Bigmouth shiner (Notropis dorsalis) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 13
Summary of Status Report
As with several species sensitive to sedimentation caused by bank erosion and intrusion of livestock into waterbodies, it appears that bigmouth shiner populations have benefited where streambank fencing has been implemented. In Eagle Creek, Buffalo County, Wisconsin, researchers observed a doubling in the total fish population. This included the presence of fish typically found in good trout streams. The total increase in fish numbers was largely reflected by an increase in the bigmouth shiner population (U.S. EPA 1993). Numerous co-operative initiatives (e.g., Cows and Fish, Environmental Farm Plans) throughout the Canadian Prairies have been undertaken in an effort to protect riparian areas while benefiting livestock production. Much of the protection of riparian areas involves livestock exclusion through fence installation. Continued efforts to protect riparian areas should benefit bigmouth shiner populations throughout much of their range in Manitoba.
Adequate information regarding critical habitat requirements, population size, structure and stability, and distribution are lacking. However, the species has been found at five new locations since 1985 and may be present in other unsurveyed areas in western Manitoba and possibly eastern Saskatchewan, although the species is at the northern extent of its worldwide distribution in Canada, and Manitoba is, at present, the only province in which it occurs.
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