2015 Spring Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Community Engagement

The Sicklefin Redhorse (Moxostoma sp.) is an imperiled species whose range is restricted to Blue Ridge portions of the Hiwassee and Little Tennessee River systems in North Carolina and Georgia. The Sicklefin Redhorse population is threatened by habitat degradation, stream impediments, and restriction of their native home range that isolates and limits their population potential. In order to determine if individuals had habitat preferences when selecting habitat, we translocated 10 individuals from the Tuckasegee River into Oconaluftee River and tracked them via radio telemetry. Once occupied areas were established, we performed a visual habitat analysis adapted from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Individuals reintroduced above the Ela dam in Cherokee, NC exhibited specific preferences when selecting areas of the Oconaluftee River to occupy. The fish exerted a strong preferences for habitats with cobble, bedrock, and boulders as the dominant substrate, and a heavy presence of macrophytes. Sicklefin Redhorse were more likely to be in areas with a variety of in-stream habitat options and were at least 1 meter in depth. The Oconaluftee River contains aspects of habitat necessary for the species to thrive, and could be essential in establishing the Sicklefin Redhorse back to part of its historic range.

The southeastern United States contains the most diverse freshwater fauna in North America. Although there is a great diversity within our local ecosystems of North Carolina, 26% of these species are federally or locally listed as imperiled. The Sicklefin Redhorse is currently an undescribed species of the genus Moxostoma, endemic to the Hiawassee and the Little Tennessee river basins of western North Carolina and northern Georgia. They are listed as a priority wildlife species of North Carolina with a state status of “significantly rare” and are expected to gain federal protection under the Endangered Species Act within the next year. Like many potamodromous fishes, the Sicklefin Redhorse population is at risk due to fragmentation due to stream impediments, habitat degradation, and restriction of natural home range. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of release site and individual variation on distance moved and home range size for adults that have been translocated into a river that is historically within its home range, but from which they have since been extirpated. Ten native Sicklefin Redhorse were collected from the Tuckasegee River, surgically implanted with radio transmitters, and translocated into the Oconaluftee River, a river that is historically within its home range, but from which they have since been extirpated. The fish were tracked individually using radio telemetry for six months. Movement patterns for newly translocated fish and seasonal patterns for females are comparable to patterns found for Sicklefin Redhorse within their current range. Although some fish moved extensively, the sedentary winter patterns observed in females is indicative that the habitat provided by the Oconaluftee may be suitable. Continued observation throughout the spawning season will help in fully determining suitability of the Oconaluftee river for the future restoration of this threatened species to its native home range.

The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is listed as a threatened species in North Carolina that occupies the high elevation habitats. Owls were captured using mist netting and an audio lure. Feather samples were collected from 20 individuals and sent to Colorado Plateau Stable Isotope Laboratory (CPSIL) for analysis. The isotope chosen for analysis was deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen with an additional neutron. Deuterium occurs naturally in precipitation and is incorporated into the food chain when absorbed through plant tissues. The concentrations of deuterium occur predictably depending on location. As organisms consume food and water, deuterium accumulates in their tissues; this occurs all the way through the food chain. By analyzing the feathers of the Northern Saw-whet Owl for this isotope, it should be possible to determine the location that the feathers were grown. This is done by matching the isotopic signatures found in the feathers to corresponding locations with similar isotopic signatures. If the study site supports both resident and migrant populations of the Northern Saw-whet Owl, as currently believed, a difference in the isotopic signatures should be apparent. These data will help to better inform conservation efforts of high elevation forest by providing a better understanding of habitat use by Saw-whet Owls. The results are pending as the feathers are currently being analyzed.

Environmental anthropology examines the relationship between humans and the environment, emphasizing the idea that culture is partly the outward expression of a need to maintain homeostasis. According to this view, cultures develop over the course of generations in part to maintain ecological balance through sustainable resource use. The traditional food production system of the Cherokee Indians, which has sustained the Cherokee people for thousands of years, exemplifies the importance of cultural tradition in ensuring the long-term survival of a population. In the years since Western contact, however, a shift in Cherokee food ways has accelerated, threatening not only a rich cultural tradition, but also the food security of the Cherokee community, the crop biodiversity of southern Appalachian agroecosystems, and the ability of an increasingly tenuous global food system to provide for an expanding population. Geographic displacement, forced acculturation, and a culturally appropriative tourist industry, all products of an institutionalized system of racial oppression, are identified as three significant modern barriers to traditional agricultural practice in Cherokee. The environmental detriments that stem from this agricultural decline thus substantiate the idea that culture and environment are closely intertwined, and that sudden upheaval of a deeply rooted indigenous society will inevitably disrupt the delicate environmental equilibrium had been previously sustained by traditional culture and generations of collective ecological knowledge.