoosasystemisalsotheareaofhighestmusselendemism,withfourofthetopfivesub-basins,althoughtheLowerChattahoocheesub-basinscoressecond.MusselimperilmentishighestintheHUCsforPickwickLake,WheelerLake,theUpperClinchandHolstonRivers.

Figure5Richness,endemism,andimperilmentscoresformussels.Note:large,highresolutionversionsareincludedinAppendixI.

Thehighestpriorityareasformusselsarethenow-familiarclusterofPickwickLake,theCoosaRiver(representedbytheMiddleCoosaandLowerCoosa),WheelerLake,andtheCahaba.Table6Top15sub-basinsbycombinedpriorityscoreformussels

MusselOnlyRank HUC-8Name MajorDrainage Score(Max3)1 PickwickLake Tennessee 2.472 MiddleCoosa Alabama 2.383 WheelerLake Tennessee 2.184 Cahaba Alabama 1.905 LowerCoosa Alabama 1.806 GuntersvilleLake Tennessee 1.797 UpperClinch Tennessee 1.798 Holston Tennessee 1.779 Conasauga Alabama 1.7110 UpperCoosa Alabama 1.7011 Caney Cumberland 1.6512 UpperCumberland-Lake

Cumberland Cumberland 1.5813 UpperDuck Tennessee 1.5514 UpperAlabama Alabama 1.5515 Powell Tennessee 1.54

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AllTaxaPriorityAreasThehighestrankinghuc-8sub-basins,overall,arePickwickLakeandWheelerLake,twoMiddleTennesseeRiversystemsthatincludethehighest-rankingbasinsforfishes,crayfishes,andmussels,individually,andwhichsupportahighnumberofcaveandspringendemicspecies.FiveofthenextsevenHUC-8sub-basinsareintheAlabamaRiverdrainage,includingtheCahabaRiver,theMiddleCoosa,andtheConasaugaRiver.TheUpperClinchRiveristhefourthhighest-prioritysub-basinoverall,scoringhighestforfishimperilmentandrelativelyhighforfishendemismandmusselimperilment.Ingeneral,richness,endemism,andimperilmenttrackedfairlyclosely(Figure6),althoughtherewasmoredifferentiationbetweenthesub-basinsonthespecioseendofthescale.Table7Top15sub-basinsbycombinedpriorityscoreforfishes,crayfishes,andmussels

All-TaxaRank HUC-8Name MajorDrainage Score(Max3)1 PickwickLake Tennessee 2.842 WheelerLake Tennessee 2.843 Cahaba Alabama 2.124 UpperClinch Tennessee 2.085 MiddleCoosa Alabama 1.956 LowerDuck Tennessee 1.887 Conasauga Alabama 1.768 LowerCoosa Alabama 1.749 Etowah Alabama 1.7110 Caney Cumberland 1.7111 Barren Green 1.7012 UpperGreen Green 1.6613 UpperDuck Tennessee 1.6414 LowerTennessee-Beech Tennessee 1.6415 SouthForkCumberland Cumberland 1.62Onthemap(Figure7),thehighestpriorityscoresfalltowardthemiddleoftheprojectregion,runningroughlyuptheAlabamaRiverbasinthroughtheMiddleandUpperTennesseesystems,withadditionalhigh-priorityareasintheheadwatersoftheGreenRiverbasin.Thirty-twoofthetop33sub-basinsareintheTennessee,Cumberland,Alabama,orGreenRiversystemsandthesefourcontain41ofthetop50sub-basins,alongwiththeMobile(8sub-basins)andPascagoula(1sub-basin)systems.TheAtlanticcoastalplainandMississippiValleyscorecomparativelyloweronthisoverallranking.

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Figure6Scaledspeciesrichness,southeastendemism,andweightedimperilmentforalltaxain290HUC-8sub-basins.Labelsindicatethetop12sub-basinsbasedonthecombinedpriorityranking.

Basedonthesescores,wewantedtoselectarelativelysmallnumberofhigh-prioritywatershedsforfurtheranalysisofthreatsandmanagementactions(AppendixIII).Thisshouldnotbeviewedasanattempttoidentifyadefinitivesetofconservationprioritiesfortheregion.Rather,weviewthisasareasonablemethodforusingbiologicaldatatotransparentlyselectasetofprioritylocationsinwhichconservationinvestmentsarelikelytohaveagoodreturn.Examininganorderedplotofpriorityscoresfromall290sub-basins(Figure8),thereisasteepdrop-offfromthefirsttwosub-basins,followedbyaslightplateauat1.71consistingoftheninthandtenthsubbasins(theEtowahandCaney),beyondwhichthemarginaldecayinthewatershedscorebecomesmuchmoregradual.Thiscorrespondstothe97thpercentileforthisdataset,and10watershedsisamanageablenumberforfurtherattention.However,manywatershedsbelowthispointareverysimilarinconservationvalue,andslightchangestoouralgorithm(inparticular,analternativeassignmentofscoresforvulnerable,threatened,andendangeredspecies)wouldchangethemembershipofthetop10list.

23

Figure7Overallpriorityscorebysub-basinforthecombinedsetoffishes,mussels,andcrayfishes.

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Figure8Sortedoverallpriorityscorebysub-basin

TheninehighestscoringwatershedsincludefourfromtheTennesseeRiversystemandfivefromtheAlabama-Coosasystem,whichmightbeexpectedtosharemanyspecies.Wetabulatedthenumberofuniquespeciesaddedwitheachadditionalwatershedbeyondthe252speciesinPickwickLake(Table8).ThisshowsthattheLowerCoosaaddsonlytwoadditionalspecies,whereastheBarrenRiverwatershedinKentuckyadds26species.Consequently,weelectedtoomittheLowerCoosafromthetop10listandreplaceitwiththeBarren.BeyondtheBarren,themarginalincreaseinspeciesdeclinesagainandthenextsub-basininadrainagenotalreadyincludeddoesnotappearuntiltheMiddleTombigbee-Lubbubatrank22.Table8Numberofadditionalspeciesincludedinthetotalspecieslistwiththeadditionofeachnewsub-basin(watershed)inpriorityrankorder(onlythefirst13areshown).

PriorityRank

PriorityScore Sub-basin MajorDrainage

AdditionalUniqueSpecies

1 2.84 PickwickLake Tennessee 2522 2.84 Wheeler Tennessee 223 2.12 Cahaba Alabama 1104 2.08 UpperClinch Tennessee 295 1.95 MiddleCoosa Alabama 156 1.88 LowerDuck Tennessee 197 1.76 Conasauga Alabama 98 1.74 LowerCoosa Alabama 29 1.71 Etowah Alabama 16

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

1 9 17 25 33 41 49 57 65 73 81 89 97 105

113

121

129

137

145

153

161

169

177

185

193

201

209

217

225

233

241

249

257

265

273

281

289

PriorityScore,290Watersheds

25

PriorityRank

PriorityScore Sub-basin MajorDrainage

AdditionalUniqueSpecies

10 1.71 Caney Cumberland 2111 1.70 Barren Green 2612 1.66 UpperGreen Green 913 1.64 UpperDuck Tennessee 1

Thisisasomewhatad-hocapproachtoaddressingtheconservationprincipleofcomplementarity.Analternativemethodwouldbetouseaformalreserve-designalgorithmthataimstomaximizethetotalcoverageofspecies.However,suchalgorithmsareintendedfortruereservesinwhichthefullareaisgenuinelyprotected;hereweareidentifyingwatershedsinwhichconservationmanagementactions(potentiallyincludingpreservation)canhavesubstantialconservationbenefit.Wearguethattheresultingtop-10list(Figure9)isreasonable,whileacknowledgingthatothermethodsmightproducealternative,equallyreasonablelists.

Figure9.Tenhighlybiodiversewatershedswheremanagementactionscouldhavemajorconservationbenefits.ShadingreflectsHUC-2andHUC-4boundaries,asinFigure2.

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AParallelPrioritization:HotspotsforVulnerableSpeciesOnealternativeprioritizationusingthisdatasetwouldbetoidentifyareaswithhighnumbersofvulnerablespecies,wheremoremodestinvestmentsnowcouldforestallspeciesdeclinesthatwouldrequiresignificantworktoarrestorreverseinthefuture.Thisapproachalignswiththeoft-statedconservationgoalof“keepingcommonspeciescommon.”Highlightingjustthosespeciesclassifiedasvulnerablerevealsseveralareasthatarenotpartofthetoptierintheoverallprioritization,includingtheHiwasseeriverinGeorgia,NorthCarolina,andTennessee,twohighCumberlandRiversub-basinsinKentuckyandTennessee,andtheBuffaloriverintheLowerTennesseebasin.AlthoughtheTennesseeandAlabama-Mobilesystemsscorehighonthismetric,asintheoverallpriorityanalysis,theyarejoinednearthetopbyoftherankingsbythesub-basinsintheCumberlanddrainage.AtlanticSlopesystemsarealsomoreprominentinthisanalysis,especiallythePeeDeeRiverandSavannahRiverdrainages.Table9Top25sub-basinsrankedbynumberofimperiledspecieswith"Vulnerable"status

Sub-Basin(HUC-8code) MajorDrainageVulnerablespecies

Hiwassee(06020002) Tennessee 19PickwickLake(06030005) Tennessee 19WheelerLake(06030002) Tennessee 19UpperClinch(06010205) Tennessee 18UpperCumberland-LakeCumberland(05130103) Cumberland 17SouthForkCumberland(05130104) Cumberland 17Buffalo(06040004) Tennessee 17UpperDuck(06040002) Tennessee 17Cahaba(03150202) Alabama 17Caney(05130108) Cumberland 17LowerClinch(06010207) Tennessee 16LowerDuck(06040003) Tennessee 16Nolichucky(06010108) Tennessee 16LowerPeeDee(03040201) PeeDee 16Stones(05130203) Cumberland 16UpperGreen(05110001) Green 16MiddleSavannah(03060106) Savannah 16GuntersvilleLake(06030001) Tennessee 16UpperFlint(03130005) Apalachicola 15WattsBarLake(06010201) Tennessee 15

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Figure10-Countofimperiledspecies(fishes,crayfishes,andmussels)with"Vulnerable"statusbysub-basin.

