I have been occasionally assisting with an alligator snapping turtle relocation study in Fayette County, TN, at the Ghost River State Natural Area on the Wolf River. The Wolf is a small river lying entirely in the Coastal Plain; it starts in Mississippi, flows northwest into Tennessee, then westward to the Mississippi at Memphis. It is south of and similar to the Loosahatchie and Hatchie, but is not as well-preserved as the Hatchie.

I participated in the final field data collectioon portion of this study on the 3rd and 4th of November. We were attempting to confirm the locations of twenty radio-transmitter-equipped juvenile snappers released over the last two years in the Wolf proper and in a connected wetland called Mineral Slough. This gave me the opportunity to do a bit of dipnetting as well.

The main channel of the Wolf is a sand-and-silt bottomed stream averaging about 30 feet wide and three feet deep in the portion used in the study. The banks are lined with typical riparian trees- maples and Box Elder, Cherrybark Oak, Musclewood, Green Ash, etc.- while the channel itself is populated with sporadically distributed Baldcypress trees. There is little herbaceous vegetation in the river. There are always plenty of downed trees in the channel, often forcing us to lift the canoe over them.

Netting in the main channel yielded numerous Blackspotted Topminnows (Fundulus notatus); small numbers of Banded Pygmy Sunfish (Elassoma zonatum), Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), Cajun Dwarf Crayfish (Cambarellus shufeldtii), unidentified crayfish (Procambarus sp.), larval Belted River Skimmers (Macromia species), and ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes kadakiensis) were also found. Most were associated with shoreline vegetation dangling in the water.

I also sampled the outflow of a beaver swamp in the river floodplain. This outflow had fairly rapid flow with water ranging from inches to two feet in depth. The substrate was hard-packed sand in the runs and very soft silt in the pools; the runs were vegetated with American Bur Reed (Sparganium americanum) and an arrowhead (Sagittaria species). In addition to F. notatus and G. affinis, the outflow also yielded a NSM, probably an Emerald Shiner (Notropis atherinoides). A few exploratory dips in the swamp itself found several large Pirate Perch (Aphredoderus sayanus). The shallow, leaf-pack-covered river margin just above the outflow confluence yielded one each of Brindled Madtom (Noturus miurus) and Slough Darter (Etheostoma gracile).

Mineral Slough is a floodplain swamp dominated by Water Tupelo and Buttonbush, with smaller concentrations of Baldcypress and Alder. The water's surface is blanketed with Duckweed, Water Meal, and Mosquito Fern through the warmer part of the year. There are stands of sedges, rushes, and American Bur Reed along the margins.

Dipnetting in Mineral Slough yielded no fish, which is consistent with previous efforts. I did no trapping this time; in the past trapping of mineral slough has yielded Fliers (Centrarchus macropterus), various sunfish (Lepomis species), and numerous large Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii).

A smaller wetland exists on the Charlie Rogers tract of the GRSNA. This consists of a fairly open, heavily-vegetated marsh/swamp with numerous small Black Willow and Green Ash trees, Buttonbush, and a wide variety of herbaceous vegetation. The water level in this wetland seemed low on this visit, while the river and Mineral Slough were close to their normal water levels.

Netting in the water-filled ditches yielded numerous juvenile C. macropterus and A. sayanus, a few juvenile Dollar (Lepomis marginatus) and Green Sunfish (L. cyanellus), and numerous adult E. zonatum and G. affinis. C. shufeldtii was also common, while P. kadakiensis were surprisingly rare given the seemingly ideal habitat and their abundance on previous visits. The single Red-finned Shiner (Lythrurus umbratilis) discovered seemed oddly out of place.

All of the animals listed above were found in the plant-choked ditches on the more open side of the road. The shadier side's deeper, more open waters yielded only a single young-of-year Stinkpot (Sternotherus odoratus).

Pictures coming soon!

Now THAT was an excellent report! Thanks very much for describing the habitats that you were sampling. It adds a lot to my understanding of the different fish and where they live, as well as providing insight on the types of habitats that are important to conserve.

Thanks, Laura!

I'd add more on the flora of the Charlie Rogers wetland, except that I don't know most of the plants there. I can tell you for certain that Ludwigia palustris, Callitriche heterophylla, and Riccia fluitans were abundant; the Riccia was in many places growing terrestrially, where it had a much finer appearance. There was also a Potamogeton of some sort and floating mats of Polygonum, as well as the usual graminoid assortment.

The shady side of the road limited its aquatic vegetation to larger, coarser plants such as Sparganium americanum, Sagittaria latifolia, and Nymphaea sp. I was disappointed in my quest for S. latifolia seed; no fruits were to be seen.

Also, on second thought, that "red-finned shiner" is a chubsucker (Erimyzon). I feel dumb.

Seriously, I'm going to use this as a model for future trip reports. I still need to learn more plant identification, but I don't think I've seen a more clearly stated, thorough review of both the fish and habitat on a trip report.

Color me impressed.

Nice trip report Nathan, I found myself learning quite a bit about plants. I really need to start getting a working knowledge of aquatic plants. I am looking forward to the pictures.

Blake

Even if you don't know the plant species, a general description is helpful. Things like: overhanging, emergent, submerged, floating mat, herbaceous, shrub/scrub, forested, etc. This is just as helpful as noting water speed, depth, and substrate. Don't feel intimitated by the plants.

