Researchers: Scott Reid, Nick Jones, Nick Mandrak, Geoff Yunker

Project Description: Redside dace populations have been lost from many river systems in Ontario and the length of stream occupied by remaining populations has been greatly reduced. Based on observed declines and threats to remaining populations, Ontario listed the redside dace as threatened in 2000 and COSEWIC has assessed it as nationally endangered in Canada. 

The Recovery Strategy for Redside Dace identified the need for long-term monitoring programs. Traditional methods of enumeration in streams (multiple-pass depletion) are intensive and sacrifice sampling many sites for higher within site precision on estimates (i.e., we know a few sites very well). Some have suggested determining if a relationship exists between the traditional multiple pass estimates of abundance and a single-pass approach.

Our objectives were to develop a rapid one-pass method that could be used in more sites across a watershed with a small loss in precision for the within site estimate of abundance and develop a relationship relating traditional three-pass depletion method with one-pass methods.

Future work includes:

1. Assessment of one-pass electrofishing for fish community inventory.
2. Assessment of food availability under contrasting riparian and turbidity conditions.
3. Development of a foraging/bioenergetics model for redside dace.

Collaborators and Participants: Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Local Conservation Authorities

Links: Ontario's Species at Risk - Redside Dace

Interesting Facts: Deleterious alteration of stream habitat through changes in the landscape (e.g., agriculture, urbanization, exotic fishes, fragmentation) threatens the continued existence of this species in Canada. What sets the Redside Dace apart from other species is its unique role as the only minnow to habitually feed on flying insects, which it does leaping out of the water.