Sub-BasinPrioritybyStateWerecognizethatmanyconservationdecisionswillnotbemadeattheregionallevel.Forinstance,statewildlifeagenciesdirecttheireffortswithintheirpoliticalboundaries,andmanyfoundationsthatcouldsupportconservationprojectsfocustheireffortswithinaparticulargeography.Tofacilitatesuchsmaller-scaleplanningefforts,thefollowingtablesandmapsusethesamerankingmethodologyasthetheoverall290sub-basinanalysis,butsubsettheresultsbystate(top10shown)andbyHUC-4sub-region.Sincemanysub-basinscrossstatelines,wehaveincludedacolumnlistingthepercentageofthewatershedwithinthestateofinterest.

28

AlabamaTable10Topsub-basinsinAlabamabyoverallpriorityrank

Sub-basinName HUC-8RegionalRank

StateRank

%InState

PickwickLake 06030005 1 1 63%WheelerLake 06030002 2 2 91%Cahaba 03150202 3 3 100%MiddleCoosa 03150106 5 4 100%LowerCoosa 03150107 8 5 100%LowerAlabama 03150204 17 6 100%MiddleTennessee-Chickamauga 06020001 18 7 3%GuntersvilleLake 06030001 19 8 83%MiddleTombigbee-Lubbub 03160106 22 9 76%UpperAlabama 03150201 23 10 100%

Figure11Within-stateall-taxapriorityrankingsforsub-basinsinAlabama

29

FloridaTable11Topsub-basinsinFloridabyoverallpriorityrank


StateRank

%InState

Apalachicola 03130011 60 1 96%Chipola 03130012 66 2 79%Escambia 03140305 72 3 53%Yellow 03140103 79 4 62%LowerChoctawhatchee 03140203 81 5 92%Pea 03140202 92 6 7%St.Andrew-St.JosephBays 03140101 94 7 100%LowerOchlockonee 03120003 117 8 84%LowerSt.Johns 03080103 134 9 100%LowerSuwannee 03110205 155 10 100%

Figure12Within-stateall-taxapriorityrankingsforsub-basinsinFlorida

GeorgiaTable12Topsub-basinsinGeorgiabyoverallpriorityrank


StateRank

%InState

Conasauga 03150101 7 1 83%Etowah 03150104 9 2 100%MiddleTennessee-Chickamauga 06020001 18 3 31%Coosawattee 03150102 26 4 100%Hiwassee 06020002 29 5 21%UpperCoosa 03150105 30 6 46%

30


StateRank

%InState

MiddleChattahoochee-WalterF 03130003 56 7 49%Oostanaula 03150103 59 8 100%Apalachicola 03130011 60 9 4%UpperFlint 03130005 78 10 100%

Figure13Within-stateall-taxapriorityrankingsforsub-basinsinGeorgia

KentuckyTable13Topsub-basinsinKentuckybyoverallpriorityrank


StateRank

%InState

Barren 05110002 11 1 80%UpperGreen 05110001 12 2 100%

31


StateRank

%InState

SouthForkCumberland 05130104 15 3 28%UpperCumberland-LakeCumberland 05130103 16 4 99%LowerCumberland 05130205 24 5 58%KentuckyLake 06040005 33 6 20%Obey 05130105 40 7 19%Red 05130206 53 8 48%Rockcastle 05130102 62 9 100%Licking 05100101 67 10 100%

Figure14Within-stateall-taxapriorityrankingsforsub-basinsinKentucky

MississippiTable14Topsub-basinsinMississippibyoverallpriorityrank


StateRank

%InState

PickwickLake 6030005 2 1 10%LowerTennessee-Beech 6040001 14 2 2%MiddleTombigbee-Lubbub 3160106 24 3 24%UpperTombigbee 3160101 35 4 93%Noxubee 3160108 49 5 91%Pascagoula 3170006 51 6 100%Bear 6030006 52 7 13%Buttahatchee 3160103 61 8 22%LowerPearl 3180004 67 9 72%

32


StateRank

%InState

Sucarnoochee 3160202 81 10 58%

Figure15Within-stateall-taxapriorityrankingsforsub-basinsinMississippi

NorthCarolinaTable15Topsub-basinsinNorthCarolinabyoverallpriorityrank


StateRank

%InState

Hiwassee 06020002 29 1 31%LowerLittleTennessee 06010204 37 2 26%Nolichucky 06010108 45 3 38%Waccamaw 03040206 68 4 64%Black 03030006 82 5 32%LowerPeeDee 03040201 91 6 20%UpperNeuse 03020201 102 7 100%Saluda 03050109 106 8 0%

33


StateRank

%InState

UpperTar 03020101 110 9 100%UpperLittleTennessee 06010202 115 10 95%

Figure16Within-stateall-taxapriorityrankingsforsub-basinsinNorthCarolina

SouthCarolinaTable16Topsub-basinsinSouthCarolinabyoverallpriorityrank


StateRank

%InState

Waccamaw 03040206 68 1 36%MiddleSavannah 03060106 80 2 54%Black 03040205 82 3 42%LowerPeeDee 03040201 91 4 80%Saluda 03050109 106 5 100%Lynches 03040202 142 6 99%UpperBroad 03050105 148 7 39%Congaree 03050110 152 8 100%Wateree 03050104 158 9 100%LakeMarion 03050111 178 10 100%

34

Figure17Within-stateall-taxapriorityrankingsforsub-basinsinSouthCarolina

TennesseeTable17Topsub-basinsinTennesseebyoverallpriorityrank


StateRank

%InState

PickwickLake 06030005 1 1 28%UpperClinch,Tennessee,Virginia 06010205 4 2 36%Conasauga 03150101 7 3 17%LowerDuck 06040003 6 4 100%Caney 05130108 10 5 100%LowerTennessee-Beech 06040001 14 6 98%UpperDuck 06040002 13 7 100%MiddleTennessee-Chickamauga 06020001 18 8 65%SouthForkCumberland 05130104 15 9 72%GuntersvilleLake 06030001 19 10 17%ForkedDeer 08010206 288 50 100%

35

Figure18Within-stateall-taxapriorityrankingsforsub-basinsinTennessee

VirginiaTable18Topsub-basinsinsouthernVirginiabyoverallpriorityrank

Sub-basinName HUC-8 RegionalRank

StateRank

%InState

UpperClinch 06010205 4 1 64%Powell 06010206 20 2 57%SouthForkHolston 06010102 38 3 52%NorthForkHolston 06010101 55 4 96%UpperDan 03010103 120 5 57%Nottoway 03010201 153 6 100%UpperNew 05050001 159 7 73%MiddleRoanoke 03010102 201 8 82%LowerDan 03010104 202 9 44%MiddleNew 05050002 207 10 52%

Figure19Within-stateall-taxapriorityrankingsforsub-basinsinsouthernVirginia

36

Sub-BasinPrioritywithinSub-Regions(HUC-4)Table19Within-basin(HUC-4)andoverallpriorityranksforall290sub-basins.

Huc-4Name(HUC-4Code) HUC-8Name(HUC-8Code)RegionalPriority

BasinPriority

Chowan-Roanoke(0301) UpperDan(03010103) 120 1Chowan-Roanoke(0301) Nottoway(03010201) 153 2Chowan-Roanoke(0301) LowerRoanoke(03010107) 188 3Chowan-Roanoke(0301) MiddleRoanoke(03010102) 201 4Chowan-Roanoke(0301) LowerDan(03010104) 202 5Chowan-Roanoke(0301) UpperRoanoke(03010101) 220 6Chowan-Roanoke(0301) Meherrin(03010204) 224 7Chowan-Roanoke(0301) Chowan(03010203) 230 8Chowan-Roanoke(0301) RoanokeRapids(03010106) 259 9Chowan-Roanoke(0301) Albemarle(03010205) 267 10Chowan-Roanoke(0301) Blackwater(03010202) 272 11Chowan-Roanoke(0301) Banister(03010105) 276 12Neuse-Pamlico(0302) UpperNeuse(03020201) 102 1Neuse-Pamlico(0302) UpperTar(03020101) 110 2Neuse-Pamlico(0302) LowerTar(03020103) 128 3Neuse-Pamlico(0302) Fishing(03020102) 145 4Neuse-Pamlico(0302) Contentnea(03020203) 172 5Neuse-Pamlico(0302) LowerNeuse(03020204) 181 6Neuse-Pamlico(0302) MiddleNeuse(03020202) 211 7Neuse-Pamlico(0302) WhiteOakRiver(03020301) 245 8Neuse-Pamlico(0302) NewRiver(03020302) 262 9Neuse-Pamlico(0302) Pamlico(03020104) 271 10Neuse-Pamlico(0302) PamlicoSound(03020105) 279 11CapeFear(0303) Deep(03030003) 126 1CapeFear(0303) UpperCapeFear(03030004) 130 2CapeFear(0303) LowerCapeFear(03030005) 137 3CapeFear(0303) Haw(03030002) 143 4CapeFear(0303) NortheastCapeFear

(03030007)192 5

CapeFear(0303) Black(03030006) 205 6PeeDee(0304) Waccamaw(03040206) 68 1PeeDee(0304) LowerPeeDee(03040201) 91 2PeeDee(0304) UpperPeeDee(03040104) 139 3PeeDee(0304) Lynches(03040202) 142 4PeeDee(0304) Rocky(03040105) 160 5PeeDee(0304) LowerYadkin(03040103) 180 6PeeDee(0304) UpperYadkin(03040101) 187 7PeeDee(0304) Black(03040205) 196 8PeeDee(0304) Lumber(03040203) 197 9

37


BasinPriority

PeeDee(0304) LittlePeeDee(03040204) 213 10PeeDee(0304) CarolinaCoastal-Sampit

(03040207)254 11

PeeDee(0304) CoastalCarolina(03040208) 264 12PeeDee(0304) SouthYadkin(03040102) 270 13Edisto-Santee(0305) Saluda(03050109) 106 1Edisto-Santee(0305) UpperCatawba(03050101) 133 2Edisto-Santee(0305) UpperBroad(03050105) 148 3Edisto-Santee(0305) Congaree(03050110) 152 4Edisto-Santee(0305) Wateree(03050104) 158 5Edisto-Santee(0305) LakeMarion(03050111) 178 6Edisto-Santee(0305) SouthForkEdisto

(03050204)185 7

Edisto-Santee(0305) Salkehatchie(03050207) 193 8Edisto-Santee(0305) Cooper(03050201) 215 9Edisto-Santee(0305) LowerBroad(03050106) 219 10Edisto-Santee(0305) LowerCatawba(03050103) 222 11Edisto-Santee(0305) EdistoRiver(03050206) 242 12Edisto-Santee(0305) NorthForkEdisto

(03050203)247 13

Edisto-Santee(0305) SouthForkCatawba(03050102)

250 14

Edisto-Santee(0305) FourHoleSwamp(03050205)

