Has anyone ever collected in Carroll County, GA, due west of Atlanta along the Alabama line? I'm curious because the Tallapoosa River and Little Tallapoosa River originate there (or at least run through it), and I've been mucking around the Tallapoosa on the 'bama side of the state line looking for stippled studfish, Fundulus bifax. Three of us are going there tomorrow, along the Cleburne and Randolph county lines, to check out some tribs to the Little Tallapoosa for stippleds. I'm curious as to any observations; Google Earth images show the 'bama side of the line to be full of commercial poultry houses, usually the kiss of death to local streams due to nutrient enrichment.
Any Experience In Carroll County, Georgia?
Started by
Guest_fundulus_*
, Aug 04 2008 07:55 PM
7 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_fundulus_*
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Posted 05 August 2008 - 10:24 PM
Frankly I didn't think anyone had any experience in Carroll County, GA, because I suspect that most of the streams there are messed up. Below is a photo of the Little Tallapoosa River at County Road 49 near Ranburne, AL, a mile or two from where the river flows into 'bama from Georgia. It's a mess, with heavy sediment load and clear signs of eutrophication. We didn't try any seining, since it's obviously not stippled studfish habitat: clear water, sandy beaches, flowing water (like this river was, say, 150 years ago...). We found only one stream in the Little Tallapoosa drainage that was even kind of OK, and it didn't have any stippleds in it either. For an area with relatively thin population they've managed to modify the land and streams in a big way. I'm impressed in a WTF kind of way.
#6
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Posted 06 August 2008 - 09:18 AM
Bruce,
FWIW, I've sampled several sites in Carroll Co., in 2000, 2001, and 2003 -- mostly looking for sculpins and darters via backpack electrofisher. These included sites on Buck Creek; Dog River (sites at and downstream of Liberty Rd had heavy sediment deposits); Snake Creek; Unnamed trib to Little Tallapoosa River ca. 1 mi E of Victory; Mountain Creek; and Turkey Creek. I did not collect any studfish, but as I was likely focused on getting sufficient sculpins, I may not have been working appropriate habitat (though I usually make an effort to sample everything at a site...). All downstream sections were degraded, but the higher up you go the better many of these systems get. That doesn't bode well for studfish, though...
Dave
FWIW, I've sampled several sites in Carroll Co., in 2000, 2001, and 2003 -- mostly looking for sculpins and darters via backpack electrofisher. These included sites on Buck Creek; Dog River (sites at and downstream of Liberty Rd had heavy sediment deposits); Snake Creek; Unnamed trib to Little Tallapoosa River ca. 1 mi E of Victory; Mountain Creek; and Turkey Creek. I did not collect any studfish, but as I was likely focused on getting sufficient sculpins, I may not have been working appropriate habitat (though I usually make an effort to sample everything at a site...). All downstream sections were degraded, but the higher up you go the better many of these systems get. That doesn't bode well for studfish, though...
Dave
#7
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Posted 06 August 2008 - 09:56 AM
Thanks Dave, that's what I figured was the likely condition. Stippled studfish are more habitat specific than most fishes, which is of course why they've apparently disappeared from about half of their range. Brett Albanese and others didn't find them in historic sites in GA several years ago, so the best interpretation is that they're extirpated in GA.
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Posted 08 August 2008 - 12:29 PM
It's a shame to see that kind of degredation so far from urban areas.
Unfortunately, as you well know Bruce, that photo could have been almost any low gradient stream anywhere in eastern Massachusetts. Between all the old [and mostly useless] dams, the runoff and the current plague of beavers, it's hard to find a stream you can even wade in without sinking to your bellybutton in ancient, septic mud.
Breaks your heart to read the history of these streams and hear of the historic runs of salmon, shad, herring etc. Carp, bluegills and hornpout rule today, with the addition of fallfish and suckers [at least they're native] if there's a little more water flow.
Unfortunately, as you well know Bruce, that photo could have been almost any low gradient stream anywhere in eastern Massachusetts. Between all the old [and mostly useless] dams, the runoff and the current plague of beavers, it's hard to find a stream you can even wade in without sinking to your bellybutton in ancient, septic mud.
Breaks your heart to read the history of these streams and hear of the historic runs of salmon, shad, herring etc. Carp, bluegills and hornpout rule today, with the addition of fallfish and suckers [at least they're native] if there's a little more water flow.
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