TPWD 1955 F-2-R-2 #172: Inventory of the species present and their distribution in those portions of the Brazos River within the boundaries of Region 6-B, Job Completion Report, Project No. F-

--- Page 1 --- “\ STATE ss‘ Texas ; \ PROJECT NO, F-2-R-2, Job B-12 PERIOD December 1, 195k through May 30, 1955 Job Completion Report by Richard H. Clark Assistant Project Leader TITLE Inventory of the species present and their distribution in those portions of the Brazos River within the boundaries of Region 6-B. STC OBJECTIVES To determine the species present and their relative abundance. METHODS The fish population of the lower Brazos River, from U. S. Highway 190, to the Gulf Coast near Freeport, was sampled with 8' x 125', square mesh experimental gill nets, consisting of five 25 foot sections, with mesh sizes graduated in one-half inch intervals, from one to three inches. Gill nets 8' x 100' long consisting of 13, 2, and 3 inch square mesh sizes were also used. Seine collections were made with 30' x 6! bag seines, 30! x 6! straight seines, of §" square mesh, and 6' x 4! bobbinet seines of 1/8" square mesh. The lower Brazos River as defined above, was divided into thirteen stream sec- tions, as shown on accompanying map, for convenience in working the river. Twenty-four seine and forty-five net collections provided a total of 8805 specimens. Seined specimens and unidentified gill net specimens were preserved in the field with a 10% formalin solution and later identified in the laboratory. Data recorded for individual netted specimens included weight, length, sex, and stage of sexual development. Cooperation of Dr. Clark Hubbs, Department of Zoology, University of Texas, in the verifi- cation and identification of several species was greatly appreciated. RESULTS Physical Characteristics The area through which the lower Brazos River flows is divided into two ecolo- gical sections by a line that is not easily defined because of much over lapping of physical characteristics. The Post Oak Belt to the north is a rolling wooded plain much of which has been cleared for agricultural purposes along the course of the river. Soil types are sand and sandy loams, and are cut deep by the river, often forming high vertical banks, To the south the river extends through the heavy clays, largely grass covered, of the Coastal Prairies. Deep cut banks are common and like that portion of the stream in the Post Oak Belt the river bed is heavily silted. N Chemical Characteristics Table I contains a key to the water analysis stations in each of the thirteen stream sections. The enclosed map shows these stream sections numbered from one to thir- teen. Table II records the results of a portion of the water analysis done in connection --- Page 2 --- ‘ale with Job A-5. As the table indicates, the stream is turbid, and becomes increasingly more turbid during periods of heavy run off over the highly erodable soils of the area. The river was at a low stage when these water analyses were made. However the chart is representative of the respective stream sections during the study period, Fish Collections Table ITT is a key to the location of the stream sections on the lower Brazos River within Region 6-B. A checklist of fishes collected on the lower Brazos River by netting and seining is contained in Table IV and gives an indication as to the abundance of the 44 species collected, Abundance was based upon the number of stream sections in which each species was found in relation to the thirteen stream sections sampled. The 44 species collected may be divided into five groups on the basis of their abundance and distribution in the portion of the river under study. The first and most abundant group is composed of the river carpsucker, sharpnose shiner, Brazos River shiner, broadhead shiner, red shiner, parrot minnow, and channel catfish, having been found in over 54% of the stream sections. The second group includes gizzard shad, speckled dace, common mosquitofish, and striped mullet which are the next most abundant occuring in 38-53% of the stream sections. Group three includes alligator gar, shortnose gar, blue catfish, bluegill sun- ' fish, longear sunfish and freshwater drum which are third in abundance appearing in 23- 37% of the stream