Don't feel intimitated by the plants.

Oh, I do not feel intimitated by the plants, I just have not broadened past my terrestrial knowledge. Plants have always been one of my main interest (especially trees and wildflowers) but in the near future I am going to get some good books to help me tackle some of the aquatic plants. I was wondering do the southeastern states and the midwestern states share a lot of the same species? Because, if so, I was thinking about purchasing (Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States: Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons) two seperate volumes by Godfrey and Wooten.

Blake

Thanks fellas!

Blake- The aquatic plants of the inland southeast are largely the same as those of the midwest, so that book should help. In any case the genera should be mainly the same, except for a few subtropicals like Ceratopteris.

Oh, I do not feel intimitated by the plants, I just have not broadened past my terrestrial knowledge. Plants have always been one of my main interest (especially trees and wildflowers) but in the near future I am going to get some good books to help me tackle some of the aquatic plants. I was wondering do the southeastern states and the midwestern states share a lot of the same species? Because, if so, I was thinking about purchasing (Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States: Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons) two seperate volumes by Godfrey and Wooten.

Blake

Oh, I didn't mean to suggest that you were intimidated. It was more of a general comment for anyone reading the thread - to not feel like they aren't nerdy enough if they don't want to study plants too. But really, who wouldn't want to study PLANTS???

Anyway, Godfrey and Wooten is my all time favorite text. The only thing I would caution you on is that some species that are in the midwest but not the south MIGHT key out as the incorrect species, since that species characteristics won't be considered. However, this is where Godfrey and Wooten really shine - their descriptions of each species are excellent, with ranges and habitats given.

You might also be interested in Crow and Hellquist. Their work is for northeastern aquatic and wetland plants, but includes Minnesota to Misouri, eastward. It is a revised version of Fassett, expanded to include bog species and all of Virginia, and a lot of additional line drawings. The line drawings are excellent; some are from Godfrey and Wooten. Habitat types are listed. The downside to this text is that there are no complete descriptions of each species. So, you could key something out that isn't included in the book, and accidentally ID it as the wrong species. For species where there are minute differences (such as for grasses, sedges, and rushes), this can be a real problem. As a result, I often don't trust this work by itself, and wind up double-checking against other works. But it is still worth having. Having both Crow & Hellquist and Godfrey & Wooten is a good combination. So much so that I shelled out the cash for them when I was in grad school (for some reason, the library doesn't like their books getting muddy).

I knew you were not singling me out, I just had to add that I love plants too! Those other two books you mentioned look like a fine addition, I may pick those up in the near future. Thanks for your input.

Blake

Great report as always Nathan. I need to get out thataway next time I make an excursion. I've been meaning to get into the Hatchie and Obion for awhile, this wets my whistle a bit.

Todd

I honestly don't think anyone should be intimidated by any of the scientific and captive care aspects of this hobby/pursuit. Legal and social issues "What in the sam hill are you boys fishin' for?" kinda thing can be intimidating, but the rest is just taking the time to learn. There's no shame in not knowing something, especially if you're taking the steps to rectify that fact!

I'm pretty well acquainted with tree species, but anything smaller than a large shrub is almost foreign to me as of yet. That will change. ;P

Have fun in the swamps, Todd. There's not much good habitat left in the Obion drainage until you get close to Reelfoot; I've sampled some in Carroll, Gibson, and Henry counties, and it's just pitiful. There is a nice expansive wetland where US 79 crosses the Rutherford Fork near Milan- haven't been in it yet, but it looks nice. Still some good fish, though- like those wacky paedomorphic lampreys (haven't caught one yet)! The mainstem of the Hatchie is amazing. Be sure to hit up the Big Sandy too while you're down that way- some nice habitat, and it's got a great mixture of upland Tennessee River and lowland Mississippi species.

My onsite photos from this expedition are all worthless. I've screwed up the settings on my camera somehow and need to sit down and figure it out. Once I do I'll take photos of the little guys I brought back- some of each fish species I mentioned except the green sunfish.

Very nice writeup Nathan, extremely thorough and enjoyable.

The mainstem of the Hatchie is amazing. Be sure to hit up the Big Sandy too while you're down that way- some nice habitat, and it's got a great mixture of upland Tennessee River and lowland Mississippi species.

Yeah I'm more interested in the mainstem type places. I think it was said once on the banks of Mingo Swamp... "This fauna really does nothing for me."

But the creek arm flowing into Mingo... Now that was something I totally missed out on!

Theres more of those mussel type thingies out in that mainstem action too.

Todd

Thanks, Lance!

Todd- What I mean is, the swamp marks a place where the mainstem has not been channelized past any recognition of its former self. And don't disrespect the swamp! Sure, the swamp only has the same dozen fish species that you can find in any swamp, but think of the great wetland invertebrate and amphibian fauna - like this handsome devil:


Better flora in the swamp too.

Anyhow, the mainstems of the Obion and its several forks are just sand-banked high-flow ditches, except for those occasional wetland areas where there's still some braid. Even the tributaries are channelized for the most part.

An aside: any idea why "Mingo" is such a popular name for swamps? Is there one original Mingo for which all the others are named?

An aside: any idea why "Mingo" is such a popular name for swamps? Is there one original Mingo for which all the others are named?

"Mingo in... Andey don't Comout."

That's my hypothesis

Gah!