255 15

Edisto-Santee(0305) Enoree(03050108) 258 16Edisto-Santee(0305) Santee(03050112) 260 17Edisto-Santee(0305) Broad-St.Helena(03050208) 273 18Edisto-Santee(0305) Tyger(03050107) 277 19Edisto-Santee(0305) BullsBay(03050209) 286 20Edisto-Santee(0305) SouthCarolinaCoastal

(03050202)289 21

Edisto-Santee(0305) St.HelenaIsland(03050210) 290 22Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) MiddleSavannah

(03060106)80 1

Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) LowerSavannah(03060109) 104 2Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) LowerOgeechee(03060202) 127 3Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) UpperOgeechee(03060201) 149 4Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) Tugaloo(03060102) 210 5Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) UpperSavannah(03060103) 217 6Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) Seneca(03060101) 226 7Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) Broad(03060104) 227 8Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) Stevens(03060107) 229 9

38


BasinPriority

Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) Brier(03060108) 231 10Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) OgeecheeCoastal

(03060204)241 11

Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) Canoochee(03060203) 246 12Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) Little(03060105) 256 13Ogeechee-Savannah(0306) CalibogueSound-Wright

River(03060110)280 14

Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) LowerOconee(03070102) 114 1Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) UpperOcmulgee(03070103) 121 2Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) Altamaha(03070106) 125 3Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) LowerOcmulgee(03070104) 129 4Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) Ohoopee(03070107) 169 5Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) UpperOconee(03070101) 195 6Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) LittleOcmulgee(03070105) 223 7Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) St.Marys(03070204) 225 8Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) Satilla(03070201) 268 9Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) LittleSatilla(03070202) 281 10Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) Nassau(03070205) 283 11Altamaha-St.Marys(0307) Cumberland-St.Simons

(03070203)284 12

St.Johns(0308) LowerSt.Johns(03080103) 134 1St.Johns(0308) Oklawaha(03080102) 166 2St.Johns(0308) UpperSt.Johns(03080101) 177 3St.Johns(0308) Daytona-St.Augustine

(03080201)274 4

Peace-TampaBay(0310) Withlacoochee(03100208) 244 1Peace-TampaBay(0310) Crystal-Pithlachascotee

(03100207)249 2

Suwannee(0311) LowerSuwannee(03110205)

155 1

Suwannee(0311) SantaFe(03110206) 162 2Suwannee(0311) UpperSuwannee

(03110201)189 3

Suwannee(0311) Withlacoochee(03110203) 204 4Suwannee(0311) Econfina-Steinhatchee

(03110102)240 5

Suwannee(0311) Aucilla(03110103) 251 6Suwannee(0311) Alapaha(03110202) 253 7Suwannee(0311) Waccasassa(03110101) 263 8Suwannee(0311) Little(03110204) 278 9Ochlockonee(0312) LowerOchlockonee

(03120003)117 1

39


BasinPriority

Ochlockonee(0312) UpperOchlockonee(03120002)

186 2

Ochlockonee(0312) ApalacheeBay-St.Marks(03120001)

216 3

Apalachicola(0313) MiddleChattahoochee-WalterF(03130003)

56 1

Apalachicola(0313) Apalachicola(03130011) 60 2Apalachicola(0313) Chipola(03130012) 66 3Apalachicola(0313) LowerChattahoochee

(03130004)70 4

Apalachicola(0313) UpperFlint(03130005) 78 5Apalachicola(0313) LowerFlint(03130008) 88 6Apalachicola(0313) Ichawaynochaway

(03130009)90 7

Apalachicola(0313) MiddleChattahoochee-LakeHarding(03130002)

100 8

Apalachicola(0313) MiddleFlint(03130006) 103 9Apalachicola(0313) Kinchafoonee-Muckalee

(03130007)138 10

Apalachicola(0313) Spring(03130010) 144 11Apalachicola(0313) UpperChattahoochee

(03130001)190 12

Apalachicola(0313) New(03130013) 282 13Apalachicola(0313) ApalachicolaBay(03130014) 287 14Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) LowerConecuh(03140304) 64 1Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) Escambia(03140305) 72 2Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) Yellow(03140103) 79 3Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) LowerChoctawhatchee

(03140203)81 4

Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) UpperChoctawhatchee(03140201)

89 5

Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) Pea(03140202) 92 6Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) St.Andrew-St.JosephBays

(03140101)94 7

Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) UpperConecuh(03140301) 113 8Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) Sepulga(03140303) 156 9Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) ChoctawhatcheeBay

(03140102)167 10

Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) Patsaliga(03140302) 191 11Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) PensacolaBay(03140105) 199 12Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) Blackwater(03140104) 208 13Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) Perdido(03140106) 212 14

40


BasinPriority

Choctawhatchee-Escambia(0314) PerdidoBay(03140107) 232 15Alabama(0315) Cahaba(03150202) 3 1Alabama(0315) MiddleCoosa(03150106) 5 2Alabama(0315) Conasauga(03150101) 7 3Alabama(0315) LowerCoosa(03150107) 8 4Alabama(0315) Etowah(03150104) 9 5Alabama(0315) LowerAlabama(03150204) 17 6Alabama(0315) UpperAlabama(03150201) 23 7Alabama(0315) LowerTallapoosa

(03150110)25 8

Alabama(0315) Coosawattee(03150102) 26 9Alabama(0315) MiddleAlabama(03150203) 28 10Alabama(0315) UpperCoosa(03150105) 30 11Alabama(0315) Oostanaula(03150103) 59 12Alabama(0315) MiddleTallapoosa

(03150109)86 13

Alabama(0315) UpperTallapoosa(03150108)

105 14

Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) MiddleTombigbee-Lubbub(03160106)

22 1

Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Locust(03160111) 34 2Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) UpperTombigbee

(03160101)35 3

Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) UpperBlackWarrior(03160112)

41 4

Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) LowerTombigbee(03160203)

42 5

Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Noxubee(03160108) 44 6Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) MiddleTombigbee-

Chickasaw(03160201)49 7

Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) SipseyFork(03160110) 50 8Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) LowerBlackWarrior

(03160113)52 9

Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Mobile-Tensaw(03160204) 57 10Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Buttahatchee(03160103) 58 11Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Sipsey(03160107) 63 12Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Mulberry(03160109) 74 13Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Sucarnoochee(03160202) 76 14Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Luxapallila(03160105) 77 15Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Tibbee(03160104) 99 16Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) MobileBay(03160205) 151 17Mobile-Tombigbee(0316) Town(03160102) 221 18

41


BasinPriority

Pascagoula(0317) Pascagoula(03170006) 46 1Pascagoula(0317) Black(03170007) 82 2Pascagoula(0317) LowerLeaf(03170005) 97 3Pascagoula(0317) UpperLeaf(03170004) 107 4Pascagoula(0317) MississippiCoastal

(03170009)111 5

Pascagoula(0317) UpperChickasawhay(03170002)

131 6

Pascagoula(0317) Escatawpa(03170008) 140 7Pascagoula(0317) Chunky-Okatibbee

(03170001)146 8

Pascagoula(0317) LowerChickasawhay(03170003)

161 9

Pearl(0318) LowerPearl(03180004) 65 1Pearl(0318) MiddlePearl-Strong

(03180002)101 2

Pearl(0318) MiddlePearl-Silver(03180003)

109 3

Pearl(0318) UpperPearl(03180001) 118 4Pearl(0318) BogueChitto(03180005) 170 5Kanawha(0505) UpperNew(05050001) 159 1Kanawha(0505) Greenbrier(05050003) 163 2Kanawha(0505) MiddleNew(05050002) 207 3Kanawha(0505) Gauley(05050005) 238 4Kanawha(0505) LowerNew(05050004) 261 5Kentucky-Licking(0510) Licking(05100101) 67 1Kentucky-Licking(0510) LowerKentucky(05100205) 73 2Kentucky-Licking(0510) UpperKentucky(05100204) 124 3Kentucky-Licking(0510) SouthForkLicking

(05100102)132 4

Kentucky-Licking(0510) SouthForkKentucky(05100203)

147 5

Kentucky-Licking(0510) NorthForkKentucky(05100201)

165 6

Kentucky-Licking(0510) MiddleForkKentucky(05100202)

174 7

Green(0511) Barren(05110002) 11 1Green(0511) UpperGreen(05110001) 12 2Green(0511) MiddleGreen(05110003) 71 3Green(0511) Rough(05110004) 85 4Green(0511) LowerGreen(05110005) 122 5Green(0511) Pond(05110006) 175 6

42


BasinPriority

Cumberland(0513) Caney(05130108) 10 1Cumberland(0513) SouthForkCumberland

(05130104)15 2

Cumberland(0513) UpperCumberland-LakeCumberland(05130103)

16 3

Cumberland(0513) LowerCumberland(05130205)

24 4

Cumberland(0513) Obey(05130105) 40 5Cumberland(0513) Stones(05130203) 43 6Cumberland(0513) LowerCumberland-Old

HickoryLake(05130201)47 7

Cumberland(0513) Red(05130206) 53 8Cumberland(0513) UpperCumberland-Cordell

HullReservoir(05130106)54 9

Cumberland(0513) LowerCumberland-Sycamore(05130202)

61 10

Cumberland(0513) Rockcastle(05130102) 62 11Cumberland(0513) Collins(05130107) 75 12Cumberland(0513) Harpeth(05130204) 83 13Cumberland(0513) UpperCumberland

(05130101)95 14

LowerOhio(0514) Salt(05140102) 84 1LowerOhio(0514) RollingFork(05140103) 108 2LowerOhio(0514) Tradewater(05140205) 200 3UpperTennessee(0601) UpperClinch,Tennessee,

Virginia(06010205)4 1

UpperTennessee(0601) Powell(06010206) 20 2UpperTennessee(0601) WattsBarLake(06010201) 21 3UpperTennessee(0601) Holston(06010104) 27 4UpperTennessee(0601) LowerClinch(06010207) 32 5UpperTennessee(0601) LowerLittleTennessee

(06010204)37 6

UpperTennessee(0601) SouthForkHolston(06010102)

38 7

UpperTennessee(0601) LowerFrenchBroad(06010107)

39 8

UpperTennessee(0601) Nolichucky(06010108) 45 9UpperTennessee(0601) NorthForkHolston

(06010101)55 10

UpperTennessee(0601) Emory(06010208) 96 11UpperTennessee(0601) UpperLittleTennessee

(06010202)115 12

43


BasinPriority

UpperTennessee(0601) Watauga,NorthCarolina,Tennessee(06010103)

123 13

UpperTennessee(0601) UpperFrenchBroad(06010105)

