Nothonotus etowahae

The elevation of Nothonotus from subgenus to genus has been accepted by the American Fisheries Society (Page et al. 2023). Formerly included in Nothonotus (=Etheostoma) jordani (Wood and Mayden 1993).

This species has a limited range in the Etowah River system in Georgia, but it can be locally abundant in parts of its range, and it does not appear to be suffering short-term declines. It has been lost from part of the historical range due to habitat loss and degradation resulting from impoundments, pollution, and land development. Although the species is apparently stable at present, and an additional population has been discovered, it remains highly vulnerable to stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces associated with urbanization.

This species is endemic to the Etowah River system, Georgia, USA. In the upper Etowah, it occurs in the mainstem and some of its larger tributaries, including Long Swamp Creek, Amicalola Creek, Shoal Creek (in Dawson County), and a newly documented population in Sharp Mountain Creek (collected in 2016 and 2019) (USFWS 2021). It also occurs in Stamp Creek, a tributary to Allatoona Reservoir, and in Raccoon Creek, a tributary to the lower Etowah River. These two latter creeks are isolated from the upper Etowah basin populations by Lake Allatoona (USFWS 2014). Although it has been collected in Raccoon Creek, it is not found in the lower Etowah mainstem, where it was thought to previously occur and hybridize with the greenbreast darter (M. Freeman 2020 in Wenger et al. 2021).

This species occupies the mainstem and portions of larger tributaries in the Etowah watershed. Wenger et al. (2010) breaks this down to five major population areas critical for the survival of the species: Headwaters of the Etowah River mainstem, upper Etowah River mainstem and lower reach of Shoal Creek (Dawson County), Amicalola Creek system, Long Swamp Creek system, and Raccoon Creek (also see map in USFWS 2014). Within these streams, the species is known from over 20 extant occurrence records (NatureServe 2022).

The major stressors to benthic fishes in the Etowah basin have been identified as: sedimentation, hydrologic alteration, extensive riparian buffer loss, contaminants (heavy metals, pesticides, etc.), movement barriers, and channelization/piping of streams. Other sources of these stressors include construction, channel erosion, road and utility stream crossings, dams/impoundments, point-source discharges, water withdrawals, agriculture, forestry, and historical land use (Etowah HCP Advisory Committee 2007, Wenger and Freeman 2007, USFWS 2014). The primary threat today to the Etowah darter habitat is increased stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces associated with long-term residential and commercial development (Wenger et al. 2010, USFWS 2014, 2021).

Several efforts have reduced the amount of runoff and turbidity allowed in streams downstream of construction sites, however, implementation of protective measures often is inadequate, and enforcement for violations is inconsistent (USFWS 2021).

A chemical spill in 2018 led to an extensive fish kill in a 3.7-mile reach of Flat Creek (tributary to Shoal Creek, Dawson County). While there is no evidence that downstream populations of Etowah Darters were impacted by this spill, it illustrates the potential threat of future fish kills associated with industrial water use in the Etowah River system (B. Albanese, pers. comm. 2023).