Tag archives for freshwater species of the week
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Updated 7/30/12 at 6 pm. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed protection of a small fish called the diamond darter (Crystallaria cincotta) under the Endangered Species Act. Also proposed was protection of 122 miles of river as critical habitat for the fish in West Virginia and Kentucky. According to the advocacy group Center…
They are little known by the general public, but caddisflies are an ancient group of aquatic insects that are important indicators of ecological health. For this week’s Freshwater Species of the Week, we interviewed caddisfly expert Kjell Arne Johanson, a professor and head of the entomology department at the Swedish Museum of Natural History.…
A few years ago I went snorkeling in a pair of crystal-clear streams in southwestern Brazil, in the Pantanal region. I got a close look at a toothy caiman (related to an alligator) and many species of fish, some brightly colored. Plying the cool, clear waters of the Olho d’Agua (“eyes of water”) and Rio…
In 2010 and again in 2011, a team of Australian divers descended down one of the deepest, coldest freshwater caves in the world, in a remote part of New Zealand’s South Island. The expedition was led by Richard Harris, who has received support from National Geographic as well as the Waitt Foundation. The divers…
Freshwater Hero Zeb Hogan shot the mesmerizing video above of golden mahseer (Tor putitora) in northern India. The fish was once widely distributed across south and southeast Asia, but is now listed as endangered by IUCN. According to IUCN, the species has faced steep decline from overfishing and loss of habitat. Proposed dams in…
Today is World Oceans Day, so we decided to take a look at a species that straddles both fresh and salty water. Consider the eel, specifically the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). The species was historically a significant food source for many Europeans (including the famous jellied eels of East London), but pollution, over harvesting,…
Canada’s vast network of rivers and streams is the latest battleground over endangered species. That’s because a 1,000-member group of scientists called the Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution (CSEE) sent a strongly worded letter to their national government this week, condemning Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s administration for supporting a bill that they say…
Australia’s unique freshwater turtles (like the Eastern longneck pictured) may hold promise for medical breakthroughs. The reptiles can live longer than a century and they don’t seem to go through menopause, suggesting that they may have anti-aging properties. Freshwater turtle expert Ricky Spencer of the University of Western Sydney told Australian media that, paradoxically,…
A graduate student at Auburn University has just identified a new species of suckermouth armored catfish. He made the discovery from five specimens that were collected in 2008 by DePaul University scientist Windsor Aguirre in Ecuador’s Santa Rosa River (map). Aguirre had sent them to Auburn for identification. The Auburn scientist, Milton Tan, told…
I had been standing still for at least a half hour, counting and identifying the birds that landed on a large snag — a standing dead tree — on the edge of a small wetland in rural southern Indiana, as part of undergraduate research. Sweating in my waders on that steamy summer day, I…
We’ve written before about Water Wars in the West, and now comes the latest salvo. Earlier this week, the Nevada State Engineer announced a decision to grant water rights to the Southern Nevada Water Authority that would allow the agency to pump groundwater from Spring, Cave, Dry, and Delamar valleys and pipe it to…
World Water Day may have passed, but there are still many freshwater ecosystems under threat. This week, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of a crustacean, the Big Sandy crayfish (Cambarus veteranus). The Center faults the FWS for failing to make…
Although the discovery of a previously unknown species is never routine, it is at least more expected in remote corners of the globe, from the deep Amazon to Pacific atolls. But few people expect to find a new species in New York City! (Except perhaps a mutated cockroach or sewer rat.) But scientists from UCLA,…
Although trees perform many valuable ecological services, not every tree is a “good tree.” Some can be downright problematic, especially when they are invasive, crowding out native species and hogging resources like water and growing space. This is especially true in South Africa, where invasive plants like imported eucalyptus trees cover about 10% (19-million…
A friend of mine who works for Riverkeeper grew up on the Hudson River, where he heard tales from the grizzled old fishermen about the massive, dinosaur-like fish known as sturgeon, which used to ply American waters in great numbers. My friend is so enamored with the fish that he jokingly told friends he wanted…
Few fish can inspire as much horror as the Asian carp (well, except perhaps the dreaded candiru). But except for a few well publicized collisions with leaping fish, the Asian carp is rarely dangerous to human beings. Instead, ecologists warn that the Asian carp can wreak havoc on aquatic food chains by vacuuming up plankton…
Two colorfully named freshwater mussels received protection under the Endangered Species Act this week: the snuffbox and rayed bean. As NG Freshwater Fellow Sandra Postel has pointed out before, freshwater mussels as a group are among the most critically endangered species in North America. Although they have long served as an important food source…
This is the first post in a new series that celebrates the extraordinary diversity of freshwater ecosystems around the world. Every Friday, we’ll present a new species, and examine what each can teach us about the importance of preserving, and in some cases restoring, freshwater habitats. This week, we take a look at the…