141 14

UpperTennessee(0601) Pigeon(06010106) 179 15UpperTennessee(0601) Tuckasegee(06010203) 194 16MiddleTennessee-Hiwassee(0602) MiddleTennessee-

Chickamauga(06020001)18 1

MiddleTennessee-Hiwassee(0602) Hiwassee(06020002) 29 2MiddleTennessee-Hiwassee(0602) Sequatchie(06020004) 69 3MiddleTennessee-Hiwassee(0602) Ocoee(06020003) 203 4MiddleTennessee-Elk(0603) PickwickLake(06030005) 1 1MiddleTennessee-Elk(0603) WheelerLake(06030002) 2 2MiddleTennessee-Elk(0603) GuntersvilleLake

(06030001)19 3

MiddleTennessee-Elk(0603) UpperElk(06030003) 31 4MiddleTennessee-Elk(0603) Bear(06030006) 48 5MiddleTennessee-Elk(0603) LowerElk(06030004) 51 6LowerTennessee(0604) LowerDuck(06040003) 6 1LowerTennessee(0604) UpperDuck(06040002) 13 2LowerTennessee(0604) LowerTennessee-Beech

(06040001)14 3

LowerTennessee(0604) KentuckyLake(06040005) 33 4LowerTennessee(0604) Buffalo(06040004) 36 5LowerTennessee(0604) LowerTennessee

(06040006)87 6

LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) LowerMississippi-Memphis(08010100)

112 1

LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) Obion(08010202) 116 2LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) LowerHatchie(08010208) 136 3LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) BayouDeChien-Mayfield

(08010201)164 4

LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) Wolf(08010210) 198 5LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) UpperHatchie(08010207) 206 6LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) SouthForkForkedDeer

(08010205)218 7

LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) SouthForkObion(08010203)

233 8

LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) NorthForkForkedDeer(08010204)

239 9

LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) Loosahatchie(08010209) 257 10LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) HornLake-Nonconnah 285 11

44


BasinPriority

(08010211)LowerMississippi-Hatchie(0801) ForkedDeer(08010206) 288 12LowerMississippi-St.Francis(0802) LowerMississippi-Helena

(08020100)269 1

LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) Yalobusha(08030205) 93 1LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) LittleTallahatchie

(08030201)119 2

LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) UpperYazoo(08030206) 154 3LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) BigSunflower(08030207) 173 4LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) Coldwater(08030204) 182 5LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) Yocona(08030203) 184 6LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) Deer-Steele(08030209) 237 7LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) LowerMississippi-Greenville

(08030100)243 8

LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) Tallahatchie(08030202) 248 9LowerMississippi-Yazoo(0803) LowerYazoo(08030208) 266 10LowerMississippi-BigBlack(0806) LowerBigBlack(08060202) 98 1LowerMississippi-BigBlack(0806) BayouPierre(08060203) 135 2LowerMississippi-BigBlack(0806) UpperBigBlack(08060201) 157 3LowerMississippi-BigBlack(0806) LowerMississippi-Natchez

(08060100)171 4

LowerMississippi-BigBlack(0806) Homochitto(08060205) 176 5LowerMississippi-BigBlack(0806) Buffalo(08060206) 236 6LowerMississippi-BigBlack(0806) ColesCreek(08060204) 275 7LowerMississippi-LakeMaurepas(0807)

Amite(08070202) 150 1

LowerMississippi-LakeMaurepas(0807)

Tangipahoa(08070205) 168 2


LowerMississippi-BatonRouge(08070100)

183 3


BayouSara-Thompson(08070201)

228 4


Tickfaw(08070203) 235 5


LakeMaurepas(08070204) 265 6

LowerMississippi(0809) LibertyBayou-Tchefuncta(08090201)

209 1

LowerMississippi(0809) LowerMississippi-NewOrleans(08090100)

214 2

LowerMississippi(0809) EasternLouisianaCoastal(08090203)

234 3

45


BasinPriority

LowerMississippi(0809) LakePontchartrain(08090202)

252 4

Extinction,Extirpation,andErrorRatesInanefforttobetransparentaboutthelimitationsofourapproach,thefollowingsectionexaminesthesourcesofbiasanderrorinouranalysisandattemptstoquantifytheseforthetop-tierwatersheds.Asweassembledthedatasetsusedtocalculatethespeciespresencematrixthatunderpinstherichness,imperilment,andendemismmaps,weexcludedrecordsfromspeciesknowntobeextinct(twofishes,MoxostomalacerumandFundulusalbolineatus,andanumberofmusselspecies,e.g.,Epioblasmametastriata,Epioblasmaothcaloogensis,andPleuroblemafibuloidesintheConasaugaRiver).Itshouldbenoted,however,thattheincreasingrecognitionofcrypticbiodiversity(Williamsetal.2008,Powersetal.2012,Bakeretal.2013)amongsoutheasternspeciessuggeststhattheremaybemultipleundocumentedextinctionshiddeninourhistoricaldata.Wedidnotexcluderecordsinareaswherespecieshavebeenextirpated,reasoningthat1)extirpationisdifficulttodocumentusingpointsamplesfrommultiplesourcescollectedwithdifferingtechniquesand2)alocalextirpationisanopportunityforareintroduction,ifthehabitatiscapableofnowsupportingthespeciesandanappropriatesourcepopulationcanbefound.SuchreintroductionshavebeenperformedbygroupssuchasConservationFisheriesIncorporatedandtheAlabamaAquaticBiodiversityCenterwithincreasingregularity.However,werecognizethatsuchextirpationsareprobablywidespreadasaresultofhumanalterationsincludingdams,mining,andlandconversionandthatsuchextirpationsbiasourspeciesrichnessestimatesupwardrelativetotheextantbiodiversityinstreamsandriverstoday.Itwouldbeverydifficulttoreliablyinferextirpationsacrosstheregionusingthefielddataweassembledandtodosofromtheliteraturewouldrequireconsultingmultiplepublishedandunpublishedaccountsofover1000individualspecies.Nevertheless,wewantedtoestimatetheeffectofthisbiasonourprioritizationsystembyusingourtop-rankedwatershedsasasample.Weconsultedpublishedreportsforfishextirpationsinthetop11watershedsintheoverallprioritization.ThesearesummarizedinTable20,alongwiththecircumstancesoftheextirpation,whereprovided.Withinthese11oftherichestsub-basinsforfishdiversity,thereisanaverageof4extirpatedspecies(3.3%)andthisvariedfrom0(twosub-basins)to10(PickwickLake).Wefoundnoaccountsinthereferencematerialforthesesub-basinsofspeciesthatwehadnotrecorded(i.e.,nofalsepositives).Table20Fishextirpationsinthetop11watersheds

Cah

aba

130totalspecies,7extirpated (5.4%)Species PutativecauseAcipsenser oxirynchus desotoi damsAlosa alabamae damsCyprinella caerulea sedimentation

46

Hybognathus nuchalis damsFundulus stellifer unknownMugil cephalus dams

Sander sp. cf. vitreus unknown,possiblyhydridization

Low

er C

oosa

107totalspecies,3extirpated (2.8%)Species PutativecauseAcipsenser oxirynchus desotoi damsScaphirhynchus suttkusi damsAlosa alabamae dams

Mid

dle

Coo

sa 87totalspecies,1extirpated (1.1%)

Species PutativecausePercina brevicauda dams

Etow

ah 81totalspecies,1extirpated (1.2%)

Species PutativecauseCyprinella caerulea sedimentation

Con

asau

ga 80totalspecies,2extirpated (2.5%)

Species Putativecause

Noturus sp. cf. munitus Sedimentation&waterquality

Percina shumardi unknown

Low

er

Duc

k

133totalspecies,noneextirpated (0%)

Pick

wic

k La

ke

142totalspecies,10extirpated (7%)Species PutativecauseScaphirhynchus platorynchus damsHiodon alosoides damsHybognathus hayi drainageofwetlandsHybognathus nuchalis damsNotropis albizonatus damsNotropis ariommus dams

Noturus miurus sedimentation&waterquality

Etheostoma cinereum damsPercina vigil damsElassoma alabamae dams

Whe

eler

120totalspecies,7extirpated (5.8%)Species PutativecauseScaphirhynchus platorynchus dams

47

Lepisosteus platostomus damsHiodon alosoides damsHybognathus hayi drainageofwetlandsHybognathus nuchalis damsPhenacobius uranops dams

Noturus crypticus sedimentation&waterquality

Upp

er C

linch

110totalspecies,4extirpated (3.6%)Species PutativecauseMacrhybopsis hyostoma damsNotropis albizonatus damsNotropis buchanani damsCycleptus elongatus dams

Can

ey

Fork

86totalspecies,noextirpations (0%)

Bar

ren

109totalspecies,4extirpations (3.7%)Species PutativecauseHybognathus nuchalis damsNotropis amnis unknown

Noturus exilis unknownPercina evides dams

Weaskedseveralmusselexpertstoassessextirpationsinthesameareas.BobButlerwiththeUSFishandWildlifeServiceprovideduswithgalleyproofsofanin-pressassessment(Ahlstedt,etal.2016)oftheClinchandPowellsystems.TheirsurveyofthesegmentcorrespondingtotheUpperClinchsub-basin,i.e.theClinchaboveNorrisLake,lists55totalspeciesknown,ofwhich48areconsideredextant,with4extirpations(Leptodeafragilis,Leptodealeptodon,Quadrulaintermedia,Villosafabalis)and3extinctions(Epioblasmahaysiana,Epioblasmalenior,andEpioblasmatorulosagubernaculum).Ourdatabasecontains55species,includingthethreeextirpations(5.5%),plusfourthatdonotappearintheirspecieslist(Fusconaiaozarkensis,Lampsiliscardium,Plethobasuscicatricosus,Villosavibex).Ourlistismissingonespecies,Venustaconchatrabalis,thathasbeenthesubjectofrecenttaxonomicrevision;wehadremovedrecordsforV.troostensisbasedontheproposalinLane,etal.(2016)thatthisspeciesisfoundonlyindrainagesoftheCumberlandRiver.WesuspecttheserecordsareprobablyV.trabalis,basedonAhlstedt,etal.2016.JeffGarnerwithAlabamaDepartmentofConservationandNaturalResourcesassessedthesub-basinsfromsetof11highest-prioritybasinsthatoccurinAlabama(Table21).Withinthese5ofthehighest-rankingbasinsforspeciesrichness,thereareanaverageof14extirpatedspecies,approximately20%ofthetotal.Inaddition,thereareanaverageof6.6speciesperwatershed

