The Assessment found fish in Shamokin Creek
!
The US Geological Survey, as part of the Shamokin Creek watershed assessment completed macroinvertebrate sampling and electrofishing on October 5-6, 1999. Chuck Cravotta (USGS) provided the preliminary fish species data below. One must realize that this sampling is a "snapshot" of the condition of the stream; it does not indicate what species might be found under other conditions.
In electrofishing, electrodes produce an electric current in the stream which temporarily stuns fish. The fish are collected in a downstream net, identified and counted, then released unharmed.
Click for pictures of electrofishing in October 2000 along Carbon Run and Shamokin Creek .
|
SITE |
Total number of species at site |
Species Observed (Counts for individual species not yet available) |
|
Carbon Run (next to strip pond) |
1 |
CC |
|
Tributary to Carbon Run at Site 41 |
1 |
CC |
|
Carbon Run at Shamokin Cr |
1 |
CC |
|
Shamokin Cr above and below Carbon Run |
0 |
none |
|
Shamokin Cr above Quaker Run |
0 |
none |
|
Quaker Run above Shamokin Cr |
0 |
none |
|
Shamokin Cr above Rte 61 (at Rte 54) |
0 |
none |
|
Shamokin Cr at USGS gage (Tharpetown - above dam) |
0 |
none |
|
Shamokin Cr at USGS gage (Tharpetown - below dam) |
6 |
CC,SF,FF,WS,PS,BB |
|
Shamokin Cr at Sunbury (below Rte 61) |
11 |
CC,SF,FF,WS,PS,SH,HS,RB,GS,GSH,SB |
For example, at the last site in the table, 11 different species were found. Data on the number of individuals of each species are not presented here.
CC = Creek Chub, SH = gizzard shad, SS = spottail shiner, SF = spotfin shiner, FF = fallfish, WS = white sucker, HS = hogback sucker, RB = rock bass, GS = green sunfish, GSH = green sunfish hybrid, PS = pumpkinseed, SB = smallmouth bass
The chemistry and flow at the two Tharpetown sites are the same. The dam associated with the gaging station apparently acts as a physical barrier to the migration of fish. The downstream side of the dam may act as a preferred habitat due to highly oxygenated water. The dam was built to allow accurate flow rate monitoring, which is important to scientific studies of the watershed.