sections. Spotted gar, green sunfish, orange spotted sunfish and white crappie found next in abundance comprise group four occuring in 9-22% of the stream sections. Group five includes all of those species found to be least abundant collected in 8% or less of the stream sections. This group numbered 23 species or 52% of the kh species collected. Although recorded data indicates that earp and smallmouth buffalo occur rarely, commercial fishermen report that these species are abundant. Large numbers have been taken in deep water all along the lower Brazos. Table V contains a checklist of 23 fish species reported to occur in the Brazos River and/or its drainage, none of which were collected in the lower Brazos River within Region 6-B, but some of which might be expected to occur. Job completion reports of Pro- ject F-2-R-1, Job B-6 and F-2-R-2, Job A~l. and B-9 report the occurance of twenty-one of the species in the San Gabriel, Leon, Lampasas and Little Rivers including Brushy Creek, within the boundaries of Region 6-B. According to Job Completion Report, Project F-4-R-1, Job B~6, nine species are reported to occur in the Brazos River and/or its dreinage within Region 4.«o of which none were collected in the lower Brazos River Job B-12. Seining and netting results by number of each species is reported in Table VI and includes the number of each species collected per stream section. The tarpon (T. atlanticus) reported was collected with rod and reel and had a total length of 39 inches and weight of 17.5 lbs. Table VIT reports the length, weight and coefficient of condition of fish species collected by gill nets from the lower Brazos River, December 1, 1954 through May 30, 1955. Gizzard shad and river carpsucker dominated the rough fish catch totaling 54.39% of 343- netted specimens while channel catfish led game species with 20.43%. Alligator gar and sharpnose shark comprised 71.18% of the total catch by weight. The other twenty species caught by gill nets resulted in only 28.82% of the total catch by weight. Sport fishermen and commercial fishermen are believed to use the fish resources of the Brazos River extensively. Many anglers were observed, fishing mostly for catfish, --- Page 3 --- 3. while near the mouth tarpon fishermen were active during the late spring. Commercial fishermen were observed in several localities fishing with nets and others running glass jar traps. Minnows are caught in the traps and large numbers are known to be taken by commercial bait dealers. SUMMARY 1. The lower Brazos River meanders through two overlapping ecological re- gions. The Post Oak Belt to the north and the Coastal Prairies to the south. 2. The stream is turbid as the chemical analysis chart indicates and be-~ comes more so during periods of heavy run off over the highly erodable soils of the area. 3. Sixty-nine fish collections on the lower Brazos River and its tributaries produced 8805 specimens. Forty-four species were found to occur and twnety-three others are reported to occur in its drainage within Regions 6-B and 4-B. 4. Gizzard shad and river carpsucker dominated the rough fish catch, totaling 54.39% of 343 netted specimens. Channel catfish led the game species with 20.43%. 5. Sport fishermen are believed to harvest large numbers of catfish from the lower Brazos and commercial fishermen are known to use the fish resources extensively. --- Page 4 --- Key to Water Analysis Stations on the Lower Brazos River Station number Location lL. Brazos River, at crossing of U. S. Highway 190, west of Hearne. 24 Brazos River, at crossing of U. S. Highway 79, southwest of Hearne. 3 Brazos River, at erossing of State Highway 21, southwest of Bryan. he, Brazos River, at crossing of Farm Road 60, south- west of College Station. 5. Brazos River, at crossing of farm road, southwest of Welborn. 6. Brazos River, at Washington State Park, Washington. fe Brazos River, at crossing of U. S. Highway 290, west of Hempstead. 8. Brazos River, at crossing of U. S. Highway 159, southwest of Hempstead. 9. Brazos River, at Stephen F. Austin State Park, east of Sealy. LO» Brazos River, at crossing of Farm Road 723, north of Rosenberg. il. Brazos River, 4 miles northeast of Crabb, Ronson Farm, Fort Bend County. 12. Brazos River, at crossing of State Highway 35, East Columbia. 