48

(10%)thathejudgedtobeerroneous.However,theMusselsofAlabama(Williamsetal.2008),listsapre-damrecordforoneofthese,Pegiasfabula,inBluewaterCreekofthePickwickLakesub-basin,soitmayinfactbelongamongtheextirpated.Table21Musselextirpationsinhigh-priorityAlabamasub-basins

MiddleCo

osa

57totalspecies,11extirpations(19%)SpeciesElliptioarcaEpioblasmapenitaLasmigonaetowaensisLigumiarectaMedionidusparvulusObovariaarkansasensisObovariaunicolorPleurobemahanleyianumPleurobemahartmanianumPleurobemastabilePleurobemataitianum

LowerCoo

sa

52totalspecies,9extirpations(17%)SpeciesElliptioarcaEpioblasmapenitaLasmigonaetowaensisLigumiarectaMedionidusparvulusObovariaunicolorPleurobemahanleyianumPleurobemahartmanianumPleurobemastabile

Caha

ba

58totalspecies,6extirpations(10%)SpeciesElliptioarcaMedionidusparvulusObovariaarkansasensisObovariaunicolorPleurobemageorgianumPleurobemaperovatum

PickwickLake 83totalspecies,29extirpations(35%)

SpeciesActinonaiasligamentinaActinonaiaspectorosaAlasmidontamarginata

49

AlasmidontaviridisDromusdromasEpioblasmaahlstedtiEpioblasmabrevidensEpioblasmacapsaeformisEpioblasmaobliquataobliquataEpioblasmatriquetraFusconaiacorFusconaiacuneolusHemistenalataLasmigonacostataLeptodealeptodonMedionidusconradicusObovariaolivariaObovariaretusaObovariasubrotundaPlethobasuscooperianusPleurobemaclavaPleurobemaoviformePleuronaiadolabelloidesPtychobranchussubtentusQuadrulaintermediaQuadrulasparsaStrophitusundulatusToxolasmacylindrellusVillosatrabalis

Whe

elerLake

78totalspecies,15extirpations(19%)SpeciesActinonaiasligamentinaCyprogeniastegariaDromusdromasEpioblasmabrevidensEpioblasmacapsaeformisEpioblasmaflorentinaaureolaLemioxrimosusObovariaolivariaObovariaretusaPlethobasuscicatricosusPlethobasuscooperianusPleurobemaclavaPtychobranchussubtentusQuadrulaintermediaStrophitusundulatus

50

WealsoconsultedWilliamsetal.(2008)andcomparedthelistofspeciesrecordsfortheConasauga.Nineofthe45specieswithrecordsinourdatabaseforthatsub-basinarenotlistedinthebook,anerrorrateof20%,andJasonWisniewski,aquaticzoologistwiththeGeorgiaDNRNongameprogramandprincipalmalacologistinthestate,estimatesthattheConasaugahistoricallysupportedatleast33speciesbutreportsthatrecentsurveyshavefoundapproximately23species,whichsuggeststhatasmanyas10-13species(22-29%)havebeenextirpated.Theextentofextirpationforcrayfishesisevenlessclear.WeaskedourcrayfishcommitteeiftheyknewofanyHUC-8sub-basinlevelextirpationsintheSoutheastandtheysuggestedthreelocalexamples(i.e.,observedinsmallerareas):twopopulations(CambaruspristinusandC.clivosus)intheCaneyForkputativelyduetodamsandanundescribedspeciessimilartoCambaruscrinipisintheObeddrainageputativelyduetoanintroducedspecies.Thus,amongthebasinsweassessed,wecanconfidentlysaytheinflationofcurrentspeciesrichnessduetopossibleorconfirmedfishextirpationsislessthan5%,onaverage.Formussels,theoverallrateisontheorderof20-25%,withcomparableleveloffalse-positivesduetolocationerrors,misidentifiedspecimensoruncorrectedtaxonomicrevisionsinthesourcedata.Sincethesetwoassessmentswereperformedusingspecieslistsfromwell-surveyed,high-diversitybasins,weexpectthattheseestimatesshouldbenoworseelsewhereintheprojectregion,althoughtheextirpationratewilllikelybehighestinsub-basinsthatareheavilydammed.Forcrayfishes,thesituationisdifficulttoassess.Itmaybethatcrayfishesaremoreresilienttotheperturbationsthathaveextirpatedpopulationsofmusselsandfishes.However,itisalsolikelythattherelativelylowerlevelofattentionthatcrayfisheshavetraditionallyreceivedhasplayedarole.ThissentimentwascapturedbyChrisTaylor,CuratorofFishesandCrustaceansatthePrairieResearchInstituteoftheIllinoisNaturalHistorySurvey,whowrote,“I'mnotawareofanyHUC-wideextirpationsofcrayfishes.ThissituationmayinpartbeduetothepaucityofhistoricalcollectionsofcrayfishesinmanyregionsoftheSoutheastrelativetofishesandmussels(i.e.wemayhavemissedsome).”Wefeelconfidentthaterrorratesinthedatasetforfishesandcrayfishesareminimal,giventhelimitationsoftheavailabledata,althoughfordifferentreasons.Thoughwearecognizantofcrypticbiodiversity,thelargenumberoffieldsamples,relativevigorandmaturityofthefishtaxonomyinthisregion,andtheavailabilityofpublishedreferencesforeachstateenabledustomakeathorough,ifstilllaborious,assessmentofhistoricfishdistributions.Incontrast,thefieldofastacologyisstillcomparativelysmallandwewereabletogathermanyoftheregion’scrayfishexpertstogethertocombineandreviewcollectionswithwhichtheywere,inmostcases,intimatelyfamiliar.Althoughtherehavebeenmanyfewerfieldcollectionsandmanytaxonomicquestionsremain,theattentionandcurationtheteamdonatedestablishesourdatasetasaclearsnapshotofthecurrentstateofcrayfishbiogeography.Wewereunabletoachieveasimilarlevelofconfidenceinthemusseldataset,asevidencedbytheerrorstatisticsrelativetopublishedspecieslists.Althoughthestatecollectionsarelarger

51

formusselsthanforcrayfishes,andthegeoreferencedmuseumcollectionsmuchlarger,theseareapparentlystillrepletewithmisidentifiedspecimensanduncorrectedtaxonomicrevisions.Althoughallourrangemapswerereviewedbyatleastonemalacologist,andtypicallytwoormore,thesesessionswerenotascollaborativeasthecrayfishsessionsduesimplytothefactthatthereviewerswerenotinthesameroom.Wewouldwelcometheopportunitytoreviseandimprovethisdatasetfurther,butthiswasnotfeasiblegiventhetimingofthedatareviewandthemusselpanel’savailabilityduringthefieldseason.Whileweacknowledgethatextirpationsandspuriousmusselrecordsbiasourspeciesrichnessestimatesupwards,wearguethattheoverallprioritizationisstillreasonablesincetheserateswerelowforfishesandcrayfishes,whichtogethermakeup78%oftheoverallspeciescount.Therefore,wedidnotattempttocorrectanyoftheprioritizationscorestoaccountforpotentialerrors,evenforthe11watershedsforwhichweconductedtheerroranalysis.Tocorrectjustthesewatershedswouldhaveintroducedaclearbiasintheresults.

SSOOUUTTHHEEAASSTTEERRNNCCOONNSSEERRVVAATTIIOONNCCAAPPAACCIITTYYAANNAALLYYSSIISSAnimportantfactorinconsideringthepotentialsuccessofconservationinvestmentsistheexistingcapacitywithinawatershed,asindicatedbyactivegovernmentmanagementprograms,NGOmanagementprograms,andexistinginvestments.Thisisnotstraightforwardtoquantify,butasasimpleindicatorwesoughttoidentifythenumberofactiveNGOsineachwatershedintheregion.WequeriedthedatabaseofgroupsontheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency’s“AdoptYourWatershed”pageforgroupsworkingintheSoutheastandfound632differentorganizationsregisteredasfocusingonatleastonewatershedsub-basinintheregion.Onaverage,agrouplistedallorportionsof3.5sub-basinsastheirfocusarea,withthisrangingfrom1sub-basin(395groups)to96sub-basins(AlabamaLandTrust).ThesefocusareasarenotevenlydistributedacrosstheSoutheast(Figure20),withasmanyas32groupsfocusingsomeeffortontheUpperChattahoocheewhile3orfewergroupsfocusonmostofthestateofMississippi(Figure9).Ingeneral,theTennesseeRiversystemisthefocusofmanygroups,althoughnogroupsarefocusedontheLowerElkandPickwickLakeinwesternTennesseeandnorthwesternAlabama.AsshowninTable22,ofthe2,229sub-basinrecordsinthedatabase,842projectobjectives(38%)weredescribedas“Restoration/ConservationProject,”while“WatershedAlliance/Council,”waslistedasanobjectivein697sub-basins(31%)and“EducationProject”waslistedasanobjectivein291sub-basins(13%).

52

Figure20TotalnumberofwatershedgroupsregisteredinEPAdatabase,persub-basin,inAugust2015.Blankareaswithintheprojectregionreflectsub-basinswherenogroupswereregistered.

