Smoky madtom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Smoky madtom |
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The smoky madtom (Noturus baileyi) is a small type of catfish. It lives in rivers and streams. Scientists don't know much about this fish. This is because it hides well and is active mostly at night. It also lives in cloudy water, which makes it hard to see.
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What Does It Look Like?
The smoky madtom is a tiny fish. It is part of the Ictaluridae family, which includes other catfish. It only grows to about 5 centimeters (2 inches) long. Its body is olive brown on top. Its belly is white to yellow. It has four dark marks, called saddles, along its back.
Where Does It Live?
The smoky madtom lives only in Abrams Creek. This creek is inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. In 1957, a dam called Chilhowee Dam was built. People also put chemicals into Abrams Creek. They wanted to help trout fish grow better. But this caused the smoky madtom to disappear from the creek. This is called local extinction.
People thought the smoky madtom was gone forever. But in 1980, a new group of them was found. They were in Citico Creek in the Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee. In 1986, a special project began. Its goal was to bring the smoky madtom back to Abrams Creek. Scientists collect eggs from Citico Creek. They raise the young fish in a lab for a year. Then, they release them back into Abrams Creek.
How Does It Live?
The smoky madtom is a very shy catfish. During the day, it hides. It buries itself under gravel. It comes out at night to find food. It eats small water bugs and tiny fish. It likes to live where calm pools meet faster-moving water. It also likes places with large, flat rocks to hide under.
These fish lay their eggs in the summer. They lay them under big, flat rocks. They have been found in water about 25 centimeters (10 inches) deep. In winter and spring, they prefer calmer areas. The water they live in is clear. Its temperature is not too cold and not too warm. The streams are usually about 4 to 10 meters (13-32 feet) wide.
Other fish, like smallmouth bass, sometimes eat smoky madtoms. The Noturus type of fish can show if a river is healthy. This is because they are very sensitive to changes. Things like logging, mining, or cows grazing can harm the water. This can make the water cloudy with dirt, called siltation. Too much silt can cause the madtom's population to drop a lot.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Female smoky madtoms can have babies when they are two years old. They lay eggs once a year. On average, they lay about 30 eggs. The smoky madtom usually lives for 4 years. This means it can only reproduce for about 2 years. In total, a female might lay about 72 eggs in her lifetime. This low number of eggs, along with past problems, has made the smoky madtom an endangered species.
The spawning season is usually in June and July. In 1982, females with eggs were found from May to July. Each nest had up to 36 eggs, with 30 being the average. The eggs are laid under large, flat rocks. The male smoky madtom guards the nest, just like other catfish. His head muscles also get bigger during breeding season.
Too much silt in the water is very bad for the eggs. The silt can cover the eggs and stop them from growing.
How Is It Being Helped?
The project to bring back the smoky madtom started in 1986. Many groups helped with this. These included the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the University of Tennessee.
Since there were so few smoky madtoms, releasing live fish was too risky. So, scientists collected egg masses during spawning season. They raised the young fish in a lab. After one year, the young fish were released into Abrams Creek. They were released at night. This helped protect them from predators. It also helped them get used to their new home.
Since the project began, over 3,167 young fish have been put into Abrams Creek. About 55% of them survive. Since 1990, more and more smoky madtoms have been seen in Abrams Creek. In 2002, many of the fish found were young ones. This showed that the fish were successfully having babies in the wild. The smoky madtom is still listed as an endangered species. In 1984, there were only about 500 to 1000 fish left. This was because of the dam, the chemicals, and pollution from farming and tourists.
See also
In Spanish: Noturus baileyi para niños
