US EPA

7231254 

Journal Article 

Status of the Nooksack Dace, Rhinichthys sp, in Canada 

Mcphail, JD; , 

1997 

Yes 

Canadian Field-Naturalist
ISSN: 0008-3550 

OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS CLUB 

OTTAWA 

258-262 

WOS:A1997XJ31500013 

The Nooksack Dace (Rhinichthys sp.) is a morphologically distinctive form derived from the common, widely distributed Longnose Dace, Rhinichthys cataractae. Like the Salish Sucker (Catostomus sp.), it is a component of the Chehalis fauna. This fauna survived the last glaciation in the ice-free area west of the Cascade Mountains and north of the Columbia drainage system. In Canada, the Nooksack Dace is confined to four small streams tributary to the Nooksack River in the Abbotsford, Aldergrove and Clearbrook areas of the lower Fraser Valley, southwestern British Columbia. The adult habitat is riffles, typically with water velocities close to 0.25 m-sec and a loose, coarse gravel substrate. Young-of-the-year inhabit shallow margins at the tail-ends of pools with mud/sand substrates. and typically recruit to the adult habitat after one year. Although the Nooksack Dace is still moderately common, suitable habitat is deteriorating rapidly through explosive urbanization and gravel extraction in the headwaters of the streams. In western Washington state, the Nooksack Dace is widespread and in no immediate danger but, in Canada, given its restricted distribution and deteriorating habitat it is endangered.