53

Table22ActivityclassesforprojectobjectivesinEPAdatabaseofwatershedgroups

ActivityCategory #Groups/ProjectsRestoration/ConservationProject 730WatershedAlliance/Council 645Other 308VolunteerMonitoring 223EducationProject/Program 193EducationProject/Program,Restoration/ConservationProject,WatershedAlliance/Council,Other

32

EducationProject/Program,Restoration/ConservationProject 31EducationProject/Program,Restoration/ConservationProject,VolunteerMonitoring

26

EducationProject/Program,Restoration/ConservationProject,VolunteerMonitoring,WatershedAlliance/Council

11

(blank) 11EducationProject/Program,Restoration/ConservationProject,VolunteerMonitoring,Other

3

VolunteerMonitoring,WatershedAlliance/Council 3Restoration/ConservationProject,VolunteerMonitoring 2EducationProject/Program,Restoration/ConservationProject,WatershedAlliance/Council

2

EducationProject/Program,WatershedAlliance/Council 2Restoration/ConservationProject,other 2EducationProject/Program,VolunteerMonitoring 2EducationProject/Program,Restoration/ConservationProject,VolunteerMonitoring,WatershedAlliance/Council,Other

1

EducationProject/Program,Restoration/ConservationProject,Other 1Restoration/ConservationProject,WatershedAlliance/Council 1GrandTotal 2229Sincetheaverageageofarecordinthisdatasetwasjustover5.9years,andtheEPAmakesnoattempttokeepthedatabasecurrent,wedecidedtosurveythegroupslistedandassesstheircurrentlevelofactivity.Weconstructedawebsurveythataskedrespondentstoconfirmtheinformationabouttheareaofgeographicfocuslistedinthedatabase.Wewerealsointerestedinabetterassessmentofthecapacityofeachgroup,sowealsoincludedquestionsaboutthenumberoffull-andpart-timeemployees,whetherthegrouphadrecentlyreceivedexternalfunding,andabriefsummaryofcurrentprojects.Finally,weaskedwhetherrespondentscouldrecommendanyothergroupsworkingintheirgeographicareaforustocontact.Ofthe632groupsinthedatabase,453hadlistedacontactemailaddresswhentheyregistered.WeemailedsurveystotheseaddressesonSeptember11,2015andfollowedupwithareminder10dayslater.Wefoundthat175addresseswerenolongercurrent;only39surveyswerecompleted,foraninitialsurveyresponserateof8.4%.Wewereabletofindupdatedcontactemailsviawebsearchesfor109ofthe453,andwere-mailedsurveyinvitationstothoseonDec7,2015.Ofthose,14contactswerenolongercurrentand12surveyswere

54

completed.Inall,tworoundsofsurveysresultedin51responses,afinalresponserateof11.3%.Ofthe51surveysreturned,onegroupisnolongeractiveandallbutnineupdatedeithertheircontactname,email,website,zip,orgeographicfocus.Exactlyhalfofthosewhorespondedtothegeographicfocusquestion(21of42)didnotupdatetheirgeographicfocus.Amongthosewhoconfirmedorupdatedtheirgeographicfocus,theaveragenumberofsub-basinsinthefocusareawas5.9,witharangefrom1to49,aftertwogroupslisted“statewide”forGeorgia(Figure21).

Figure21Totalnumberofwatershedgroupsregistered,persub-basin,amongsurveyrespondents.Blankareasofthemapwithintheprojectareawerenotassociatedwithanygroupthatresponded.

55

Themostcommonactivitylistedbyrespondents(Figure22)was“EducationProject/Program,”by57%ofrespondents,followedby“VolunteerMonitoring”(49%)and“Restoration/ConservationProject”(35%).

Figure22-Frequencyofgrouporprojectobjectivesontheresponsesof51watershedgroupscompletingsurveys.(Respondentswereallowedtoselectmorethanoneresponse.)

Onaverage,groupsreported3.7full-timeemployees,1.2part-timeemployees,and156volunteers.Twentyoftherespondents(39%)listedatleastoneexternallyfundedprojectwithabudgetexceeding$2000since2005.

CapacityConclusionsWhilewehadhopedthattheEPAdatabasewouldprovidearobustfoundationforaregionalanalysisofconservationcapacity,thiswasnotthecase.Perhapsduetotheageoftherecords,oursurveyreturnratewaslowandtheresultingupdateddatasetof50activeorganizationswasinsufficientforaregionalanalysis.Notably,theorganizationprioritiesexpressedbytherespondentsemphasizedmarkedlydifferentactivities,withalmost44%morerespondentsnamingeducationalactivities,althoughtheoverallproportionreportingrestorationorconservationprojectswasfairlyconsistent(35%vs.38%).Wesuspectthattheresponseswerebiasedtowardactive,well-fundedorganizations,giventhattheyaveragedalmost4FTEsandhadsubstantialsuccessobtainingoutsidefunding.Evenamongthisgroup,however,thespatialdataintheEPAdatabasewasincorrecthalfofthetimeandthelistedcontactinformationwascorrectforonlyoneinfive.Whilewearereluctanttoextrapolatefromthecorrectionssuppliedfor11%ofthedataset,itisclearthattheonlyasmallsubsetofthegroupsactiveintheSoutheastaresufficientlymaturetohaveatransitionplanforreceivingexternal

56

communicationsasleadershipchangesandthatthespatialinformationintheEPA’sdatabaseissomewhatunreliable,whetherasaresultoferrorsatregistrationorchangesingroup’sinterestareaovertime.

WWHHAATTDDOOEESSCCOONNSSEERRVVAATTIIOONNCCOOSSTT??Onereasontoprioritizeriverbasinsistobeabletoconcentrateconservationinvestmentsinafewlocationsinordertohavedemonstrableimpacts,ratherthanspreadingdollarsthinlyacrossabroadlandscape.Buthowmuchisenough?Whatdoes,say,$10millioninfundingachieve?Thisisanexceedinglydifficultquestiontoanswerduetofundamentaldifferencesamongspecies,disparitiesinlandprices,indirectbenefits,andthedifficultyindetectingpopulationtrends(manypopulationsnaturallyhavelargeyear-to-yearfluctuationsthatcanmaskrecovery)todeterminewhetheraprojectwassuccessful.Perhapsinthecaseofaverynarrowlydistributedendemic—suchasaspeciesconfinedtoasingleheadwaterslocation—wecanfeasiblyestimatethecostoflandmanagement,acquisition,orconservationeasements.Butwhatisthebenefitofacompellingvideothatiswidelyviewedandresultsinchangestopublicattitudestowardconservation?Ultimatelythiscouldbethebestinvestmentofall,butquantifyingthebenefitprospectivelyisnearlyimpossible.Nevertheless,wehavegoodindividualprojectstoevaluateandbyexaminingoneofthesemulti-faceted,long-termconservationcampaignswecanprovideaballparkestimateofthecostofconservingasuiteofspecies.Fortenyears,theNatureConservancyanditspartnershaveconcentratedtheireffortsintheEtowahBasinwithinasinglesub-watershed:RaccoonCreek.RaccoonCreekistheonlytributaryoftheLowerEtowahwithaknownpopulationoffederallyendangeredEtowahdarters(Etheostomaetowahae).ItalsosupportsthelargestpopulationoftheLowerESU(evolutionarilysignificantunit)ofCherokeedarters(Etheostomascotti).Atleast41otherfishspeciesoccurinthesub-watershed.MuchofRaccoonCreekiscoveredinsecondaryforest,withrelativelysmallamountsofurban/suburbandevelopmentandagriculture.Since2005TheNatureConservancy(TNC)hasworkedwithUSFishandWildlifeService(FWS),GeorgiaDepartmentofNaturalResources(DNR)andPauldingCountytoacquirecriticaltractsoflandthroughouttheupperRaccoonCreekwatershed.RaccoonCreekwasidentifiedbyTNCandFWSasapriorityareabasedonthelocalpopulationsofimperiledCherokeeandEtowahdartersandtheassociatedhighlyendemicfishfaunaandbecausethewatershedsupportsthelargestremnantlongleafpinepopulationinnorthwestGeorgia.Alargeportionofthefundingcamefroma$15millionbondpassedbyPauldingCountyin2006for“preservationofopenspace,wildlifehabitatandrecreationalareas.”Countyfundinghasfrequentlyservedasmatchforstatelandacquisitionfunds;mostnotably,theyjointlypurchasedthe6,500-acrePauldingForestWildlifeManagementAreain2008.ThistractcoversmuchoftheRaccoonCreekheadwaters.In2013TNC,FWSandDNRpurchased2,400acresownedbytheJonesCompany,mostofwhichlaywithinthewatershed.Ofequalimportance,thesamepartnershavealsoconductedmajorrestorationprojectswithin

57

thewatershed.Between2008and2013,TNCreceivedthreePartnersForWildlifeLandscapeScalegrantstorestorea6,441linearfootreachofRaccoonCreekimmediatelydownstreamfromthePauldingCountyWildlifeManagementArea.Thereach,whichwasimpactedbyapowerlinerightofway,wasrestoredintwophasesbetween2010and2013.In2014and2015theUSFWS,DNR,PauldingCounty,locallandowners,theChestatee/ChattahoocheeResourceConservation&Developmentdistrict,andTNCcollaboratedontheremovalofanundersizedsix-barrelculvertthatimpededfishpassagefromRaccoonCreekintoPegamoreCreek,oneofitslargesttributaries.Theculvertwasreplacedwitha32’free-spansteelbridge.MonitoringofEtowahdartersandCherokeedartershasbeenconductedannuallybyBrettAlbanese(DNR)orBillEnsign(KennesawStateUniversity)sincetheinitiationofrestorationactivities,andhasshownthatpopulationsaresteadyorincreasing.High-profilerestorationprojectssuchasthesecancapturetheattentionofboththepublicanddecision-makersbecausetheyrepresentthepossibilityofactualrecoveryandimprovement.Arguably,sucheffortscatalyzeandpavethewayformoreprosaicconservationactivitiessuchaslandpreservation.KatieOwensofTNCestimatedthatconservationspendingwithintheRaccoonCreekwatershedbetween2005and2016totaledapproximately$30million,ofwhichabout90%wasforlandacquisition(personalcommunication,September2016).ShesaidthatTNC’smajorrestorationandpreservationgoalshadbeenachieved,andthesewerelikelytobelastingbecausethestrongpartnershipwithPauldingCountyhadinstitutionalizedaconservationethicwithrespecttoRaccoonCreek.Thedifficultynow,shesaid,wasinsteeringpartnerstootherprioritywatershedsintheUpperEtowah(startingwithSmithwickCreek)inordertoreplicatetheRaccoonCreeksuccess.Inshort,$30millionmaybeareasonablefigureforacomprehensivesuiteofsuccessfulconservationactions—withaheavyfocusonacquisition—resultingingoodprobabilityofthelong-termhealthofa35,100-acrewatershed.However,RaccoonCreekisjustoneofseveralhigh-qualitytributariesthatwouldrequiresimilarinvestmentstomorebroadlyprotecttheaquaticfaunaoftheEtowah,sotodeclaresuccessinthebasinasawholemightrequireseveraltimesthisamount.(Forcomparison,theGeorgiaConservancyestimatesthat$150million,dividedequallybetweenstate,federal,andprivatesources,willberequiredtoadequatelyprotectGopherTortoisehabitatinthestateofGeorgia,amulti-speciesconservationproblemanalogoustothatofconservingawatershedbecauseofthecomplexroleoftortoisesintheirhabitat.)Thecostelsewheremightbesomewhatlower,astheEtowahsitsontheouterfringesofAtlantaanditspropertyvaluesarehigherthanmanyotherprioritybasins.Butthisisareasonablestartingpointforthecostofacomprehensive,multi-speciesconservationeffort.Thatsaid,ineverybasintherewillbeopportunitiesforprojectsthatrepresentlow-hangingfruitthatwillmeaningfullyreducepressureonat-riskspecies.Oneexamplewouldberemovalofabarrierblockingacriticalmigrationpathorrestorationofacriticalspawninglocationthatcouldhavebenefitsoutofproportiontothelowcost.Thiscouldbeaparticularlyripeareagiventheincreasingattentionandsupportbeinggivenatthefederalandstateleveltotheremovalofsmaller,outdateddams.Theeffortsofmultipleactors,includingoftheSoutheastAquaticResourcesPartnership,TNC,theSouthAtlanticLandscapeConservationCooperative,

