Status of Hornyhead Chub (Nocomis biguttatus) and Redspot Chub (Nocomis asper) in Kansas

The Hornyhead Chub (Nocomis biguttatus) and Redspot Chub (Nocomis asper) are threatened species in Kansas, with population declines attributed largely to agriculture and impoundments. Both species are ecosystem engineers via their reproductive behavior, as they create and guard spawning mounds which other fishes use for spawning habitat. As such, declines of Kansas Nocomis have multi-species conservation implications. The objective of our research was to determine the current population status of Kansas Nocomis, which we accomplished by compiling known collection records, examining trends in those collection records, and by conducting our own contemporary sampling effort for Nocomis during 2017-2018. We found 112 unique collection records in Kansas for the Hornyhead Chub spanning from 1885-2014. Forty of the 112 records (36%) occurred since 1990, with only one since 2010 (<1%). All Hornyhead Chub collections since 1953 have come from the Osage River basin, with the most numerous and recent collections occurring in Elm Creek (WB and LY counties), Locust Creek (WB county), Marmaton River (BB county), North Wea Creek (MI county), and South Fork Pottawatomie Creek (AN county). Our 2017-2018 survey captured 111 Hornyhead Chubs at seven of 22 (32%) sample sites. For the Redspot Chub we found 59 unique collection records, with 34% of those collections happening since 1990, and none since 2007. All collections since 1963 were from Spring River or Shoal Creek in Cherokee county, although Redspot Chub had not been found in the Spring River since 1995. We captured four Redspot Chubs during 2017-2018, all in Shoal Creek. Our research indicated that the continued persistence of Nocomis in Kansas is in a precarious state, although the situation is much more perilous for the Redspot Chub than the Hornyhead Chub. Watershed protection and restoration coupled with propagation and repatriation may help prevent the extirpation of Nocomis species from Kansas.