1. Treasures you can help protect
Tennessee Natives-
Treasures you can help protect
                 
BY: Melissa Sandrene
and Jeff Simmons

2. Freshwater Fauna of Tennessee
Tennessee contains the most diverse aquatic fauna in the United States
Tennessee is home to:
~300 native fish species (Most diverse in U.S.)
Including…..
Bluemask Darter
Paddlefish
Barrens Topminnow
Blackside Dace

3. Bluemask Darter Etheostoma (Doration) sp.
Federally Endangered Species
Only 4 populations remain
These are benthic fish, they like to live on the
bottom of streams
Eat insects

4. Males develop a deep blue color band that looks like a mask in the spring time to attract female darters

5. Paddlefish Polyodon spathula
Rostrum
Also called spoonbill catfish in Tennessee
Ancient big river fish

6. Filter Feeders
Gill rakers
Daphnia
Cladoceran

7. Barrens topminnow Fundulus julisia
Lives in small springs with lots of aquatic plants
Tends to swims at the surface of the water
In the spring Male topminnows develop attractive blue
and green scale colors to attract females

8. The Barrens topminnow eats
Midges
Amphipods
Mayflies
Snails

9. Blackside Dace Phoxinus cumberlandensis
Rare species and listed as threatened species
Deep red colored belly
Found above Cumberland Falls in cool water pools
with lots of tree and bush covering

10. Breeding males have tubercles…little fleshy
knobs that grow on the head and body
Tubercles

11. Blackside Dace Feed On…
Algae
Diatoms

12. Freshwater Fauna of Tennessee
Tennessee is home to:
~120 species of freshwater mussels (2nd to Alabama)
Including…..
Rainbow shell
Pistolgrip
Plain pocketbook
Shiny Pigtoe

13. 70% of all freshwater mussel species in the United States are threatened due to destruction of their adult habitat because of dams and rivers being dredged

14. The Freshwater Mussel Life Cycle
Adult Female Mussel
develops a pouch of eggs
inside her shell
The eggs develop into
Glochidia

15. The Mother mussel must set the glochidia free on a living host
The host is often a fish
Some mussels are picky guests
they will only allow specific
kinds of fish be their host
The glochidia will attach to
the fish’s fins and gills
Like a butterfly the glochidia
will form a cocoon…
called a cyst on the fish

16. The glochidia will stay on the fish for several weeks.
Then it will mature and fall off of the fish and land on the bottom of the stream or river
It is now a juvenile mussel!
Will grow into an adult

18. How Does A Mussel Find A Host Fish?
They use the soft tissue that is on the inside of their
shell….called the mantle.
The shape, color, and how the mussel moves its mantle can mimics other animals
Mantle

19. What animals do these mussel mantles look like?
The fish thinks the mantle
Is food!
When the fish gets
close to take a bite…
Mom mussel deposits
her glochidia onto
the host fish!

20. Rainbow-shell Villosa iris
The smooth shell indicates that this mussel is found
in muddy or sandy streams, lakes, and rivers

21. Pistolgrip Tritogonia verrucosa
The rough and bumpy shell indicates that this mussel
is found in fast moving water that has gravel and rock

22. Plain Pocketbook Lampsilis cardium Shiny Pigtoe Fusconaia cor
Some mussels can live to be 100 years old!

23. Animals that EAT Freshwater Mussels
River Otter
Raccoon
Muskrat

24. Freshwater Mussels Are Filter Feeders
Cilia covering the gills and labial palps filter food from the water and direct the particles toward the mouth. Particles that are too large are moved posteriorly and flushed from the animal along with water forced out by the closing of the valves.
They suck water in and use their gills (hair looking),
like a strainer, to remove the food from the water
So FW mussels clean the water by eating!

25. Freshwater Mussels Eat
Algae
Dead Pieces of Leaves
(Detritus)
Bacteria

26. Freshwater Fauna of Tennessee
Tennessee is also home to:
76 species of crayfish
&
One of the richest assemblages of aquatic insects in North America

27. Dragonflies and Damselflies
Have sharp teeth on their
mouthparts
The adults have wings to fly
‘Helpful’ Predators
Eat Mosquitoes

28. Dragon Fly Nymphs Important to the aquatic food web
Are indicators of the health of stream environment

29. Stoneflies Adult Nymph Found in clean and cold water streams
Shredders- they eat live and dead plant material
Males drum their bellies to attract females

30. All these organisms are dependent on each other and when one component is lost….all are lost

31. Why is Tennessee so Diverse?
Tennessee’s rich aquatic fauna is a result of six major
rock and water barriers that create unique biodiversity in
the east, central, and western areas of the state.
What is biodiversity?

32. Blue Ridge Region East TN
Rock formations are mostly gneiss, sandstone and granite
Waters are clear, cool and lack aquatic vegetation (low prod.)
Streams are steep with many falls, large boulders,
and fast flowing areas

33. Cumberland Plateau Central/East TN
Sandstone, shale, and coal deposits
Mostly forested areas with deep and curving streams of
clear water that are not very productive
Many waterfalls: Fall Creek Falls, Burgess Falls,
and Cumberland Falls

34. Highland Rim and Nashville Basin
Central TN
Mostly chert and limestone rock formations
Medium to low productivity with seasonal vegetation
Many cave and spring habitats and several large rivers

35. Coastal Plain (Mississippi Embayment)
West TN
Mainly sand, clay, and silt soils
This area is the main agricultural region in TN
(ex. soybean & cotton)
Aquatic habitats suffer because of forest clearing, pesticide
runoff, and channelization

36. Major Threats to Freshwater Biodiversity
Dams
Siltation and Erosion
Poor land Practices and Deforestation
Pollutants from industry and people

37. Dams Only 2% of the rivers in the U.S. remain
free-flowing and relatively undeveloped
Red Dots are TVA Dam locations

38. Tennessee has over 30 dams
Cordell Hull Dam
Norris Dam (historic photo)

39. Ways that Dams Damage Rivers
They remove the water needed for a healthy stream
Prevent the flow of plants, nutrients, and fish
Change the water temperature
Disrupts the natural seasonal flow of water and this can
effect the growth and reproductive cycle of many species
Slowing flows allows silt to collect on the river bottom
and this buries mussel and fish habitat
Fish are cut up in the power turbines

40. Siltation Silt clogs the gills of filter feeders and
increases the risk of
small aquatic animals
being eaten by predators
Silt can cover the healthy
eggs of fish. If the eggs
are covered they can’t get
oxygen to grow…so they die

41. Erosion Increases sedimentation Destroys vegetation that fish
and other animals use as their
homes and the cover they use
to hide from predators

42. Poor land Practices Deforestation Increase siltation and erosion
destroying wildlife habitat
Poor land Practices
Cattle and other livestock
trample and pollute
stream habitats
Deforestation
Removing trees increases
erosion and it harms the
habitats that fish, mussels,
and insects live

43. Pollutants from Industry and People
Toxic chemicals
harm aquatic
animals and us!
Trash hurts aquatic animals
and it destroys their homes

44. How can you get involved?
Care about your environment!
Don’t litter
Recycle bottles, plastic, tin, and aluminum containers
Talk with friends and family about the neat animals that are native to Tennessee
Keep livestock (cows, pigs and goats) fenced in out of the river
Volunteer for stream cleanups

45. Questions?