TPWD 1963 F-6-R-10 #820: Fisheries Investigations and Surveys of the Waters of Region 5-B: Basic Survey and Inventory of the Fish Species Present in the San Antonio River

JOB COMPLETION REPORT As required by FEDERAL AID IN FISHERIES RESTORATION ACT TEXAS Federal-Aid Project No. F-S-R-lO FISHERIES INVESTIGATIONS AND SURVEYS OF THE WATERS 0F REGION S-B Job No. 3-18 Basic Survey and Inventory of the Fish Species Present in the San Antonio River Project Leader: Charles T. Menn H. D . Dodgen Executive Secretary Texas Game and Fish-Commission Austin, Texas -Marion Toole D—J Coordinator Eugene A. Walker Director, Program Planning February 4, 1963 A B S T R A C T The basic survey of the San Antonio River lying within Wilson, Karnes, Goliad and Refugio counties revealed that channel and flathead catfish are the principal game Species. For that reason, every effort should be made to protect and propa- gate catfish in this drainage. Soil pollution over many years has caused the formation of silt deposits along the banks of the relatively narrow river, which tend to favor ”rough fish.” Rough fish Species including alligator, Spotted and longnose gars, gizzard shad, smallmouth buffalo, river carpsucker, carp, grey redhorse, and Rio Grande perch comprised 84.16 per cent by number and 97.40 per cent by weight of the fish taken in the netting collections. Red shiners were found at all 15 seining stations and comprised 42.97 per cent of the fish taken in the seining collections. No recommendations are made for deve10pmental work at this time. However, reconnaissance checks should be made at least once a year to detect gross changes in fish populations. JOB COMPLETION REPORT State of Texas Project No. F-6-R-10 Name: Fisheries Investigations and.Sure. veys of the waters of Region 5-B Job No. 3-18 Title: Basic Survey and Inventory of the Fish Species Present in the San Antonio River Period Covered: Januar l 1962 throu h December 3l~ 1962 Objectives: To determine the physical, chemical and.ecological conditions and the relative numbers of fish Species present in the lower portions of the San Antonio River lying within Wilson, Karnes, Goliad and Refugio Counties. Procedure: Maps prepared by the Texas Highway Department were used in the field to pinpoint seining, netting and water sampling stations. Tracings of U.S. Department of Agriculture aerial photographs were not made because of their large size. The project leader decided that such maps would not be practical- for this work and that the expense of tracing the maps would not be justifiable. Notes were made of pollution, aquatic vegetation and other ecologi- cal factors. The fish populations were sampled with the standard, 125-foot long, gill nets and nylon minnow seines. The gill nets are constructed.of.nylon -webbing, 8-féet deep, in five 25-foot long sections of l—, l%-, 2-, 2%,- and 3- inch square mesh. Specimens taken in the nets were weighed in grams and measured in millimeters in the field. Internal examinations were made to determine sex, stage of sexual development and incidence of parasitism. Stomachs of carnivorous Species were examined to determine food habits. Seined Specimens were preserved in 10 per cent formalin and taken to the Mathis field office for identification and tabulation. A list of the fish Species taken in nets and seines is included in Table l. The scientific and common names used in this table were taken from Hubbs' A Checklist of Texas Fresh«Water Fishes2 Texas Game and Fish Commission, IF -2- Table l. A List of Fish Species Recorded From San Antonio River W Common Name ._ _ ..Scientific.Name W Alligator gar Lepisosteus Spatula Lacepede Spotted gar - L1 oculatus (Winchell) Longnose gar L3 osseus (Linnaeus) Threadfin shad Dorosoma petenense (Gunther) Gizzard shad cepedianum (LeSueur) ‘Mexican tetra ' Astyanax mexicanus (Filippi) Smallmouth buffalo Ictiobus bu.balus (Rafinesque) River carpsucker_ Carpiodes carpio (Rafinesque) Grey redhorse Moxostoma congestum (Baird and Girard) Carp Cyprinus ca£p__ Linnaeus Golden Shiner Notemigonus crysoleucas (Mitchill) Pugnose minnow OpsoEoeodus_ emiliae Hay Speckled chub HyboBsis_ aestivalis (Girard) Red Shiner Notr_pis lutrensis (Baird and Girard) Ghost Shiner E. buchanani Meek Bullhead minnow Pimephales vigilax (Baird and Girard) Channel catfish (lctalurus pgnctatus (Rafinesque) Yellow bullhead