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Home/Species/ Holiday Darter

Etheostoma brevirostrum

Suttkus and Etnier, 1991

Holiday Darter

G2Imperiled Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G2ImperiledGlobal Rank
VulnerableIUCN
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105509
Element CodeAFCQC02A40
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNVulnerable
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyPercidae
GenusEtheostoma
Concept Reference
Suttkus, R. D., and D. A. Etnier. 1991. Etheostoma tallapoosae and E. brevirostrum, two new darters, subgenus Ulocentra, from the Alabama River drainage. Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany 28(1):1-24.
Taxonomic Comments
Populations in the Amicalola Creek, upper Etowah, Coosawattee, and Conasauga systems each may represent an undescribed species closely related to E. brevirostrum (Georgia Museum of Natural History).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2023-01-10
Change Date2011-12-06
Edition Date2023-01-10
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G., and M. K. Clausen (2011), Sears, N. (2023)
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent5000-20,000 square km (about 2000-8000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 20
Rank Reasons
This is an uncommon species with a disjunct distribution in the upper Coosa River system. Although there is no evidence of short-term population declines and the habitat and water quality are in good condition in the Conasauga and Etowah Rivers, the species has undergone a long-term reduction in extent of occupied habitat due to stream impoundments. Projected urban development and climate change may impact both the quality and availability of suitable habitat.
Range Extent Comments
This species has a disjunct distribution within the upper Coosa River basin in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, USA. It occurs in parts of Shoal Creek, Conasauga River, Talkingrock Creek, Mountaintown Creek, tributaries of the Ellijay River, Amicalola Creek, and the Etowah River. It has not been collected from the spring tributaries of upper Choccolocco Creek since 1987 (Sizemore and Howell 1990). There are no records within the Coosawattee River mainstream (USFWS 2017a).
Occurrences Comments
This species is known from seven populations (Conasauga River, Talking Rock Creek, Mountaintown Creek, Ellijay River, Amicalola Creek, Etowah River, and Shoal Creek). It is known from about a dozen localities, which approximate occurrences (using a separation distance of 10 km), with records from the period 1993-2022 (GBIF 2023).
Threat Impact Comments
Threats include destruction of habitat due to urbanization, loss of riparian vegetation, sedimentation, decreased water quality from agricultural activities, contaminants, and reduced connectivity from dams, road crossings, and culverts (USFWS 2017a). In addition, both urban development and the severity of climate events like storms and droughts are expected to increase and threaten populations in the long-term (USFWS 2017a).

Dams have fragmented and isolated the seven populations: The upper Etowah River-Amicalola Creek populations are isolated by Alatoona Dam; the Talking Rock Creek population is isolated by Carters Re-regulation Dam; and the Ellijay River and Mountaintown Creek populations are isolated by Carters Dam (USFWS 2017a). Populations in the Shoal Creek drainage, Alabama, were likely extirpated due to development of small water-control impoundments (Mettee et al. 1996, Boschung and Mayden 2004). Three reservoirs (Whitesides Mill Lake, Highrock Lake, and Sweetwater Lake) eliminated the species from portions of this watershed and fragmented occupied reaches (USFWS 2017a).
Ecology & Habitat

Description

Maximum SL 47 mm in females, 53 mm in males (Suttkus and Etnier 1991).

Diagnostic Characteristics

"Differs from all members of the subgenus ULOCENTRA except E. ETNIER and E. PYRRHOGASTER in having a median red band in the anal fin of nuptial males, and from both of those species in having a narrow (vs broad) red band in the soft dorsal fin, in addition to many other aspects of male coloration. Colors of breeding males of this species are perhaps the most distinctive of any species in the subgenus. The red blotches on the lower side are haloed by white and bright yellow. The yellow tends to fade rapidly and very little remains after a few minutes in preservative....has a red ocellus in the first membrane of the spinous dorsal fin....the red color often present on the basal part of the pelvic fins of nuptial males is absent from other species of ULOCENTRA" (Suttkus and Etnier 1991). Typically has 5-5 branchiostegal rays; E. COOSAE typically has 6-6 and also has nearly all of the soft dorsal fin covered by a very broad band of dull red (Suttkus and Etnier 1991).

Habitat

Habitat includes rocky runs and pools, sometimes riffles, of cool to warm creeks and small to medium rivers (Page and Burr 2011). Water usually is clear, with moderate to fast current; rooted macrophytes may or may not be present (Suttkus and Etnier 1991). This species has been reported from three large springs in the Choccolocco Creek system (Sizemore and Howell 1990) (also described as small, spring-fed distributaries; Boschung and Mayden 2004).

