Endangered Goldline Darters found in Shades Creek

We had a very successful trip yesterday (16 April) on Shades Creek
form Co. Rd. 21 to below the railcars.  The group included Heath
Howell and Brook Fluker from UA, James Lowery from Friends of Shades
Creek, Randy Haddock from the Cahaba River Society, and April Hall and
Liz Salter of the Alabama Rivers Alliance.  We sampled four riffles
upstream of the railcars and two riffles downstream; the first riffle
above the railcars where we collected imperiled fishes last summer was
not much of a riffle with the higher water and we did not realize we
had passed it until sometime later.

  We found what may be the first native mussel shells ever recovered
in Shades Creek near the second riffle we sampled (33 12'24"N, 87 1'
4"W) which David Campbell (UA) identified as Quadrula asperata
(Alabama Orb) and Q. verrucosa (Pistolgrip).  Both shells were badly
weathered.

  We collected three Goldline Darters (Percina aurolineata) at the
third riffle we sampled at a pipeline crossing (33 1'58"N, 87 1'
16"W).  This extends the distribution of this threatened species about
1.5 miles upstream.  Just upstream of this site we found two mussel
shells in good shape – Fusconaia cerina (Gulf Pigtoe) and Hamiota
altilis (Fineline Pocketbook).  This Fineline Pocketbook if federally
threatened, quite the find for Shades Creek, especially when we
thought that no native mussels may be left!!!

  On the fourth riffle we collected another Goldline Darter and two
Coal Darters (P. brevicauda).  We also found a live Elliptio
crassidens (Elephantear) as well as a shell of this species and of
Potamilus purpuratus (Bleufer).  This site was next to an impressive
bluff.

  We collected one Goldline Darter at the riffle below the railcars.
We failed to find any Goldline Darters at the next downstream riffle.
We did not collect any Cahaba Shiners (Notropis cahabae) during our
survey, but we also failed to collect any Mimic Shiners (N.
volucellus), which occupy the same backwater habitat adjacent to
riffles.  It is likely that both species are still utilizing pools and
will move into riffle habitat as the water becomes warmer.

  We collected a total of 20 different species of fishes on the
riffles and found shells of 6 species of mussels.  Every time we go to
a new part of lower Shades Creek we find new aquatic species, even
imperiled ones!  We plan on doing another collecting trip this summer
during lower water.