58

andAmericanRiverstoidentifyandprioritizebarriersforremovalaswellasbuildcapacityforremovalteamsintheSoutheastarehelpingtocreateabiggerpictureonbarrierremoval.AnothermodelisthesuccessfulimplementationoflandownerincentivesfortheplantingofherbaceousandvegetativebuffersintheElkRiverwatershedofTennessee.TheElkRiverproject,acoordinatedeffortofTennesseeWildlifeResourcesAgency(TWRA),theTennesseeValleyAuthority(TVA),theNationalFishandWildlifeFoundation(NFWF),theNaturalResourcesConservationService(NRCS),TNC,andotherpartners,encourageslandownerstoparticipateinstreamrestoration.TheprojectsupplementsthepaymentsalreadyavailablethroughNRCSinanareawherehighcommodityprocesshadmadebufferimplementationunattractive.Thisresultedinincreasedadoptionratesandimprovedwaterqualityalonga26-milestretchofriverintheMiddleTennesseeRiverwatershedatopthebiologicallydiverseCumberlandPlateau.Theprojectachievedalmost200acresofbufferplantingintreesornativewarm-seasongrassesatacostofjustover$315,000andisagoodexampleofhowsuccesscanbehad,evenatlowerprices.Asmentionedabove,suchactivitiescanalsoserveasstartingpointsforbroader,multi-prongedcampaignsbyshowingearlysuccesses,generatingexcitement,cementingpartnerships,andopeningthedoortootherfundingsources.

CCOONNCCLLUUSSIIOONNSSSoutheasternaquaticecosystemsarethemostimperiledinNorthAmericaandurgentlyinneedofincreasedconservationactivity.Thedollarfiguresdescribedinthissectionmaysoundhighatfirst,butcomparedtoconservationspendingelsewhereintheUS,theyarequitemodest.Forexample,BonnevillePowerAdministration(BPA),whichmanagesreservoirsintheColumbiaRiverBasin,spends$252milliononsalmonrecoveryeachyear.Watershedrestorationthatoccursinthisbasinoccurswithinacomplexregulatoryandlegalframeworkthatincreasescostsdramatically.Thisshouldbeacautionaryexampleforotherregionsofthecountrytotakenoticeofaquaticspeciesconservation,beforeendangerment.Combinedwithcostsduetoalteredoperationstobenefitsalmon,BPAspendsnearly20%ofitsbudgetmanagingforsalmon.ThegoodnewsisthatmostoftheimperiledspeciesoftheSoutheastareeasiertomanagethansalmon,whichhavecomplexlifecyclesandundergolongmigrations.Manyofourspeciesareimperiledduetosmallrangesize,whichmeansthatconservationbenefitscanbeobtainedforrelativelylittlespending.However,eventhoughtherearescoresofsoutheasternaquaticspeciesthatarelegallyprotectedundertheESA,hundredsmoreareimperiledandhavebeenpetitionedforformalprotection.Wehavealreadymovedbeyondtheproverbial“ounceofprevention,”sincemuchhasbeenlostinthesestreamsandriversthoughcenturiesofmisuseandneglect,yetanoutstandinglevelofbiodiversitystillremains.Butthepricetagformaintainingthisbiodiversitywillbemuchhigherinthefuture.Thetimetoinvestisnow.

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RREEFFEERREENNCCEESS

CitationsfromtheBodyoftheReportAbell,R.A.2000.FreshwaterecoregionsofNorthAmerica:aconservationassessment.IslandPress.Ahlstedt,A.A,M.T.Fagg,R.S.Butler,J.F.Connell,andJ.W.Jones.2016.QuantitativeMonitoringof

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61

ElectronicDataRequestsPointdatawererequestedfromGBIF,Fishnet2,andMARISonlinerepositories,asfollows:GBIF.org(9thDecember2015)GBIFOccurrenceDownloadhttp://doi.org/10.15468/dl.jsszn8GBIF.org(5thJanuary2016)GBIFOccurrenceDownloadhttp://doi.org/10.15468/dl.xucy9nGBIF.org(28thMarch2016)GBIFOccurrenceDownloadhttp://doi.org/10.15468/dl.zpv8wv(OnlyrecordsfromtheFloridaMuseumofNaturalHistorywithinthisquerywereusedinthisanalysis.)DataobtainedfromtheMuseumofSouthwesternBiology,CaliforniaAcademyofSciences,TexasA&MUniversityBiodiversityResearchandTeachingCollection,UniversityofWashingtonFishCollection,LouisianaStateUniversityMuseumofZoology,MichiganStateUniversityMuseum(MSUM),OhioStateUniversity-FishDivision,UniversityofAlabamaIchthyologicalCollection,UniversityofMichiganMuseumofZoology,UniversidadNacionalAutonomadeMexico-IBiologia-CNPE/ColeccionNacionaldePeces,AustralianMuseum,MississippiMuseumofNaturalScience,FortHaysSternbergMuseumofNaturalHistory,MCZ-HarvardUniversity,FloridaFishandWildlifeConservationCommission,IllinoisNaturalHistorySurvey,UniversityofKansasBiodiversityInstitute-Tissues,UniversityofColoradoMuseumofNaturalHistory,YaleUniversityPeabodyMuseum,UNELLEZMuseodeZoologia,CollecciondePeces,LosAngelesCountyMuseumofNaturalHistory(LACM),TulaneUniversityMuseumofNaturalHistory-RoyalD.SuttkusFishCollection,UniversityofAlbertaMuseums,OregonStateUniversity,TexasNaturalHistoryScienceCenter-TexasNaturalHistoryCollections,SamNobleOklahomaMuseumofNaturalHistory,RoyalOntarioMuseum,AuburnUniversityMuseumofNaturalHistory,CanadianMuseumofNature,DGRFishesSpecimens,UniversityofKansasBiodiversityInstitute-Specimens,NationalMuseumofNaturalHistory,SmithsonianInstitution,FieldMuseum,FloridaMuseumofNaturalHistory,WesternNewMexicoUniversity,SwedishMuseumofNaturalHistory,UniversityofNebraskaStateMuseum,CornellUniversityMuseumofVertebrates(CUMV),SantaBarbaraMuseumofNaturalHistory,AcademyofNaturalSciencesatPhilidelphia,NorthCarolinaStateMuseumofNaturalSciences,UniversityofArkansasCollectionsFacility,UAFMC(AccessedthroughtheFishnet2Portal,www.fishnet2.net,11/29/2016).DataprovidedbyAlabamaDepartmentofConservationandNaturalResources,AlabamaDepartmentofEnvironmentalManagement,AuburnUniversityMuseumFishCollection,FloridaFishandWildlifeConservationCommission,GeologicSurveyofAlabama,GeologicSurveyofAlabamaandAlabamaDepartmentofEnvironmentalManagement,GeologicSurveyofAlabamaandTennesseeValleyAuthority,GeorgiaDepartmentofNaturalResources,KentuckyDEQ,DivisionofWaterQuality,LouisianaDepartmentofEnvironmentalQuality,LouisianaDepartmentofWildlifeandFisheries,MississippiMuseumofNaturalScience,NorthCarolinaDepartmentofEnvironmentandNaturalResources,NorthCarolinaWildlifeResourcesCommission,SouthCarolinaDepartmentofNaturalResources,TennesseeWildlifeResourcesAgency,TroyUniversity,UniversityofAlabamaIchthyologicalCollection,VirginiaDepartmentofEnvironmentalQuality,andWestVirginiaDepartmentofEnvironmentalProtection-DivisionofWaterandWasteManagementviawww.marisdata.orgDecember15,2015

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Ross,S.T.TheInlandFishesofMississippi.2001.UniversityPressofMississippi.Jackson.624pp.Snelson,F.F.Jr.,T.J.Krabbenhoft,andJ.M.Quattro.2009.Elassomagilberti,ANewSpeciesofPygmy

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64

Wood,R.M.,R.L.Mayden,R.H.Matson,B.R.Kuhajda,andS.R.Layman.2002.SystematicsandBiogeographyoftheNotropisrubellusSpeciesGroup(Teleostei:Cyprinidae).Bulletin.AlabamaMuseumNaturalHistory22:37-80.

75

AAPPPPEENNDDIIXXII::FFIISSHH,,CCRRAAYYFFIISSHH,,AANNDDMMUUSSSSEELLMMAAPPSSThemapsinthissectionduplicatetheinsetmapsfromtheresultssectionatalargersize,forbetteron-screenviewing.Digitalversionswillbeavailableatwww.southeastfreshwater.org

AppendixI.Fish,Crayfish,andMusselMaps

66


67


68


69


70


71


72


73


74

75

AAPPPPEENNDDIIXXIIII..NNAAMMEESSOOFFHHUUCC--88SSUUBB--BBAASSIINNSSIINNTTHHEESSOOUUTTHHEEAASSTTThemapsinthissectionshowthe270HUC-8Sub-basinsintheprojectarea,withnames.HUCboundariesandnamesdatadrawnfromtheUSGSNationalWatershedBoundaryDataset(http://nhd.usgs.gov/wbd.html).ColorsreflectHUC-2andshadingreflectsHUC-4boundaries.

