TPWD 1958 F-2-R-5 #367: A Basic Survey Of the Lavaca River (A-7) and A Basic Survey of the Navidad River A-8

- JOB COMPLETION REPORT Investigations Project ‘\\X State of TEXAS Project woo F232_ Name: Fisheries Investigations and Surveys of the Waters of Region ...'_B" ' Job Noe AmS & Aw? Title: A Basic Survey Of the Lavaca River (A-7) and A Basic Survey of the Navidad River A-S . Period Covered: March through July 1957 ABSTRACT: A basic survey and inventory of fish species was conducted on the Lavaca River and its major tributary the Navidad River“ The drainage has its source in the southern part of Fayette County and flows thence across Lavaca and Jackson Counties before enter- ing Lavaca Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The rivers rise on the Blackland Prairie and flow through the Post Oak Belt and the Coastal Prairieo Both streams were either dry throughout most of their length during the drought years immediately preceding the survey or were reduced to an inter- mittent state, The upper portions of the stream beds are mud which is replaced by sand as the streams enter the Post Oak Belto Both the Navidad and Lavaca are generally con- fined between low to moderate steep-cut banksa Water quality in both streams is normal for rivers in this region. The pH" ranged from 73% at the height of the flood, during February 1957, to pH 9.0 in June“ The average pH value during periods of normal flow is approximately 8.8, No permanent pollution was discoveredo Twenty-four species of fresh water fishes were collected during the survey and several others, including some salt water species, are known to occur in the drainageg The stream supports a trotline and pole and line fishery during years of adequate water with the channel catfish the most sought after Species. Largemouth bass, flathead cat— fish and several species of bullheads and sunfish also contribute to the catch. On the lower river several marine game fish enter the catch. OBJECTIVES: To gather fundamental data on the Lavaca and Navidad Rivers in regard to their physical, chemical and biological aspects and to obtain a checklist of the freshwater fish speciesg METHODS: Ecological notes were made at each of 20 stations on the two rivers (Figure 1). Data recorded included: bottom type, cover, vegetation, stream width, depth, relative turbidity, pH, velocity and volume of flow. At 16 of these stations fish samples were obtained by means of small mesh seines. The fish collection stations were limited to stations within the freshwater portions of the stream. No collections were made in the brackiSh, or saltwater portions. All specimens taken were preserved for subsequent identification and frequency of occurrence analysis. In some cases, a dominant species was so abundant at a given locality that preservation of complete collections of the species was impracticable and under these conditions estimates of the abundance for this species were used. The iden— tification of all fish specimens was verified by Dr. Clark Hubbs, Department of Zoology, University of Texas. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: The Lavaca River and its major tributary, the Navidad River, flow southeast from Fayette County approximately 60 miles to their confluence and thence approximately 15 miles to the mouth of the Lavaca River in Lavaca Bay on the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 1). Throughout their course the two streams flow parallel and from ten to fifteen miles apart. After leaving Fayette County the streams cross Lavaca and Jackson Counties before entering the Gulf. Both streams rise at an elevation of approximately 200 feet. The origin of the Lavaca is in the extreme southwest corner of Fayette County and that of the Navidad two miles northeast of the town Of Schulenburg, also in Fayette County. This area is on the edge of the Blackland Prairie where the soils are deep, fertile and black and where corn and cotton are the principal crops, with livestock grazing.gs an additional impor- tant land use. The watershed enters the narrow east-west extension of the Post Oak Belt in the northern part of Lavaca County. In this region soils are sands and sandy loams and the principal land uses are generally farming in the bottom lands, and grazing in other areas. The principal crops are corn, cotton and truck crops. South of Hallettsville the streams enter the Coastal Prairie. The soils vary in this area and include black and gray clays and some sandy types. Cattle grazing be” comes more important on the coarse grass cover of the level prairie, but cotton, corn, and rice are important crops. The Lavaca River drains an area of approximately 2,500 square miles. Almost 1,500 square miles of this area is drained by the Navidad River which, with an average annual discharge of 400,700 acre feet near Ganado, contributes almost twice as much water as the Lavaca itself at a comparable