I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was volunteering with a graduate student, Andrea Davis, to help her conduct her thesis research. Her thesis was investigating the role of long distance dispersal in the response of stream fishes to urbanization (so cool!). I was only planning on helping her out this one time for extra credit in my Ichthyology course, but little did I know, I’d be hooked the second I started.
Now I know what you’re thinking, how could someone not love freshwater fish and walking streams? Well, all my life I had wanted to be a marine biologist and study marine fishes, but I’ve always had a love for being outdoors no matter where it was. I consider myself lucky because now I have more than one passion! I love the ocean and I love freshwater environments too.
Back to my story. So we loaded up the old university van and drove thirty minutes out to “Bigfoot country” to a town called Dallas, GA (If you’ve never been to the Sasquatch Museum up near Ellijay, you’re missing out). To access the sampling site, we had to park in front of some old man’s trailer and inform the other property owner so she wouldn’t call the cops on three little college kids wondering through the stream. Of course when we arrived, the old man came over to ask what we were doing, joined by his dog for some extra pets. Most likely he made a ghost buster joke because of the backpack electrofisher (everyone does) and we probably laughed it off as we finished getting wader’ed up. (Anyone that works in the field will know that “wader’ed” needs to be a real word)
Once we got all of the equipment ready, we ventured into the creek. We started shocking as we made our way upstream, slowly while trying not to fall on all of the slippery rocks. Even people with their “creeks legs” will fall on slippery rocks every once in awhile, so I was quite nervous being a newbie. Right when we started sampling, I spotted what I thought was a piece of litter. I know, litter is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t bug you every time you see it. Here I am, supposed to be focused on netting fish, and I’m zeroed in on a tiny piece of trash. But as I approached, all of my frustration turned into pure excitement.
This wasn’t a piece of trash at all, it was a beautiful colored up male Speckled Darter (Etheostoma stigmaeum). He was so brightly colored, that I thought he fake – a piece of trash even – but no, he is so much more than that! As I picked him up to examine him in awe, I realized I had a newfound love: freshwater fishes. Not only was this moment amazing because I got to see one first hand, but it turns out that their population in that creek has been declining over the years and we were lucky to even see one.
Speckled Darters are only located in the Coosa and Tallapoosa River basins in GA. They inhabit streams with low to moderate flows, but the most important habitat for darters is a riffle with gravel substrate. This is because darters reproduce by depositing their eggs into the substrate usually at the base of a riffle. Next time you see a pool beneath a riffle in a southeastern stream, make sure to look for some darters!
Since the Speckled Darter is a benthic insectivore, their diet consists of macroinvertebrates found along the stream bottom. My favorite part of darters is their modified pectoral fins that are adapted to hold onto rocks in swift moving water. It’s so fascinating to sit and watch darters dart from rock to rock fighting through turbulent waters – it’s very impressive.
From that moment on, I have been trying to follow my heart and share my love for freshwater fish with the people around me. Who knows, maybe you the reader, will realize that you never really gave fish a chance to steal your heart. ❤️
If you’re interested in learning about how you can help your local fishes, please be sure to check out my next blog post – coming soon! It will be focused on how we can all do our part, work together, and hopefully save our streams before it’s too late!
Peach State Fish 