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Effects of increased suspended sediment on growth rate and gill condition of two southern Appalachian minnows

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Abstract

Despite the recognition that increased suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is a correlate of imperilment for native riverine fishes, research is limited on the effects of SSC on small non-game species. This study quantifies the impact of suspended sediment on fish growth and gill condition of two stream-dwelling minnows. Specific growth rate (i.e., percent change in mass per day) and gill condition (i.e., lamellar thickness and interlamellar area) were measured in young-of-year whitetail shiners, Cyprinella galactura, and federally threatened spotfin chubs, Erimonax monachus, exposed for 21 days to increased SSC (0, 25, 50, 100, and 500 mg L−1). Exposure to elevated SSC caused a significant decrease in specific growth rate in both species and at all life stages tested. The effect of increased SSC was greatest in spotfin chubs, which exhibited a 15-fold decrease in specific growth rate at the highest treatment (500 mg L−1). Effects of increased SSC were least for 8–9-month-old whitetail shiners, which had growth rates similar to controls for 25, 50, and 100 mg L−1 treatments. These minnows exhibited a greater response to increasing SSC than salmonids at low to moderate SSC, and a lesser response at higher sediment levels. Gill damage was minimal at the three lowest treatment levels, moderate at 100 mg L−1 and severe at 500 mg L−1, indicating that respiratory surfaces of upland minnows may be much more sensitive than other species. Specific growth rate decreased significantly with increasing gill lamellar thickness, suggesting that respiratory impairment is one mechanism responsible for negative impacts of excessive sediment on small riverine fishes.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (grant no. 1434-HQ-97-RU-01551), through the Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. We thank E. Henderson, V. Vaughan, and B. Ritchie for their support in the development of the experimental apparatus used in this study, and for vital support, including providing facilities for fish holding tanks and experimental apparatus. We thank P. Rakes and J. R. Shute at Conservation Fisheries Inc. for their support and advice. Thanks also to J. Shields and M. Farmer, at the University of Georgia Center for Ultrastructural Research, for their invaluable help with gill histology technique. Finally, we thank M. Freeman, G. Helfman, C. Jennings, D. Leigh, J. Maki and the Meyer lab group for their helpful comments throughout this research, and for comments that have greatly improved this manuscript.

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  1. Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Andrew B. Sutherland & Judy L. Meyer

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  1. Andrew B. Sutherland
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Correspondence to Andrew B. Sutherland.

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Sutherland, A.B., Meyer, J.L. Effects of increased suspended sediment on growth rate and gill condition of two southern Appalachian minnows. Environ Biol Fish 80, 389–403 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9139-8

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