station at Edna. The total average annual discharge is in excess of 750,000 acre feet. From.its headwaters downstream to Station 4, near Breslau, the Lavaca is a mud bottomed stream flowing between low to moderately steepwcut mud banks. The stream is occasionally shaded by willow, elm and hackberry trees but for the most part flows through relatively open pasture land (Figures 3 and h). The stream in this area main- tains a rather close succession of pools and riffles. The pools are long and have widths of up to #0 feet and are often two to four feet deep. In July the river had uninterrupted flow throughout this section. In August however this upper length of stream had been reduced to intermittent pools. From Station 5, near Ezzell, downstream to the confluence with the Navidad the stream bottom becomes sand and fine gravel with the exception of Station 9, north of Vanderbilt, where a sandusilt bottom was found. In this region the stream flows be- tween steepwcut mud banks which.are heavily wooded to the waters edge (Figures 6 and 7). In many places this shoreline vegetation is so dense that access is difficult. Pecan, willow, oak, elm, and cottonwood trees all contribute to this dense cover and create a shaded condition over most of the stream course. Through Station 6 pools were continous. These pools were, however, usually shallow and seldom had a maximum depth of more than two feet. The average stream width ranged from 15 feet to #0 feet at the various sta— tions, with an overall average width of approximately 25 feet. In July 1957 the volume of flow through this section was not in excess of 15 cu. ft./sec. at any Of the stations. Turbidity was moderate at all points. At Station 9 the river had become a wide sluggish stream with a velocity of less than 0.1 ft./sec., an average width of H0 feet, and an estimated average depth of 3.5 feet. The river is joined by the Navidad River, its major tributary, a few miles down- stream and at Station 10 (Figure 8) had an average width of 150 feet. At a point near Edna the Lavaca has had, during the period of l938~50, an aver~ age flow of 310 cu. ft./sec.. During the same period the maximum discharge was 73,000 cu. ft./sec. on July l, 1940, and the minimum 1.3 cu. ft./sec. on September 3, 1950. Navidad River - The Navidad, which is the Lavaca's major tributary, is a much larger stream throughout than the Lavaca itself. Near its headwaters at Station 11 (Figure 9) the stream is 10 feet wide, has an average depth of 1 foot and flows between steep cut banks. The bottom material was primarily mud with some gravel in the riffles. This station was the only one on the Navidad where gravel bottom was encountered. The river at this point had been dry for three years prior to the heavy rains in February 1957. At the time of the survey the stream at this point had more or less continuous pools which were generally quite shallow. At Station 12 the river continued to flow between steep cut banks, which were wooded with willows, oaks, and pasture grasses, but the bottom.material had become sand, a condition that prevailed from this point to the riveris mouth. Typical views of the river in this area are shown in Figures 10 and 11. The river maintained an average widthof approximately to feet throughout this distance and average depth which gradually increased from.l.5 feet to 3 feet. Fools were more or less continuous and at the lower stations were often two to four feet deep. At Stations 13 through 16 the volume of flow was apprOximately 50 cu. ft./sec. flowing at a velocity of approximately 1.5 ft./sec. At Station 18 the stream begins to increase rapidly in size and at Station 19 had a volw ume of flow of 160 cu. ft./sec. and at Station 20 an estimated flow of #50 cu. ft./sec. The river had reached a width of 90 feet at the latter point. The Navidad, at a point near Ganado, had an 11 year average flow for the period 1939w50 of 552 cu. ft./sec. The maximum.was 6s,000 cu. ft./sec. on July 2, l9h0 and the minimum 1.1 cu. ft./sec. on August 12, 1950. AQUATIC VEGETATION: Plant life in the Navidad was limited to periphyton algae. The shifting sand bottom of the stream would offer very little habitat for higher aquatics and none were observed. At the upstream stations of the Lavaca aquatic plants were often abundant. Muskgrass (Chara sp.) occurred at Stations 1~h and in these same water filamentous algae growths ranged fram sparse to moderate abundance. Cattails (Typha_§p.)'were abundant at Station 1 but did not appear at any other station. CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Water quality in the Lavaca and Navidad Rivers was found to be satisfactory for diversified aquatic life at all points. The pH range during the June, July and August survey was from pH 8.h in the upper Navidad to pH 9.0 in the lower Navidad. The Lavaca waters were uniformly near pH 8.8. At Station 13 where a record of pH 8.6 was