October 2000 Progress Report on Question SOCIO-5

The previous update (July 18-19) identified the groups of species to be assessed. Mussels, fish, reptiles, and amphibians were originally listed; crustaceans, gastropods, and insects were added for completeness. A total of 924 aquatic species from The Nature Conservancy and state Heritage Network global rankings with G1, G2 or G3 global rankings were selected for analysis. The database used recently underwent a very significant update. In order to use the best data available, the new database will be queried and compared with the original data. This database review will only be done once – no further significant updates are expected between now and the completion of this report.

Rare (defined as G1, G2 or G3) aquatic species were mapped by state and watershed (2 digit USGS). Each taxonomic group was mapped by watershed. Consistently, the South Atlantic and Gulf watershed had the highest number of rare aquatic species.

Further work will map the rare aquatic species by county and identify those “hot spots” of species diversity. “Hot spots” are those areas where significant numbers of rare aquatic species are concentrated. These “hot spots” will be compared with areas where forest cover is experiencing or is expected to experience a significant change in the near future. Experts, on rare aquatic species, will attempt to determine if the juncture of the concentration of rare aquatic animals with the forest change relates negatively to the forestry practices or if there is no cause and effect relationship.

AQUA-5: October 2000 Progress Report

What are the history, status, and likely future of aquatic habitats and species in the South?