A REVIEW AND RECENT RECORDS OF THE BIGEYE SHINER, NOTROPIS BOOPS (CYPRINIDAE), IN OHIO

The bigeye shiner (Notropis boops) is a common fish of upland. streams in the middle Mississippi River drainage. It prefers warm, quiet pool s with clear water and silt-free substrates. It is threatened in Ohio, which is on the northern edge of its range, and since 1941 has been c ollected in only a few streams in the southwestern part of the state. In order to assess the current status of the bigeye shiner in Ohio, we examined the extensive stream fish data base for the whole state. We then conducted seining surveys from 1985-1995 to more fully document t he distribution of bigeye shiners in the six stream systems Fn which t hey had been reported since 1941. The largest populations were found i n Turkey Creek and the Sunfish Creek system, which have mostly foreste d watersheds, clear water, and silt-free substrates. Smaller populatio ns were found in O'Bannon Creek and the White Oak Creek system. Both t hese systems have agriculturalized watersheds, and the O'Bannon Creek watershed is affected by urban construction activities. Both systems e xperience heavier silt loading and have more turbid water and siltier substrates. We were unable to find bigeye shiners in Paddy's Run Creek and Scioto Brush Creek, where they had been reported in the 1970s. Si ltation, gravel dredging and channelization are the major factors whic h threaten the remaining populations of bigeye shiners in southern Ohi o.