How conservation research and the EPA help to make the world better
“No state should comply with the Clean Power Plan if it means surrendering decision-making authority to the EPA.” —Scott Pruitt, Trump nominee to head the EPA.
Turtle toenail clippings, fish fin clips, and fish body receivers. These components of aquatic research and education move forward right here in Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI).
Local scientists in their new riverfront building are mapping and assessing the freshwater fish, mussel, salamander, snail and turtle biodiversity of our region; identifying genetic DNA of various species; and raising young of freshwater endangered and imperiled fish for reintroduction into our waterways. Further, there is education and training to bring scientific information to the public. It’s something to brag about.
Fishy success stories impress: Lake Sturgeons were once plentiful in the Tennessee River, but with dams, minimal flow, and pollution, sturgeon disappeared in the 1970s. Then came the Clean Water Act legally insisting on cleaner waters and enforced by Environmental Protection Agency. Prohibition on sturgeon fishing brought safety to this ‘living dinosaur’ that grows to eight feet long and lives 150 years.
Is the population being established? Stay tuned. Male sturgeons reach sexual maturity in 15 years though females wait 20-33 years. The Institute released the first young lake sturgeon (6-9 inches) into the Tennessee River in 2000 and since then, working with conservation partners, 200,000 more. It’s now 2017.
More success. Southern Appalachian Brook Trout were overwhelmed by non-native rainbow and brown trout stocked in our streams plus loss of forests, and warmer, more polluted water. Research showed that the competing species could be stopped from reproducing if barriers were placed to prevent them swimming upstream for spawning. TNACI has released 1800 juveniles. More have come from other partners. Occasional sampling shows a native brook trout renaissance.
The Institute’s herpetologist Josh Ennen traps Alligator Snapping Turtles in west Tennessee, clips their toenails and checks for mercury. No assessment had ever been done. The mercury is high in the large turtles that many people eat.
A Southern Cavefish unknown to this area was discovered in a Catoosa County cave. Could it really be the same species as found in other regions? For an answer, clip a fin, take it to the lab, and perform tests to show a genetic profile. The comparison showed a match.
TNACI wants to enable aquatic populations to thrive in their native habitats. Genetics help restore population to a stream. One could reintroduce populations from another stream, but what if genes or water makeup were too different to guarantee survival? Perhaps it’s better to propagate in the Institute and release. What’s the best path to take? More fin clips and lab experiments help decide.
TNACI’s closed tank systems allow stream replication with ability to control rate of flow and temperature allowing comparison of survival rates plus species’ growth and health impact measurements. That information guides decisions for stream management. Technology helps too. The latest innovation tracks movement of tagged fish. Receivers at dams ‘listen’ and record as they swim past.
Why bother with this work? Because conservation is important to human survival. Because we live in a global hotspot for biodiversity rating first in the Southeast for number of temperate climate species.
“Every species is a building block in the ecosystem,” states Bernard Kuhajda, TNACI’s Aquatic Conservation Biologist. “Morally speaking, we shouldn’t cause things to go extinct if we can prevent it,” he adds.
TNACI wants to enable aquatic populations to thrive in their native habitats. Genetics help restore a likely-to-succeed population to a stream. One could reintroduce populations from another stream, but what if genes or water makeup differed too much to guarantee survival? Perhaps it’s better to propagate in the Institute and release.
What’s the best path to take? More fin clips and lab experiments help decide. TNACI’s closed tank systems allow stream replication with ability to control rate of flow and temperature and comparison of survival rates plus species’ growth and health impact measurements.
Such information guides decisions for stream management. Technology helps too. The latest innovation tracks movement of tagged fish. Receivers ‘listen’ and record as they swim past. Yet, aquatic conservation here is vastly underfunded compared to the Northwest. Issues such as acid mine run off legacies, non-point source pollution and poor agricultural and forestry management practices exist.
Now climate change brings erratic weather, rising water temperature, and stress to plant and wildlife populations. Much funding comes from Federal grants from agencies like EPA and National Fish & Wildlife Services.
That’s reason enough to demand such agencies be strengthened not weakened. Additionally, EPA needs enough authority and money to uphold the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts in order to preserve and enhance the most biodiverse support system we can get.
Sandra Kurtz is an environmental community activist and is presently working through the Urban Century Institute. You can visit her website to learn more at enviroedu.net
Photo courtesy Tennessee Aquarium