Upper

Yadkin

SouthFork

CatawbaUpper Little

Tennessee

Tuckasegee UpperCatawba

UpperCatawba

Watauga, NorthCarolina, Tennessee

Uppe

r Fren

chBr

oad

Pigeon

Nolichucky

Lower LittleTennessee

UpperNew

TygerEnoree

Congaree

UpperConecuh

Middle

Coosa

Lowe

rCo

osa Middle

Tallap

oosa

LowerTallapoosaUpper

Alabama

Cahaba

MiddleAlabama

Luxapal

lilaSip

sey

Mulberry

SipseyFork

Locust

Upper B lackWarrior

Lowe

r Blac

kWa

rrior

Middle Tombigbee-Chickasaw

WheelerLakeBear

Midd

leCh

attah

ooch

ee-La

keHa

rding

Middle Chattahoochee-

Walter F

Upper

Tallapoosa

Middle Tombigbee-Lubbub

Noxubee

PickwickLake

Gunters

ville

Lake

Lowe

rElk

South ForkEdisto

SalkehatchieBroad-St.Helena

Stevens

Tugaloo

UpperSavannah

MiddleSavannah

LowerCatawba

UpperBroad

Saluda

Seneca

Upper Cumberland-Cordell Hull Reservoir

Collins

Caney

Lower Cumberland-Old Hickory Lake

Lower Cumberland-Sycamore

StonesHarpeth

Holston

Lower French

BroadWattsBar Lake

LowerClinchEmory

Sequa

tchie

Lower Tennessee-Beech

UpperDuck

LowerDuckBuffalo

South

Fork

Obion

North ForkForked Deer

UpperElk

South

Fork

Cumb

erlan

d

Obey

LowerCumberland

Red

Kentu

cky

Lake

Obion

UpperClinch

Powell

LowerBroadUpper

Coosa

UpperCumberland

South Fork

HolstonNorth Fork Holston

Middle New

LowerNew

LowerNew

Gauley

Pea

Broad

Little

BrierUpper

Ogeechee

Lower

Ogeechee

Canoochee

Canoochee

UpperOconee

Lower

Oconee

UpperOcmulgee

Lower

OcmulgeeLittle

Ocmulgee AltamahaAltamaha

Ohoopee

Upper

Chattah

oochee

UpperFlint

MiddleFlintKinchafoonee-

Muckalee

Conasau

gaCo

osawatte

e

Oosta

naula

Etowah

OcoeeMiddle

Tennes

see-

Chick

amaug

a Hiwassee

Lower

Savannah

Licking

South Fork

LickingNorth ForkKentucky

Middle Fork

Kentucky

South ForkKentucky

UpperKentucky

LowerKentucky

UpperGreen

Barren

Middle

Green

RoughLowerGreen

Pond

Rock

castl

e

Upper Cumberland-Lake Cumberlan

d

Salt

Roll ingFork

Tradewater

LowerTennessee

Town

Tibbee

UpperTombigbee

Buttah

atchee

Sucarnoochee

UpperHatchie

Wateree

Patsaliga

LowerCatawba

LowerNew

Bayou DeChien-

Mayfield

TownTown

Chunky-Okatibbee

Appendix II: HUC-8 Sub-Watersheds of the Southeast

Deep

UpperCape Fear

Lower

CapeFear

Black NortheastCape Fear

UpperYadkin

SouthYadkin

Lower

YadkinUp

per

Pee De

eRocky

South Fork

Catawba

UpperCatawba

Watauga, NorthCarolina, Tennessee

Uppe

r Fren

chBr

o ad

Nolichucky

Middle

Roanoke

UpperDan Lower

Dan

RoanokeRapids

Chowa

n

MeherrinUpperNew

Lynches

Black

CarolinaCoastal-Sampit

Wateree

TygerEnoree

Congaree

LakeMarion

SanteeCooperSouth Carolina

Coastal

North ForkEdisto

South ForkEdisto FourHole

SwampEdistoRiver

Salkehatchie

Broad-St.Helena

Bulls

Bay

St. HelenaIsland

Stevens

UpperSavannah

MiddleSavannah

Calibogue Sound-

Wright River

LowerPee Dee

LumberLittlePee Dee

Waccamaw

Coastal

Car

olina

Lowe

rCa

tawba

UpperBroad

Saluda

SenecaSeneca

Holston

UpperClinch

LowerBroad

South ForkHolston

Lower

Roanoke

MiddleNeuse

UpperRoanoke

Banister

Nottoway

Blackwater

North Fork Holston

MiddleNew

Greenbr

ierLowerNew

Gauley

Broad

Little

BrierUpper

Ogeechee

Lower

Ogeechee

Canoochee

CanoocheeAltamaha

Ohoopee

Lower

Savannah

AlbemarleUpperTar

Fishing

LowerTar

Pamlico

PamlicoSound

Upper

Neuse Contentnea

LowerNeuse

White OakRiver

NewRiver

Haw

Appendix II: HUC-8 Sub-Watersheds of the Southeast

WattsBar Lake

WattsBar Lake Deep

Upper

Cape FearLower

Cape FearBlack

SouthYadkin

LowerYadkin

Upper

PeeDe

e

Rocky

South ForkCatawbaUpper Little

Tennessee

Tuckasegee

UpperCatawba

Uppe

rCa

tawba

Upper

French

Broad

PigeonLower LittleTennessee

Lynches

Black

CarolinaCoastal-Sampit

Wateree

TygerEnoree

Congaree

LakeMarion

SanteeCooper

Uppe

rCh

octaw

hatch

ee

UpperConecuh

MiddleCoosa

MiddleCoosa

MiddleTallapoosa

Lowe

rTa

llapo

osa

Midd

leCh

attah

ooch

ee-La

keHa

rding

Midd

leCh

attaho

ochee-

Walter

F

Upper

Tallapo

osaGuntersville

Lake

South Carolina

Coastal

North ForkEdisto

South ForkEdisto FourHole

SwampEdistoRiver

SalkehatchieBroad-St.

Helena

Bulls

Bay

St. HelenaIsland

Stevens

Tugaloo

UpperSavannah

MiddleSavannah

Calibogue Sound-Wright River

LowerPee Dee

LumberLittlePee Dee

Waccamaw

Coastal

Car

olina

Lowe

rCa

tawba

UpperBroad

Saluda

Seneca

Collins

Caney WattsBar Lake

Sequa

tchie

LowerBroad

Uppe

rCo

osa

Nassau

Upper St.

Johns

Oklawaha

Lower St.Johns

Daytona-St.

AugustineCrys

tal-

Pithlacha

scote

e

Withlacoochee

Wacca

sassa

Econfina-

Steinhatchee

LowerSuwannee

Santa Fe

LowerOchlockonee

Apala

chico

la

New

ApalachicolaBay

St.Andrew-St.

Joseph BaysChipola

Pea

Lowe

rCh

octaw

hatch

ee

LowerChattahoochee

St.Marys

Aucilla

UpperSuwannee

Alapaha

Withlacoochee

Apala

chee Ba

y-St.

Marks

Broad

Little

BrierUpper

OgeecheeLower

Ogeechee

Canoochee

Ogeec

heeCo

astal

UpperOconee

LowerOconee

UpperOcmulgee

LowerOcmulgee

Little

Ocmulgee

Altamaha

Ohoopee

Satilla

LittleSatilla

Little

Uppe

rOchl

ocko

nee

Upper

Chattah

oochee

UpperFlint

MiddleFlint

Kinchafoonee-

Muckalee

Lower

Flint

Ichaw

ayno

chaw

ay

S prin

gCona

sauga

Coosa

wattee

Oosta

naula

Etowah

Ocoee

Middle Tennessee-Chickamauga

Cumb

erlan

d-St.

Simon

s

Hiwassee

Lower

Savannah

UpperNeuseHaw

Appendix III: HUC-8 Sub-Watersheds

Lower LittleTennessee

PerdidoBay

Upper

Choctaw

hatch

ee

Upper C

onecuh

Patsa

liga

Sepu

lga

LowerConecuh

Middle

Coosa

Lowe

rCo

osa Mid dle

Tallap

oosa

LowerTallapoosaUpper

Alabama

Cahaba

MiddleAlabama

Lower

Alabam

aLuxa

pallila

Sipse

yMulberry

SipseyFork

Locust

Upper B lackWarrior

Lowe

r Blac

kWa

rrior

Middle Tom

bigbee-

Chickasaw

Lowe

rTo

mbigb

eeMo

bile-

Tensa

wMobileBay

WheelerLakeBear

Perdido

Midd

leCh

attah

ooch

ee-La

keHa

rding

Midd

leCh

attaho

ochee-

Walter

F

Upper

Tallapoosa

Middle Tombigbee-LubbubNoxubee

Upper

Chickasawhay

PickwickLake

Gunters

ville

Lake

Lowe

rElk

Upper Cumberland-Cordell Hull Reservoir

Collins

Caney

Lower Cumberland-Old Hickory Lake

Lower Cumberland-Sycamore

StonesHarpeth Watts

Bar Lake

LowerClinch

Emory

Sequa

tchie

Lower Tennessee-Beech

UpperDuck

LowerDuck

Buffalo

South ForkObionNorth ForkForked Deer

South Fork Forked Deer

ForkedDeer

Loosahatchie UpperElk

South

Fork

Cumb

erlan

d

Obey

LowerCumberland

Red

Kentu

cky

LakeObion

LowerHatchie

Horn Lake-Nonconnah

Lowe

r Miss

issipp

i-Me

mphis

UpperCoosa

Lower Mississippi-Helena

Tangipahoa

LowerLeaf

Yocona

LowerOchlockonee

Apalachicola

New

ApalachicolaBay

St. Andrew-St.

Joseph Bays

ChoctawhatcheeBayPensacola

Bay

Chipola

Yellow

Blackwate

r

Pea

Lower

Choct

awhatchee

Escambia

LowerChattahoochee

UpperOcmulgee

Uppe

rFli

nt

MiddleFlint

Lowe

rFli

ntIch

away

noch

away

S prin

g

Conasau

gaCo

osawatte

e

Oosta

naula

Etowah

OcoeeMiddle

Tennes

see-

Chick

amaug

a Hiwassee

UpperGreen

Upper Green

Barren

MiddleGreen

PondUpper Cumberland-

Lake CumberlandTradewater

LowerTennesseeBayou De Chien-

Mayfield

Lower Mississippi-Baton Rouge

Tickfaw

LakeMaurepas

Lower Mississippi-New Orleans

Liberty Bayou-

Tchefuncta

LakePontchartrain

Eastern LouisianaCoastal

BogueChitto

Lower

Yazoo

Deer-Steele

Lower Mississippi-Natchez

Bayou Sara-Thompson

Amite

Lower Mississippi-Greenville

Town

Tibbee

Chunky-

Okatibbe

e

UpperLeaf

Pascagoula

Black

UpperPearl

Middle

Pearl

-Str

ong

Middle Pearl-

Silver

LittleTallahatchie

Tallahatchie

Coldwater

Yalobusha

UpperYazoo

BigSu

nflow

er

Upper

Big

Bla

ck

Lower Big

Black

BayouPierre

ColesCreek

Homochitto

Buffalo

Uppe

rTo

mbigb

eeBu

ttahatch

ee

Sucarnoochee

Lower

Chickasawhay

Esca

tawpa

MississippiCoastal

LowerPearl

Uppe

rHa

tchie

Wolf

LowerCumberland

Lower Ochlockonee

MiddleFlint

UpperGreen

Appendix III: HUC-8 Sub-Watersheds

the southeastern aquatic biodiversity conservation...

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