13. Brazos River, at crossing of State Highway 36, near Freeport. --- Page 5 --- O°eT - SEST 2° gL ZQ GS-LT-E tT 0°s ra Qe H°Q S9 G9 GS-9 -T ai O°OT € 6T €"g ol GL. GS-S -T “TT 0°S T a 1°93 99 LL HS-O€-TT “OT o's @ eT TQ 29 Sd HS~OE- TT "6 oe) S 6E 6°L £9 OL 4S-O£-TT 9 Gh g ct £°S 09 19 HS-OE-TT bh ons E qT T°Q LS €9 4S-O€-TT “9 6) HT 8's 6% 99 HS-6S-TT °S O°OT 9) GT 9°8 T9 eh qS-62" TT H Gtk T HT S°9g 6S S9 HS" 627 TT € O°r t +T 6°L QS 99 qS-627>TT “2 O°TT a OT 2° Qs 19 qS-62-TT T YSTp ada | wdd ad ty ities 3 7eq UST IS Tyseg Zoo sapTazotyg ‘duay, zaqem ‘dmay, zy meer mw J@ATY Sozerig JamoyT euy fa stskTeuy ae7eM IY eTqeL --- Page 6 --- Table Key to Stream Sections on River Stream Section Location l. Brazos River, one mile above U. 8. of Hearne, to one mile above U. S. Hi west of Hearne. Highway 190, west ighway 79, south- a. Erazos River, one mile above U. S. Highway 79, south- west of Hearne, to one mile above State Highway el, southwest of Bryan. 3. Brazos River, one mile above State Highway 21, south- west of Bryan, to one mile above Farm Road 60, south- west of College Station. h, Brazos River, one mile above Farm Road 60, southwest of College Station, to one mile above farm road, south- west of Welborn. or Brazos River, one mile above farm road, southwest of Welborn, to six miles above State Highway 90, south- west of Navasota. 6, Brazos River, six miles above State Highway 90, south- west of Navasota, to one mile above J. S. Highway 290, west of Hempstead. T. Brazos River, one mile above U. 8S. Highway 290, west of Hempstead, to one mile above State Highway 159, south- west of Hempstead. 8, Brazos River, one mile above State Highway 159, south- west of Eemostead, to one mile above S. F. Austin State Park, east of Sealy. 9. Brazos River, tne mile above S. F. Austin State Park, east of Sealy, to one mile above Parm Road 1093, north- east of Wallis. 10. above Farm Read 1093, northeast 6 above U. S. Highway 59, east of ll. Brazos River, one mile above U. S. Highway 59, east of Richmond, to five miles above State Highway 35, east of West Columbia. 12. Brazos River, five miles atove State Highway 35, east of West Columbia, to one mile below Farm Road 521, east of Brazoria. 13. Brazos River, one mile below Farm Road 521, east of Brazoria, to the mouth of the river on the Gulf Coast, near Freeport. --- Page 7 --- Scientific Name Scoliodon terrae-novae Lepisosteus spatula Lepisosteus platostomus Lepisosteus productus Hops saurus Tarpon atlanticus Brevoortia gunteri Dorosoma petenensis Dorosoma cepedianum snes, i mitchilli Cycleptus. elongatus fot ictiobus bubalus Carpiodes carpio Cyprinus carpio Opsopoeodus emiliae Hybopsis aestivalus Notropis atherinoides Notropis oxyrhynchus Notropis brazosensis Notropis, potteri Notropis lutrensis Pimephales vigilax vigi lax ictalurus punctatus ictalurus furcatus Pilodictus olivaris Bagre marina Galeichthys felis Gembus ia affinis Aphredoderus sSayanus Mugil cephalus weions eeyeees ryttus ¢ 2 See Lepomis negalotis Pomoxis annularis Aplodinotus g grunniens Leicstomus xanthurus Micropogan undulatus Cynoscion nebulosus Lagodon “rhomboides Urophysis fl floridanus Fundulus grandis Table IV from the Lower Erazeos Common Name sharpnose alligator shorinose spotted gar bigeye herring tarpon bay menhaden threadfin shad gizzard shad bay anchovy blouesucker smallmouth buffalo river carpsucker carp jugnose minnow speckled dace emerald shiner sharpnose shiner ‘Brazos River shiner broadhead shiner red shiner parrot minnow channel catfish blue catfish yellow catfish gafftopsail catfish sea catfish common mosquitofish pirate perch etriped mullet white bass warmouth bass green sunfish bluegill sunfish orangespotted sunfish Longear sunfish white crappie freskwater drum spot Atlantic croaker spotted squeteague pintish hake large kill ifis Abundance Dod PnmdndDYaQQD <j => soto boo > HPQDPAAD PrP Wem Daa Dodoma Abundance was based upon the percentage of the total number of stream sections in waich each species was found. Example: VA very abundant (present in over 54% of the stream sections), A abundant (38-53%), C common (23-37%), F frequent (9-22%), and R rare (8% or less). --- Page 8 --- Checklist of species reporte collected Seientific Name Astynax fasciatus Moxostoma congestum