From the Volunteer Coordinator
With much of Oklahoma in a very severe drought, I have pondered the pools of water I am seeing in what were, and will surely become again, flowing streams. My most recent monitoring was from a small, clear pool of water with only a few small fish. Further upstream, and further downstream, there were some bigger pools, but still it was a bleak sight.
In one of the pools I watched as two water snakes whipped around almost in a frenzy. It seemed a little late for breeding season, so I wonder if they were eating small fish. In this dry season land animals are seeking out the pools for a drink, and in doing so, finding a readily available dinner on the stressed fish.
I did some research to learn just what is the outcome when the stream goes dry. Some water will flow subsurface, and while this can mean there is a future for fish eggs, and perhaps a few fry, as the water diminishes, the fish will be eaten by coyotes, bobcats, herons, and other predators. Some might simply die when the dissolved oxygen level drops too low, some might practically get cooked in the overly warm water.
According to the Oklahoma Mesonet, NE OK has had a little less than half the rain we would expect since June. But to me it seems worse than that. According to lake levels on the Oklahoma Water Resources Board website, SE, central, and SW portions of the state are getting low – some seriously low. The same is true for the NW, but a little less so, with the NE lakes nearly holding their own, with only some more seriously low. There is no rain in the forecast for the next week.
We know we are in drought, and we can document conditions with our monitoring. We can battle water shortage by being conservationists, and we can stay tuned to learn what the conditions are and how we can be a force to help our planet.
So what’s up with these breeding tubercules on Central Stonerollers?
At Dirty Butter Creek in North Tulsa County on August 31, a good number of small fish were captured to show new volunteers from Milo’s Tea. Several of the fish were central stonerollers, and one was a medium size male with breeding tubercules on the top of his head. Breeding tubercules are hard spots that develop on some fish in the breeding season. The stoneroller captured that had the breeding tubercules was not large, but those tubercules were large, horny, and dominant.
A visit to a few websites provided insight on why some male fish develop breeding (also sometimes called nuptial) tubercules. Some thoughts are:
- The game of finding a mate and successfully breeding can be tricky. These tubercules might just alert a lady fish that the tubercule-coated male is the best choice for father of the year.
- Some male fish get into sparring matches with other males. Maybe these tubercules offer a scratchy, tough surface that delivers a painful blow during combat.
- The tubercule encrusted head of the male fish might create a pleasing sensation to the female when the male finally gets the chance to get up close and personal.
Whatever the purposes are, to this author’s eye the tubercules certainly add an element of interest and a fun teaching moment.
Cheryl Cheadle Volunteer Coordinator
To our Monthly Monitors:
Howdy Howdy from your QA Officer,
To anyone in Oklahoma that has an environmental complaint, contact the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) hotline 800-522-0206 or they have an online complaint form.
Oklahoma Conservation Commission/Blue Thumb are not regulatory; we test, collect data, and educate others on stream protection. Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality are the regulators. Even if OCC professional field staff were to see high results or something environmentally bad, they would report it to DEQ.
With your creek monitoring results, I have numbers that I watch for. If any results exceed these ‘watching numbers’ then I send all the data, highlighting the problem result(s), to a specific contact at DEQ. I also add a note in the comments of that dataset to reflect this action. But this is info reported from a state agency (Blue Thumb) and often times the complaint means more coming from a citizen. Even if it is just a one time high result, you can make a complaint to DEQ. If it is a continuous high result it is likely that you (or us working together) have investigated, and we’ll help you create a mini report that reflects this investigation. Then you can send it on to DEQ through their complaint hotline.
I say that as a citizen, you have more weight in submitting a complaint then we do as a state agency. When a citizen makes a complaint through the hotline, DEQ has specific timelines for communication with the complainant. DEQ has a uniform investigation process, a central repository for all complaint records, and direct continuous involvement with each citizen who lodges a complaint. I know some citizens might be hesitant to make a complaint as they don’t want to give out their personal information. No worries. You can request DEQ to keep your personal information confidential, but still give them this info so they can keep in touch with you about their progress on your complaint.
When lodging an environmental complaint, DEQ asks that you describe the complaint in as much detail as possible:
- When did you first notice the problem?
- How often does it occur?
- Who is responsible?
- Where is it located? (GPS coordinates are helpful!)
So be an advocate for your creek, for your neighborhood, for your city/town. If you see environmental wrong-doings, report it to DEQ.
Kim Shaw Blue Thumb QA Officer
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