World Wildlife Fund

World Wildlife Fund:The Southeast Rivers and Streams

Judy TakatsSenior Program Officer

World Wildlife Fund

Wednesday, 10 March 2009

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Why Nashville?

Who is WWF?

An international conservation organization that is supported by almost 5 million members globally, 1.2 million members in the United States and almost 12,000 in Tennessee.

The diversity of life isn't evenly distributed around the globe. It is concentrated in certain areas, making them a greater priority for conservation.

Places of Focus

Amazon Coral Triangle Galapagos

By 2020, WWF will conserve 19 of the world's most

important natural places and significantly change global

markets to protect the future of nature.

Goal

Defining the Southeast

About 10.8 million people rely on the waters – projected to grow an average 30% by 2040.

266,483 km2 (102,890 mi2)

The Southeast Rivers and Streams

Outside of the

Amazon and

Mekong, the

Southeast Rivers

and Streams of the

United States is the

most aquatically

biodiverse.

The highest

number of fish,

snail, mussel,

crayfish,

amphibians

species in North

America.

Colorado River Watershed

Columbia River Watershed

Cahaba - 131

Clinch – 126

Conasauga – 76

Paint Rock – 79

Duck – 147

Native Fish Quiz

33 Native Fish Species

25 Native Fish Species

Biodiversity

Smoky Madtom (Noturus baileyi)Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

Tennessee Shiner (Notropis leuciodus)Rosyside Dace (Clinostomus funduloides)

Bluemask Darter (Etheostoma [Doration] sp).

Biodiversity

Fine-lined Pocketbook (Hamiota altilis) Cumberland Monkeyface (Quadrula intermedia)

Elephant Ear (Elliptio crassidens) Catspaw (Epioblasma obliquata)

Pocketbook Monkeyface

Elephant Ear Catspaw

Fish and Mussels

Evidence of Decline

The Cumberland, Mobile and Tennessee River Basins are experiencing the highest freshwater

extinction rates in North America.

Of the over 490 fish species in the southeast, 91 are considered imperiled … almost 1 in 5 species.

Duskytail Darter (Etheostoma percnurum)

Etiner, D. Aquatic Fauna in Peril: The Southeastern Perspective, 1997

Freshwater mussels are the most imperiled fauna group in North America. Trend is global.

75% of recognized species are endangered or threatened

12% are presumed extinct

Pyramid Mussel (Pleurobema rubrum)

It’s just a mussel..or fish..or snail…

Aquatic systems receive the cumulative impacts of changes in their watersheds, whether beneficial or harmful.

How?

But how do you change the world

through just a handful of places?

Connect with people.

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