made in June, a value of pH T.A had been recorded during the flood conditions of February. No pollution was found during the survey except at a point directly below the town of Hallettsville where local sewage apparently created a very limited pollution problem. FISH COLLECTIONS: Twentwaour species of fish were taken.in the seining collections from the Lavaca and Navidad Rivers (Table 1). In addition to these, eleven other Species of fresh and salt water fishes are certain to occur in the drainage (Table 1), as well as an un— known.number of marine fishes which may move into the lower river at certain times and under certain conditions. The upper and middle portions of both of these rivers were dry or intermittent during the severe drought conditions of 1952 to 1956 and fishing was virtually eliminated in most of the river. Local residents and game wardens report that a significant fishery has existed in past years for the various species of catfish (Table 1) and the occurrence of large numbers of these species in the seining collections suggest that such a fishery will again develop. Largemouth bass and sunfish of various Species were taken throughout the drainage and undoubtedly contribute to the sports fishery. The fishes of the drainage and their general distribution and abundance are as follows: (See Figures 2a and 2b). Family CYPRINI DAE 'Eight of the 2A species collected were cyprinid minnows. These were primarily species of Notropis but also included Pimephales promelas, Ops0poeodus emiliae and Notemdgonus crysoleucas. Notropis lutrensis was the most generally distributed cyprinid and one of the three most common species of fish in the drainage. This minnowwas present in every col~ lection from the Lavaca and in most of the collections from.the Navidad River. Notropis volucellus was the next most common minnow and was taken in approximately half of the collections from each river. The golden shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas) was one of the more common minnows in the collections from the Navidad but was completely absent from those of the Lavaca itself. Family CATOSTOMIDAE Two species, the river carpsucker (Cagpiodes carpio) and the smallmouth buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus), occur in the drainage and it is probable that both of these fish are present in both the Navidad and Lavaca Rivers. In the June collections on the Navi— dad only young of the smallmouth buffalo were taken and in July the Lavaca collections produced only river carpsuckers. Difference in Spawning season may well account for the abundance of young-of-the-year of one or the other at the different collection periods and it is assumed that both occur throughout the drainage. Family AMEIURIDAE The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) was one of the three most generally distributed fishes in the drainage. It was taken in 85 percent of the collections from the Lavaca and in 63 percent of those from the Navidad. Two bullheads, Ictalurus natalis and 3. males were taken in headwaters collections but were present in only 20 percent of the total collections. One other catfish, Eylodictus olivaris, was taken at one stah tion on the Lavaca. The presence of this fish, which is rarely taken in seining collece tions, at even one station suggests that the flathead catfish may be a relatively abun- dant member of the stream‘s catfish pepulation. Catfish, at least potentially, provide a fishery of significant proportions. Although often dry throughout most of its length during years of drought, there is suff— icient water dispersed through the drainage to maintain a spawning population of considw arable magnitude as witnessed by the large population of young—of-the-year taken at all points in the collections. Family.MUGILIDAE The striped mullet (Mngil cephalus) was not taken in the Lavaca collections but did appear in two of the Navidad River collections. This fish is a difficult species to take‘by seining and is probably much more generally distributed than the collections indicate. Family POECILIIDAE The common mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) is the most generally distributed and most abundant fish in the drainage. This species was taken at every collection station and was often the most abundant fish in individual collections. Family CMTBARCHIDAE Six species of centrarchid fishes occurred in the collections. The distribuu tion of only one of these appears markedly limited. The longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) was taken in 85 percent of the collections on the Lavaca River but did not appear in any of the Navidad River collections. This paradoxical situationlhas no logical solution other than that the Lavaca River has a small amount of gravel bottom which may result in more satisfactory spawning areas. Although seining collections on the Navidad may conceivably have