Experts address questions about grotto sculpin

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- How do biologists know whether a species is endangered if they don't know that species' population?

That's the question facing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials as Perry County moves forward with a countywide plan to protect the grotto sculpin, a small fish believed to exist exclusively in five caves under the county.

A federal lawsuit by the environmental group WildEarth Defenders prompted the agency to place the grotto sculpin on the endangered species list in September, but biologists aren't sure how many of the fish exist.

"The most logical answer I can give is if it's a unique species to this community, and we've got a pretty good idea that the numbers are small, we know that (for) any organism that has a limited genetic pool ... small numbers means it's probably going to be endangered," said Frank Wideman, natural resources engineering specialist for the University of Missouri Extension.

Water quality

Wideman and fisheries management biologist Jason Crites of the Missouri Department of Conservation, both members of a panel that developed the county's plan to protect the fish, said water-quality issues put the grotto sculpin at risk of extinction.

"The water-quality research that has been done in the area over the last five or six years has showed some significant impairment," Crites said. "Couple that with the two fish kills and ... their localized range where they live is in such a small area that any catastrophic event could wipe them out."

In five years, the service must determine whether Perry County's plan has been successful and decide whether to leave the fish on the list or remove it.

At a public meeting last week, Shauna Marquardt, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said officials will base the decision on water quality, not fish population.

In 2005 and 2006, biologists estimated the grotto sculpin's population at 4,200, but questions have arisen about the accuracy of that number.

The fish is small -- no more than 2 1/2 inches long -- and well-camouflaged, Wideman said. It lives in gravel-bottomed pools in dark caves, making it difficult to see.

"It's hard to corral those little guys and find the pools that they are in and make an accurate count," he said, comparing the effort to counting birds in a moving flock.

Water quality, which has a direct effect on the animal's survival, is easier to measure, Wideman said.

Sinkholes

Contaminants enter the caves through naturally occurring sinkholes all over the county, Crites said. Water erodes the soil around the holes, carrying chemicals and bacteria into the groundwater.

Landowners and government officials have spent several years working to reduce erosion and improve water quality, Crites and Wideman said.

One approach involves installing a 4- to 6-inch pipe in a sinkhole and creating a 25-foot-wide buffer zone, typically covered with fescue, around the pipe, Crites said. The pipe allows water to run into the hole without enlarging it, while the grass helps hold the soil in place, he said.

Cost-share grants are available to landowners to help offset the expense of making sinkhole improvements, Crites said.

Depending on the type of vegetation planted, a sinkhole buffer can serve a dual purpose, increasing hunting opportunities by providing cover for quail or other wildlife, he said.

What changed?

During the meeting last week, an audience member wondered how the grotto sculpin survived the 1970s, when Perry County's water quality was arguably far worse than it is now.

"That is the $10 million question," Wideman said. "I've often wondered that myself."

Was the grotto sculpin population larger a century ago? Did the fish adapt to some contaminants over time? Has pollution increased with the human population?

Wideman favors the latter theory.

At one time, a landowner with a sinkhole on his property was considered "a lucky guy" because he could run wastewater directly into the hole instead of digging a sewer line, Wideman said. Other sinkholes became trash dumps.

"We know that there's issues with that," he said, but at the time, people used less water, and the human population was smaller, so pollution may have been more diluted. "What was going on with the fish 30 years ago? Forty years ago? Fifty years ago? Without having any data to back it up, it's just speculation," Wideman said.

As they work to protect the grotto sculpin, biologists will keep studying it, Crites said.

"Missouri Department of Conservation is pushing forward research on the species, and hopefully we'll be able to get a better picture" of the animal's life cycle, he said, which will allow for better species management.

Ultimately, making the environment safer for little fish makes it safer for everybody, Crites and Wideman said.

"They've used this analogy quite a bit, but (it's) the canary-in-the-coal-mine-type deal," Crites said. "Many folks in the area use [groundwater] as well water for drinking, so there is a potential human health risk."

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Perry County, MO

Landowner assistance

Cost-share grants are available to help Perry County landowners make improvements to sinkholes on their property. For more information on how to apply, call:

* Perry County Soil and Water Conservation District, 573-547-4077

* Jason Crites, Missouri Department of Conservation, 573-290-5730