URBAN ICHTHYOLOGY: CHANGES IN THE FISH
COMMUNITY ALONG AN URBAN-RURAL CREEK IN INDIANA
Christopher M. Ritzi, Brianne L. Everson, B. Jagger Foster, Jeremy J. Sheets and
Dale W. Sparks: Department of Life Sciences, Indiana State University, Terre
Haute, Indiana 47809 USA
ABSTRACT. We collected 39 species of fish from 10 sites along the East Fork of White Lick Creek in Marion and Hendricks counties, Indiana from May through August 2002 in order to quantify stream quality prior to the start of construction on Interstate Highway 70. These included 10 families, with 1 species each of Lepisosteidae, Clupeidae, Poeciliidae, Atherinidae, Cottidae; 2 species of Ictaluridae; 4 species of Percidae; 6 species of Catostomidae; 9 species of Centrarchidae; and 13 species of Cyprinidae. The most abundant species we encountered were: spotfin shiner (Cyprinella spiloptera), silverjaw minnow (Notropis buccatus), sand shiner (N. stramineus), bluntnose minnow (Pimephales notatus), striped shiner
(Luxilus chrysocephalus), central stoneroller {Campostoma anomalum), largemouth bass {Micropterus salmoides), creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), johnny darter (Etheostoma nigrum), fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), rainbow darter {Etheostoma caeruleum), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), and the orangethroat darter (Etheostoma spectabile). We documented eight new county records for Hendricks County and one new county record for Marion County. Species richness, abundance of fish, and a modified Index of Biological Integrity for the seining sites were all positively correlated with distance downstream from Indianapolis. A trend toward greater fish abundance was also recorded with increasing distance from Interstate Highway 70. Results suggest that urbanization of Hendricks and Marion counties has had a negative impact on the quality of the East Fork of White Lick Creek.
Keywords: Fish, fish distribution, Indianapolis International Airport, Index of Biological Integrity, urbanization, urban ecology
Link to .pdf download from: Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science