Notropis - s fumeus Notropis amnis Notropis venustus Notropis volucellus Notropis buchanani Dionda 6 episcopa Hybognathus Us nuchalis Pimephales_ “promelas Compos stoma anoma lum Ameirus melas Ameirus natalis Senilbeodes gyrinus Fandulus nototus Micropterus punctulatus S scierus cm mcrae osomum ithessione 2 or spectabile Etheostoma, able V -d to occur in the Brazos River Drainage, but not aZos in the Lower Bra River. Common Name Rio Grande tetra gray redhorse ribbon shiner pallid shiner eseremgarers shiner mimic iner ghost iver roundnouse minnow Silvery minnow fathead minnow stoneroller black bullhead yellow bullhead tadpole madtom bliackstripe topminnow spotted black bass Texas spotted bags largemouth bass potted sunfish suciiy logperch bluntnose darter orangethroat darter darter Region 6-B mS x x x x x Pm Pe OP SO bx ha Pat ~~ x Region 4-5 --- Page 9 --- Table VI Number of Each Fish Species Taken From Each Stream Section by Seining and Netting Dec. 195% through May 1955. Fish Species Stream Sections 2) terrae -novae spatula platostomus productus saurus atlanticus gunteri petensis cepedianum mitchilli elongatus . bubalus -arpiodes carpio 17 Cyprinus carpio 9 » eMmiliae 0) . aestivalus 65 atherinoides 0 oxyrhynchus 137 brazosensis 13 potteri 48 lutrensis L295 vigilax 380 punctatus il furcatus olivaris - marina . felis affinis sayanus cephalus ehrysops coronarius cyanellus macrochirus . humilis . megalotis , annularis - grunniens . Xanthurus . undulatus nebulosus rhomboides floridanus grandis Fk mw Oo FODODOCOCOC Oo ON ON SI HOPOU OAR rr OM ORCROR che eRe eee rene) ine) “Oe OOCTOMdOOOFODOOCCOO OQ FOOUWDCOODCOCOCOO0O00 nD a ane FOWO ) ne) OF RP EOF O ke ~] ban - FMUOONDMOFDOODODOODOCDOOOOD0O0O0 (ee) WealbkRee POPDDVOOCOTDDSCOODDOONCOODOONNFNOCODOKF ODOC OO OOOO CO Ww oe aa] PO ON : POO COOMDOFWOADOOCONDOCCOOOCOODC oO MOODOODODOOWOOO \o hd ON nN ns) t OOD DOOCCOWNAONOOAWOOC SO ORO ORO CRORS ORS OROROE SES ROnen\) a 0 H N. N. N. N. N. Ps Le I. P, B G. a. A. M. M. CG. L. L. L P. A L M Ce L. U. F. OOOO CO OOOO COO CO OOO COO ODO OVVWWDOONWW FU OOP, SOoocoe ogo ooe 00 O90 Oo ooocoo0o0o°co°coc0o0o0cco0oO0oO0cC co OODODOOOF fF O2oO00 ne) SF pe) oO SO ft ON ~ fu SV (e) oo ine) OD XO fj ‘aed I fe Totals --- Page 10 --- Table VI - Continued Number of Each Figh Species Taken From Each Stream Sect by Seining and Netting Dec. 1954 Through May 1955 9 10 LL Le 13 Total Percent S. terrae -novae 0 O O 0 5 5 0.06 L. spatula @) 2 2 2 2 8 0.09 iL. platostomus 3 1 1 6) eo) 17 0.19 L. productus O 0 L O O L OeOL —. saurus 0) @) @) 0) 2 2 0.02 T. atlanticus 0 fe) 0 @ 1 1 0.01 B. gunteri fe) fe) e) 0 28 28 0.32 D. petensis @) 6) I O O 1 0.01 D. cepedianum 2 0 5 0 LL Lhe 1.61 A. Mitehilli 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.02 C. elongatus 6) 0) 0 O O L 0.0L I. bubaius © O ) 0 fe) 1 0.01 Carpiodes carpio 8 3 @) @) ) 85 Q.97 Cyprinus carpio O ce) 0) 6) @) 1 0.0L O. emiliae Q 0 fe) 0 @) i 0.01 H. aestivalus 2h 0 O 0 0 138 1.56 N. atherinoides 0 ) 1 0 0 1 0.0L N. oxyrhynchus 430 61 0 @) 0 2229 25.31 N. brazosensis 8 \ ) 0 0 243 2.75 N. potteri 2 0 0 0 0 170 1.93 N. lutrensis 171 627 29 QO 0 365 41.52 P. vigilax 82 29 1 fe) O 8 9.23 T. punctatus 7 4 1 0 0 68 0.77 I. furcatus 3 0 O h 0 ah 0.27 P. olivaris @) 0) 6) 6) i) L 0.01 B. marina © 0 0 fe) 5 5 0.06 G. felis 0 0 0 0 3 3 0.03 G. affinis ¢) 27 al 0 @) 96 1.09 A. sayanus 6) dk O 0 6) i 0.01 M. cephalus L 33 4.05 i Fre) 498 5.65 M. chrysops 0 6) 0 ) 0) L 0.01 C. coronarius @) e) Q 0 Q 2 0.02 L. cyaneilus fe) ig 9) <) 0) LO O.LL L. macrochirus 2 2 fe) 0 0 235 2.66 iL. humilis 0 0 fe) @) O 6 Ou L. megalotis 4 0 fe) O 0 275 3.12 P. annularis ) ) fe) fe) fe) 4 0.05 A. grunniens L 0 0 2 OQ 10 O.11 Le xanthurus fe) fe) @) fe) h y 0.05 M. undulatus a) 9) fe) @) 12 12 O.14 Cc. nebulosus @) @) 6) @) L iL O.OL Le rhomboides fe) 0 0 0 L 1 0.0L U. floridanus 6) @) 6) @) L 1 0.01 F. grandis 0 0 fe) 0 L L 0.01 Totals ThE 795 468 9 128 8805 99.93 --- Page 11 --- aLeIaay To poeg biwh by Ol’? 409°9°116°0 190°S"SLO'2 ELS’ g-STE*T QO’ +-SETE "99" e gtg’e Ooh S-ZQe"T SLE*S-2S9°T GZE"S-ES0'°T LGZ°2 OL H-E90°T HEE’ G-SOT°T OS6°2 LnO*H-T60°O TLS*E 349 °T SSE *H STE ST 291," 0-695°0 G9t'S-6L5°0 asuey IGLORT ole ZH ol 98 661 LYT On Leg fee ET? 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