Page 45 - 2020 Jan/Feb Outdoor Oklahoma

flow needs of this species and provide sound data for future stream flow
management practices. To date, project investigators have tagged 933 prai-
rie chubs and are tracking their movements.

KeLLy aDams/oDwc

Project T-100-R-1: Targeted Surveys for the In the last 29 years, not a single peppered
shiner has been collected during field
Peppered Shiner in the Kiamichi, Little, Glover surveys until recently. Little is known of this
and Mountain Fork Rivers. rare species, however researchers hope to
learn more.
Project Leader: Daniel Allen, University of Oklahoma.
The peppered shiner is a rare species only found in a few rivers in the
south-central United States. To better conserve this species, there is a KeLLy aDams/oDwc
clear need to know where and how many peppered shiners exist within its
Oklahoma range.
This project is working to estimate the distribution and abundance of the
peppered shiner in the Kiamichi, Little, Glover and Mountain Fork Rivers
by field surveys. Habitat characteristics are also being examined to better
understand this sensitive species’ habitat requirements.
Results from this research project will provide the Wildlife Department
with updated distribution and population data for peppered shiners in
Oklahoma. Following the first season of field sampling at more than 60
stream sites, just one peppered shiner has been collected, reinforcing just
how rare these fish are in southeastern Oklahoma.
Project F-106-R-1: Black Bass Angler Harvest and
Opinions in Relation to Stream Size, Access, and Streams and rivers provide habitat to a
variety of fish species while also extending
Fish Diversity. recreational opportunity to anglers. Monitoring
how many anglers fish in Oklahoma’s stream
Project Leader: James Long and Omkar Joshi, Oklahoma State University. and rivers, and estimating how many fish
Through extensive creel surveys, this study aims to determine fishing they catch helps ODWC evaluate current
management practices and make better
pressure in an area, how many fish are caught, how many fish are har- management decisions.
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