Reproduction

Limited information suggests that spawning may occur in April and May (Suttkus and Etnier 1991).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN2
ProvinceRankNative
TennesseeS1Yes
GeorgiaS1Yes
AlabamaS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentRestricted (11-30%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areasRestricted (11-30%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
4 - Transportation & service corridorsSmall (1-10%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
4.1 - Roads & railroadsSmall (1-10%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7 - Natural system modificationsSmall (1-10%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
7.2 - Dams & water management/useSmall (1-10%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
9 - PollutionRestricted (11-30%)Moderate - slightHigh (continuing)
9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluentsRestricted (11-30%)Moderate - slightHigh (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherUnknownUnknownLow (long-term)
11.2 - DroughtsUnknownUnknownLow (long-term)
11.4 - Storms & floodingUnknownUnknownLow (long-term)

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Roadless Areas (2)
Georgia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Ken MountainChattahoochee National Forest527
Pink KnobChattahoochee National Forest12,127
References (31)
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  2. Burkhead, Noel. Fish Biologist. U.S. Geological Survey. Biological Research Division, Gainesville, FL
  3. Dolloff, C. A., K. N. Leftwich, and M. K. Underwood. 1997. Distribution of blue shiner, holiday darter, and Conasauga logperch in the Upper Conasauga River Watershed, Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia. Unpublished report prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Center for Aquatic Technology Transfer, Blacksburg, Virginia. 4 pp.
  4. Etnier, D. A., and W. C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee. xiv + 681 pp.
  5. Freeman, B. J., and M. Hagler. 2009. Etheostoma brevirostrum (Holiday Darter). Georgia Biodiversity Portal. Online at: www.georgiabiodiversity.org [Original account: 1999]
  6. Freeman, B. J. (Institute of Ecology and Museum of Natural History, University of Georgia). 1997. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Ruth Mathews, TNC.
  7. Fuller, M. R., M. W. Doyle, and D. L. Strayer. 2015. Causes and consequences of habitat fragmentation in river networks. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1355:31–51.
  8. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2023. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2023).
  9. Godwin, J. Aquatic Zoologist. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Huntington College, Montgomery, AL
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  11. Johnston, C. E. and K. B. Damon. 1996. Long-term monitoring of rare fishes in the Conasauga River, Georgia and Tennessee. Unpublished report to the USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Oxford, Mississippi. 11+ pp.
  12. Kuhajda, B. College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
  13. MacBeth, Robyn M. (Georgia Natural Heritage Program). 1997. Review and annotation of fish and mussel watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Ruth Mathews, TNC. September 1997.
  14. Mettee, M. F., P. E. O'Neil, and J. M. Pierson. 1996. Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin. Oxmoor House, Birmingham, Alabama. 820 pp.
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  18. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. xix + 663 pp.
  19. Page, L. M., H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Seventh edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda, Maryland.
  20. Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neigbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eighth edition. American Fisheries Society (AFS), Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland, 439 pp.
  21. Shute, P. Aquatic Zoologist. Tennessee Valley Authority Regional Heritage. River Basin Operations. Wildlife and Natural Heritage Resources. Norris, TN
  22. Shute, Peggy (Aquatic Zoologist, Tennessee Valley Authority Regional Heritage). 1997. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Ruth Mathews, TNC. October 1997.
  23. Shute, P. W., D. A. Etnier, C. F. Saylor, and R. D. Bivens. [In press]. Fishes. In Hatcher, et al. (editors). Tennessee's Rare Vertebrate Wildlife. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Nashville, Tennessee.
  24. Sizemore, D. R., and W. M. Howell. 1990. Fishes of springs and spring-fed creeks of Calhoun County, Alabama. Proceedings of the Southeastern Fishes Council 22:1-6.
  25. State Natural Heritage Data Centers. 1996a. Aggregated element occurrence data from all U.S. state natural heritage programs, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Navajo Nation and the District of Columbia. Science Division, The Nature Conservancy.
  26. State Natural Heritage Data Centers. 1996c. Aggregated element occurrence data from all U.S. state natural heritage programs, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Navajo Nation and the District of Columbia: Export of freshwater fish and mussel records from the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1997. Science Division, The Nature Conservancy.
  27. Suttkus, R. D., and D. A. Etnier. 1991. <i>Etheostoma tallapoosae</i> and <i>E. brevirostrum</i>, two new darters, subgenus <i>Ulocentra</i>, from the Alabama River drainage. Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany 28(1):1-24.
  28. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2017a. Species Status Assessment Report for the Holiday Darter (<i>Etheostoma brevirostrum</i>), Version 1.0. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 4, Atlanta, GA. 91 pp.
  29. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2017b. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12 Month Findings on Petitions To List the Holiday Darter, Trispot Darter, and Bridled Darter; Threatened Species Status for Trispot Darter. Federal Register 82(191):46183-46197.
  30. Warren, M. L., Jr., B. M. Burr, S. J. Walsh, H. L. Bart, Jr., R. C. Cashner, D. A. Etnier, B. J. Freeman, B. R. Kuhajda, R. L. Mayden, H. W. Robison, S. T. Ross, and W. C. Starnes. 2000. Diversity, distribution, and conservation status of the native freshwater fishes of the southern United States. Fisheries 25(10):7-31.
  31. Warren, M. Research Biologist. Center for Bottomlands Hardwood Research, Southern Research Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Oxford, MI