been consistently less effective than those on the Lavaca, any existing population of that species in the Navidad.must be assumed to be small. The green sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) and the bluegill (L. macrochirus) were generally distributed throughout the drainage and were in some instances rather abun- dant. Both species may contribute to the catch of the pole and line fisherman. White crappie (Pomoxis annularis) were taken at two stations on the lower Navidad and war— mouth (Chaenobryttus gulosus) occurred in two collections on the Lavaca. Neither of these species was abundant in any of the collections. The largemouth black bass (Micropterus salmoides) occurred in approximately 50 degree than the catfishes. 1 percent of the collections made. It undoubtedly contributes to the fishery but to a lesser ‘ Family PERCIDAE One darter (Etheostoma gracile) was collected at Station h on the Lavaca River. Family CLUPEIDAE The gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) was taken at two of the lower stations on the Navidad (Stations 18 and 195. The deep pools where shad would be empected to concentrate were usually not possible to seine with the equipment at hand and may have supported a shad population at points much farther upstream than these collections indicate. Family'LEPISOSTEIDAE Although not represented in the seining collections three species of gar can be expected to occur in the rivers: the alligator gar (Lepisosteus spatula) spotted gar (E; productus), and longnose gar (E, osseus). In addition to the families and species listed above a number of marine fishes are known to occur in the lower, brackiShiwaters of the rivers. The gafftOpsail catfish (Bagre marina) and the sea catfish (Galeichthys felis) both undoubtedly enter the river at times as does the tarpon (megalops atlanticusi. The red drum (Scianenops ocellata), Atlantic croaker (Micropogon undulatuss, sand trout (Cygoscion arenariusi, speckled trout (g. nebulosus) and southern flounder iParalichthys lethostigma) also are expected resid- ents of the lower river. CONCLUSIONS: A total of at least 75 miles of the Lawaca and Navidad Rivers may be considered: a potential fishery of varying importance. Although dry throughout much of its length during periods of drought, an adequate stock of game fish remains to repopulate the streams in times of satisfactory water conditions. The most important game fish is the channel catfish which:is fished for pri- marily with :trotlines. Pole and line fiching undoubtedly also takes some of this Species as well as largemouth bass and the various species of sunfish and bullheads. Water quality is satisfactory throughout for diversified aquatic life and no significant pollution exists. In the headwaters aquatic vegetation ranged from sparse to abundant but was totally absent in the lower reaches of the rivers. Prepared by Kenneth C. Jurgens Approved by 2 7Q S m1 ._. 2; & £2 Project Leader Chief Aquatic Biologist Date August 30, 1957 Table l. Checklist of Fishes of the Lavaca River Drainage. Stream of Collection Scientific Name Common Name Lavaca Navidad Family CYPRINIDAE .Hntropis lutrensis redhorse shiner x x _E. volucellus mimic shiner x x ,3, roseus weed shiner x x ‘E. genustus spottail shiner x .83 atherinoides emerald shiner x Pimephales promelas fathead minnow X x Opsopoeodus emiliae pugnose minnow x Notemigonus cgysoleucas golden shiner x Family'CATOSTOMIDAE Cagpiodes cappio river carpsucker x lotiobgs bubalus smallmouth buffalo x Family AMEIURIDAE Ictalurus punctatus - channel catfish x x” ;f natalis yellow bullhead x x if melas black bullhead x Eylodictus olivaris flathead catfish x Family MUGILIDAE Mugil cephalus striped mullet x Family POECILIIDAE Gambusia affinis common mosquitofish x x Family CENTRARCHIDAE Micropterus salmoides largemouth black bass x x Chaenob tus gulosus warmouth x Lepomis megalotis longear sunfish x Lepomis cyanellus green sunfish x x Lepomis macrochirus bluegill sunfish x x Pomoxis annularis white crappie x .Family PERCIDAE _ Etheostoma gracile. slough darter x _ Family CLUPEIDAE Dcrosoma cepedianum gizzard shad x Table 1. (Continued). Stream of Collection Scientific Name Common Name Lavaca Navidad Species believed to occur but not collected. Family LEPTSOSTEIDAE Lepisosteus spatula alligator gar x x Lepisosteus productus spotted gar x x Lepisosteus osseus longnose gar x x Family ARIIDAE Bagre marina gafftopsail catfish x x Galeichthys felis sea catfish x x Family ELOPIDAE Megalops athlanticus tarpon H N Family SCIAENIDAE ScianenOps ocellata red drwn x x Micropogon undulatus Atlantic croaker x x Cynoscion arenarius sand trout x x Cynoscion nebulosus speckled trout x x Family ELEURONECTIDAE Paralichthys lethostigma southern flounder x >4 ; mmvmccUNci/ficflmi [Rivers ' "2 [Drainage Arcs «" Q’ \ 4‘ so © DENOTES SURVEY STATIONS LA WARD ..... Figure 1. lap. Lavacs-Navidsd River- Drainage.