Campostoma anomalum

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Campostoma anomalum
Conservation status

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Campostoma
Species: C. anomalum
Binomial name
Campostoma anomalum
Rafinesque, 1820[1]

Campostoma anomalum, the central stoneroller, is a fish in the family Cyprinidae endemic to the United States.

Distribution

This species of central stoneroller is widespread in freshwater streams throughout a large portion of the eastern, central, and midwestern United States. It is present in the Atlantic, Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Hudson Bay basins in the U.S., from New York east to North Dakota and Wyoming and south to South Carolina and Texas. Isolated populations are also found in Canada and Mexico.[2] C. anomalum is benthopelagic, inhabiting either the midwaters or bottom of freshwater streams and rivers. It requires some current and is most commonly found in riffles and pools of moderate to high gradient streams with a gravel substrate bottom. However, it is a very tolerant species and can be found in almost any stream system with adequate food, leading to it widespread distribution.[3]

Ecology

C. anomalum is generally herbivorous, feeding primarily on algae scraped from rocks and logs with the cartilaginous ridge on its lower jaw. Young fish feed on rotifers, filamentous algae, and microcrustacea. It also feeds on detritus, diatoms, and occasionally, aquatic insects. It is classified as a grazing minnow in its feeding behavior, and large schools of these fish often feed together. Central stonerollers may consume up to 27 percent of their body weight in benthic algae per day. Evans-White et al. (2003) found algae contributed most (47 percent) to the diet of central stonerollers in a Kansas stream, followed by detritus (30 percent), animal matter (21 percent), and terrestrial vegetation (2 percent).[4] Some human-induced factors that reduce the abundance of the Central Stoneroller are altered flow regimens, habitat fragmentation, impacts to aquatic and riparian habitat associated with agricultural practices, and increased siltation and aquatic vegetation.

Life history

Maturity is reached in one to four years. Breeding males begin building nests in late winter and continue throughout midsummer, creating large, bowl-shaped depressions in calmer waters by rolling stones along the bottom with their noses, giving them their common name. The males aggressively defend their nests against rival males. Spawning occurs in early spring and summer, varying by region, with those fish in warmer climates generally spawning earlier than those in colder climates. Females remain in deeper water outside the nesting site, entering only briefly to produce anywhere between 200 and 4800 eggs in a nest.[5] The male fertilizes the eggs, causing them to become adhesive and lodge in the gravel of the nest, preventing them from being carried away by the currents. The eggs are then abandoned by both parents, hatching within a few days.[2] The newly hatched fish school together to feed in the warmer and more protected backwaters and vegetated stream margins. This species is generally found in small, clear streams with gravel, rubble, or exposed bedrock. Often the most abundant species in small streams, schools may contain several hundred individuals. Central stonerollers also display some intolerance to heavy siltation or pollutants, which affect the quantity of available algae in pool and riffle habitats.[6]

Management

The central stoneroller is widely distributed, so is not being threatened to a large extent, nor is it listed on any federal or state conservation lists. Given the importance of central stonerollers to stream ecosystem function, though, understanding their population dynamics should be a high priority in systems where they are abundant. For instance, coupling age-structured population models with food web models is becoming more common because they can provide insight on ecosystem impacts of nonnative species, climate change, or alterations to important system inputs.[7] Consequently, the availability of data on age structure, mortality, and growth of fishes (particularly small-bodied, nongame fishes) will be increasingly important to aquatic ecologists and management biologists.[8] The effects of sedimentation on fish communities needs to be examined to substantiate the qualitative opinions in the literature, and to understand the biological basis for the effects. Other than some human-induced disturbances, the central stoneroller is doing fine on its own within the wild and seems to be at a good balance in terms of species population. The focus is being turned to disturbed sites because that seems to be the only places where they are having any problem at all. The central stoneroller might not be at risk now, but research needs to be done now to gain more information on these disturbed sites and what can be done about them in case this species does become at risk, especially at the sites involving siltation.

References

  1. ↑ Etnier, David A.; Starnes, W. (1993). The Fishes of Tennessee. Knoxville, Tennessee: The University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 0-87049-711-1. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cashner, R.C.; Matthews, W.J.; Marsh-Matthews, E.; Unmack, P.J.; Cashner, F.M. (2010). "Recognition and Redescription of Distinctive Stonerollers from the Southern Interior Highlands". COPEIA 2: 300-311. doi:10.1643/CI-08-051. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. 
  3. ↑ Burger, J.; Campbell, K.R.; Campbell, T.S.; Shulia, T.; Dixon, C.; Gochfield, M. (2005). "Use of central stonerollers (Cyprinidae:Campostoma anomalum) from Tennessee as a bioindicator of metal contamination". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 110: 171-184. doi:10.1007/s10661-005-6689-8. 
  4. ↑ Bisping, S.M.; Fischer, J.R.; Quist, M.C.; Schaffer, A.J. (2010). "Population Characteristics of Central Stonerollers in Iowa Streams". The Prairie Naturalist 42: 109–115. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. 
  5. ↑ Baxter, G.T. 1955. A study of the fish population in Lodgepole Creek, Laramie County, Wyoming. J. Colo.-Wyo. Acad. Sci. IV (7):61.
  6. ↑ Ratocinski, Chester F. (1980). "Hybridization and introgression between Campostoma oligolepis and Campostoma anomalum pullum (Cypriniformes) Cyprinidae". COPEIA 1980 (4): 584-594. 
  7. ↑ Stewart, A.J. (1987). "Responses of stream algae to grazing minnows and nutrients: a field test for interactions". Oecologia 72: 1–7. doi:10.1007/BF00378617. 
  8. ↑ Fowler, J. F.; Taber, C.A. (1985). "Food habits and feeding periodicity in two sympatric central stonerollers (Cyprinidae)". American Midland Naturalist 113: 217–223. 

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