Percina aurolineata
Suttkus and Ramsey, 1967
Goldline Darter
G2ImperiledGlobal Rank
VulnerableIUCN
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102368
Element CodeAFCQC04030
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNVulnerable
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyPercidae
GenusPercina
Concept Reference
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2012-04-18
Change Date1996-09-24
Edition Date2012-04-18
Edition AuthorsGlass-Godwin, L., and G. Hammerson
Range Extent1000-5000 square km (about 400-2000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences1 - 20
Rank Reasons
Small range in the Coosa and Cahaba river systems, Georgia and Alabama; rare and localized; has declined due to water pollution, siltation, and reservoir construction.
Range Extent Comments
Range includes the Coosawattee River (Coosa River system), Georgia, and Cahaba River system (Cahaba River, Little Cahaba River, and Schultz Creek; Mobile Bay drainage), Alabama (Boschung and Mayden 2004, Page and Burr 2011).
Formerly this species occurred in 79 km of the Cahaba River, almost 11 km of the Little Cahaba River, and in Coosawattee River system; it survives in fragmented populations in the Coosawattee River, in about 11 km of the Little Cahaba River, and in 43 km of the Cahaba River (End. Sp. Tech. Bull. 16[5]:7-8). Rare and localized. Recent records are from the Cahaba River main channel between Piper Bridge (County Hwy 24) and Centreville and the lower reach of Little Cahaba River below Bulldog Bend (County Hwy 65), Bibb County (Pierson, pers. comm., 1997).
Formerly this species occurred in 79 km of the Cahaba River, almost 11 km of the Little Cahaba River, and in Coosawattee River system; it survives in fragmented populations in the Coosawattee River, in about 11 km of the Little Cahaba River, and in 43 km of the Cahaba River (End. Sp. Tech. Bull. 16[5]:7-8). Rare and localized. Recent records are from the Cahaba River main channel between Piper Bridge (County Hwy 24) and Centreville and the lower reach of Little Cahaba River below Bulldog Bend (County Hwy 65), Bibb County (Pierson, pers. comm., 1997).
Occurrences Comments
Number of occurrences has not been determined using standardized criteria. Possibly there are 8-10 occurrences in the main channels of Cahaba and Little Cahaba rivers, plus additional occurrences in the Coosawattee River.
Threat Impact Comments
Decline has been due to water pollution and siltation from sewage treatment plants, limestone quarrying, and strip-mining, and from the construction of reservoirs for hydropower, navigation, and flood control (End. Sp. Tech. Bull. 16[5]:8). Current threats include siltation and excessive nutrient inputs from residential development and poultry farms (J. M. Pierson, pers. comm., 1995).
Deforestation and agriculture have increased erosion by several orders of magnitude, and this fish is intolerant of an extraordinarily large amount of silt. Siltation also derives from strip mining, highway construction, and urban development. Habitat is also degraded by municipal sewage effluents and industrial pollutants. Impoundments also eliminated and degraded habitat. Source: Boschung and Mayden (2004).
Deforestation and agriculture have increased erosion by several orders of magnitude, and this fish is intolerant of an extraordinarily large amount of silt. Siltation also derives from strip mining, highway construction, and urban development. Habitat is also degraded by municipal sewage effluents and industrial pollutants. Impoundments also eliminated and degraded habitat. Source: Boschung and Mayden (2004).
Ecology & Habitat
Habitat
Habitat includes fast rocky runs of small to medium rivers (Page and Burr 2011); main channels in areas of white-water rapids to three or more feet deep, and substrates of bedrock, boulders, rubble and gravel. Podostemum and Justicia characteristically are present. (Lee et al. 1980).
Reproduction
Spawns probably from early April to late June in Cahaba, perhaps a few weeks later in Coosawattee (Lee et al. 1980).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN2
| Province | Rank | Native |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | SNR | Yes |
| Georgia | S2 | Yes |
| Alabama | S1 | Yes |
Threat Assessments
| Threat | Scope | Severity | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 - Natural system modifications | Unknown | Extreme or 71-100% pop. decline | High (continuing) |
| 7.2 - Dams & water management/use | Unknown | Extreme or 71-100% pop. decline | High (continuing) |
| 9 - Pollution | Pervasive - large | Extreme - moderate | High (continuing) |
| 9.1 - Domestic & urban waste water | Pervasive - restricted | Extreme - moderate | High (continuing) |
| 9.2 - Industrial & military effluents | Unknown | Extreme - moderate | High - low |
| 9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluents | Pervasive - restricted | Extreme - moderate | High (continuing) |
Roadless Areas (4)
Georgia (4)
| Area | Forest | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Grave Gap | Chattahoochee National Forest | 1,020 |
| Lance Creek | Chattahoochee National Forest | 9,025 |
| Pink Knob | Chattahoochee National Forest | 12,127 |
| Rocky Mountain | Chattahoochee National Forest | 4,269 |
References (18)
- Boschung, H. T., and R. L. Mayden. 2004. Fishes of Alabama. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 960 pp.
- 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.
- Jelks, H. L., S. J. Walsh, N. M. Burkhead, S. Contreras-Balderas, E. Díaz-Pardo, D. A. Hendrickson, J. Lyons, N. E. Mandrak, F. McCormick, J. S. Nelson, S. P. Platania, B. A. Porter, C. B. Renaud, J. Jacobo Schmitter-Soto, E. B. Taylor, and M.L. Warren, Jr. 2008. Conservation status of imperiled North American freshwater and diadromous fishes. Fisheries 33(8):372-407.
- Kuehne, R. A., and R. W. Barbour. 1983. The American Darters. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. 177 pp.
- Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
- 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.
- Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
- Page, L. M. 1983a. Handbook of Darters. T. F. H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey. 271 pp.
- Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Suttkus, R.D., and J.S. Ramsey. 1967. PERCINA AUROLINEATA, a new percid fish from the Alabama River system and a discussion of ecology, distribution, and hybridization of darters of the subgenus HADROPTERUS. Tulane Studies in Zoology 13:129-145.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1992. Threatened status for two fish, the goldline darter <i>Percina aurolineata</i> and blue shiner <i>Cyprinella caerulea</i>. Federal Register 57(78):14786-14790.