I. natalis (LeSueur) Flathead catfish Pylodictus olivaris (Rafinesque) Tadpole madtom Schilbeodes gyrinus W(Mitchill) Blackstripe topminnow Fundulus notatus (Rafinesque) Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard) Sailfin molly MollienSSia latipinna (LeSueur) Stri ed mullet Mu i1 ce halus (Linnaeus Tidegater silverside ‘MegidiE-%E?Ellina (COpe)) Largemouth bass MicroEterus salmoides (Lacepede) Warmouth ' "' I j' "' ' I Chaenobryttus gulosus (Cuvier) Green sunfish Lepomis cyanellus (Rafinesque) Redbreast sunfish L. auri.tus (Li.nnaeus) Bluegill L macrochirus (Rafinesque) Longear sunfish megalotis (Rafinesque) Logperch Percina caprodes (Rafinesque) Rio Grande perch Ci.chlasoma cyanoguttatum (Baird and Girard) Series No. 3, June 1961. Findings: Physical Description The San Antonio River rises within the City of San Antonio and flows approximately 180 miles in a southeasterly direction to its confluence with the Guadalupe near San Antonio Bay on the Texas coast. With a relative— ly small watershed of only 4,460 square miles and a semimarid climate, the mean annual flow of the river near its mouth is a meagre 350,000 acre feet. The major tributaries of the San Antonio are the Medina River_and Cibolo Creek. Both are Spring fed streams and differ somewhat in water quality from the San Antonio, particularly in turbidity. Normally the San Antonio River is a rapidly moving, turbid Stream with an average width of some 40 feet and an average depth of five feet. In the portions of the river included in the study, the banks are mostly . sharply cut, indicating frequent flooding. The stream bottom varies from limestone, in Wilson County, to sand and sandstone in Karnes and Goliad counties to sand, sandstone and mud in the lower portions of Refugio County. Silt deposits are found near the banks along the river, but are lacking in the main current. Pecan, hackberry, ash, cottonwood and cypress trees are numerous along the river. Also, willow, huisache and mesquite trees are frequently encoun- tered along the San Antonio. Bloodweeds, grapevine, sunflowers and prickly pear combine to form dense thickets lining a considerable part of the river. Netting Collections Five netting stations were set up during this survey; three on the San Antonio River and two on Cibolo Creek. The netting stations on the creek were located in Wilson County and those on the San Antonio River were in Karnes, Goliad and Refugio counties. No suitable netting water on the San Antonio River was found in Wilson County. An overnight set was made at each station twice during the study period. All told, 120 fish of 17 Species weighing 215.2 pounds were taken in the netting collections. Game fish Species including channel catfish, flathead catfish, largemouth bass, warmouth, bluegill, redbreast and long» ear sunfish comprised 15.84 per cent of the netted fish and 2.60 per cent of their weight. ' Rough fish Species including alligator, Spotted and longnose gars, gizzard shad, smallmouth buffalo, river carpsucker, carp, grey redhorse, and Rio Grande perch dominated the netting collections both in numbers and in weights with 84.16 per cent of the number and 97.40 per cent of the weight. Tables 2 and 3 Show the results of netting by station. Cars of one Species or another were taken at all stations, but were more abundant in the lower portions of the river in Goliad and Refugio counties. Unidentifiable fish remains were found in four gar stomachs and five were empty. No parasites were found. Gizzard Shad were taken only at Station No. 3, at Conquista Park in Karnes County, and at station No. 5, near the mouth of the San Antonio River in Refugio County. The shad comprised only 6.67 per cent of the number and 3.67 per cent of the weight of the fish netted. The relatively small shad p0pu1ation is probably due to the abundance of predators such as gars and catfish. Collectively, smallmouth buffalo, river carpsucker and grey redhorse comprised 35.83 per cent by number and 25.65 per cent by weight of the fish taken in the netting collections. 