Small-bodied Fishes of Tar Creek and Other Small Streams in Ottawa County, Oklahoma

Fishes of small streams in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, were collected by seine from July 2004 through October 2005 to provide base-line data on species occurrences in Tar Creek and surrounding watersheds. Nine sites within the study area have been receiving mine drainage contaminated with iron, zinc, lead and cadmium for at least three decades following the cessation of mining in the Tri-State Mining District of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri in the 1960s. No such known contamination exists for the remaining sampling sites which serve as “controls” for any future changes in fishes at the polluted sites. Fiftythree collections were made at 10 sites throughout Tar Creek watershed, and 26 collections were made on surrounding watersheds at sites on Coal, Cow, Little Elm, Hudson, Mud, and Four-mile creeks in Ottawa County. A total of 34 species and hybrid sunfish representing ten families were collected. Faunal composition of impacted streams was compared with non-impacted streams. Species richness, corrected for habitat size, was significantly lower in impacted sites than in non-impacted sites. As planned treatment systems for the mine drainage are implemented, the information in this report will allow evaluation of any changes in fish communities. © 2006 Oklahoma Academy of Science.