Genetic Structure of Smallmouth Bass in the Lake Michigan and Upper Mississippi River Drainages Relates to Habitat, Distance, and Drainage Boundaries

AbstractThick Roxana Silt (middle Wisconsinan) in central and southwestern Illinois traditionally has been interpreted as loess derived from valley-train deposits in the ancient Mississippi River valley. Winters et al. (H. A. Winters, J. J. Alford, and R. L. Rieck, Quaternary Research 29, 25–35, 1988) recently suggested that the Roxana was not directly related to glacial activity, but was derived from sediment produced by increased shoreline and spillway erosion associated with a fluctuating ancestral Lake Michigan. Because (1) paleoenvironmental and paleohydrologic conditions inferred in the hypothesis are unlikely for a loess depositional system and (2) loess did not accumulate during late Wisconsinan deglaciation under conditions similar to those hypothesized, we suggest the hypothesis should be rejected. Roxana distribution suggests the major source was drainage from the upper Mississippi River valley, and variations in loess thickness in Illinois can be explained by consideration of valley width, depth, orientation, and postdepositional erosion. Tills in the headwaters region of the ancient Mississippi drainage system in Minnesota and Wisconsin occur in the appropriate stratigraphic position and have colors and mineralogic compositions that suggest they could be the parent till of the Roxana. We believe a valley-train source for thick Roxana is most probable and urge continued consideration of middle Wisconsinan glaciation in the upper Great Lakes area.

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The influence of historical and contemporary landscape variables on the spatial genetic structure of the rainbow darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) in tributaries of the upper Mississippi River

Conservation Genetics ◽

10.1007/s10592-014-0649-1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 167-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dane J. Davis ◽

Anna C. Wieman ◽

Peter B. Berendzen

Keyword(s):

Genetic Structure ◽

Mississippi River ◽

Spatial Genetic Structure ◽

Upper Mississippi River ◽

Landscape Variables ◽

Rainbow Darter ◽

Etheostoma Caeruleum

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Invasive Asian Carps in North America

Invasive Asian Carps in North America ◽

10.47886/9781934874233.ch9 ◽

2011 ◽

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Mississippi River ◽

Lake Michigan ◽

Species Dispersal ◽

Alternative Technologies ◽

Nuisance Species ◽

Near Term ◽

Asian Carps ◽

Under Construction ◽

River Drainages

<em>Abstract</em>.—The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is a 50 km-long, man-made canal that connects the Great Lakes and Mississippi River drainages. The canal, which is important for navigation and storm and wastewater drainage, forms an aquatic pathway for nonnative aquatic species to spread between these two major Midwestern ecosystems. Construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal aquatic nuisance species dispersal barrier was authorized by the National Invasive Species Act of 1996. The barrier currently consists of a micropulsed DC electric array. A demonstration barrier began operation in April 2002 and is nearing the end of its design life; a larger, longer lasting barrier is now under construction. The demonstration barrier has been effective in repelling radio-tagged common carp <em>Cyprinus carpio </em>and is expected to have similar effectiveness on other large fish. The new more powerful barrier will be more effective in repelling small fish. In the near term, addition of alternative technologies such as acoustic bubble arrays may augment effectiveness of the electric barrier. In the long term, separation of the Lake Michigan and Mississippi River drainages will provide the surest means of preventing the range expansion of aquatic invasive species via this pathway. Funding, authorization and existing waterway uses will continue to challenge development of a fully effective barrier system.

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Crystallaria cincotta, a new species of darter (Teleostei: Percidae) from the Elk River of the Ohio River drainage, West Virginia

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.1680.1.5 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 1680 (1) ◽

pp. 62 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

STUART A. WELSH ◽

ROBERT M. WOOD

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

West Virginia ◽

Mississippi River ◽

Gulf Coast ◽

Ohio River ◽

Upper Mississippi River ◽

Elk River ◽

Lower Mississippi River ◽

River Drainages ◽

A New Species

A new species of percid, Crystallaria cincotta, is described from the Cumberland, Elk, Green, and Muskingum river drainages of the Ohio River basin, USA. It differs from populations of Crystallaria asprella of the Gulf Coast, lower Mississippi River, middle Mississippi River, upper Mississippi River, and Wabash River drainages by having a reduced number of cheek scale rows restricted to the post-orbital region, a falcate margin on the pelvic fins, a preorbital blotch distinctly separate from the anterior orbital rim, and a wide mouth gape. The Elk River population is also divergent genetically from populations of the Gulf Coast, lower Mississippi River, and upper Mississippi River drainages. Crystallaria cincotta, discovered in the Elk River of the Ohio River drainage in 1980, is a rare species with the only extant population represented by 12 individuals collected from 1980–2005 from the lower 36 km section of the Elk River, West Virginia.

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