0f the three Species, smallmouth buffalo appear to be dominant in the lower portions of the river, while grey redhorse are limited to the clearer waters of Cibolo Creek and probably to the clearer, upper portions of the river. It is interesting to note that only one Specimen of carp was taken during the survey. The lone carp was taken at netting Station No. 3 , at Conquista Park in Karnes County. A state fisheries survey made in 1953 by Kuehne (IF Report Series No. 1, Texas Game and Fish Commission) also found that carp were lacking in the San Antonio basin_. Thusyit appears that the San Antonio River is one of the few drainages in the state lacking a sizeable carp population. Rio Grande perch were taken only at the Conquista Park netting stations in Karnes County. However, this Species was taken in several seining collect- ions in the upper portions of the river and in Cibolo Creek. Apparently cold water during winter months controls their numbers in downstream areas, Since none were taken in either nets or seines. Apparently Spring areas in the upper portions of the river and in Cibolo Creek afford sufficient protection for their survival. The largemouth bass, in this drainage, appears to be limited to the upper portions of the San Antonio River and to Cibolo Creek. Only three Specimens were collected in netting collections and this occurred at the Conquista Park Site. Murky water apparently prevents develOpment of a good bass pOpulation in most of the river. To offset poor reproduction of the Species, 11,000 largemouth bass fingerlings were Stocked during.May 1962 in areas of Cibolo Creek where sufficient food and cover were available. Channel catfish and flathead catfish seem to be well established in the river. 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Hamimw. £.wgom. . . . . . . ....... . _oo.N LmHH oEow .anm oEmm moumowosH a ._oo.ooH .-£ouo;.woosw.owm. a smfiwcom snowmoH % £wHMGSm umme£U®m_ osmu omnofipos %oHU. onmHoH suooEHHmEmw mono onNNHU_ How mooanO_ sow wouuoom How MoumeHH. House Ho.ucmo.uomi -7- along the river and Cibolo Creek. Insect remains were found in a channel catfish's stomach. Table 4 shows the length-weight statistics for fish taken in netting collections. The ”K” factors of all fish were considered better than average, indicating that they are in good condition. Seining Collections Originally 20 seining stations were planned, but only 15 suitable Sites were found. Eleven stations were located at various places on the San Antonio River in Wilson, Karnes, Goliad and Refugio Counties, and four stations were located on Cibolo Creek in Wilson County. For the most part, the stations were set up near road crossings to facilitate access. They represented various types of habitat. Two collections were made at each station during the study period. In all, 4,012 Specimens of 21 species were taken in the 30 seining collections. Table 5 shows the number of each Species recorded at each station. The red Shiner is the most abundant fish and best distributed in the San Antonio River, as well as Cibolo Creek. This minnow was taken at every station and comprised 42.97 per cent of the fish seined. Mosquitofish, pugnose minnows, channel catfish, bullhead minnows and Rio Grande perch, in that order, were found to be well distributed through- out the river system and in lower Cibolo Creek. Mexican tetras, Speckled chubs, blackstripe tOpminnows and logperch were limited to the upper portions of the river, while threadfin shad, striped mullet and tidewater silversides were found only in the lower portions of the San Antonio. Six grey redhorse were taken at a station on Cibolo Creek. This was the only place where this Species was taken, although we suSpect them to be present in good numbers in the creek. Eight largemouth bass Specimens were taken at a seining station on the San Antonio River at Conquista Park. Thus reproduction, although some- what limited, is indicated. Under present conditions, primarily the high turbidity and silt, it is doubtful that a good bass pOpulation can become established in the river. Largemouth bass fingerlings were stocked in the clearer waters of Cibolo Creek in May 1962 to supplement the existing population. Sufficient food in the form of red shiners and cover were found in the creek. Therefore, these bass Should be helpful in restoring that Species. Neither Species of crappie was taken in either netting or seining collections. This seems rather odd since a number of areas appeared to be suitable for this Species. The absence of crappie during this survey is in line with Kuehne's study in 1953. 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