The Iowa Darter (Etheostoma exile) is a state-threatened fish species inhabiting a limited range in northern Illinois.
- Historical surveys (from 1901-1995) found Iowa Darters at only 40 sites – 19 sites being glacial lakes near the Wisconsin border.
- Based on the surveys, Smith (1979) suggested that this species primarily inhabits glacial lakes in Illinois.
- Since 1995, E. exile has been collected at 37 sites, with only 13 of those sites being lakes.
- Many recent collections have been from headwater streams with no or limited records of previous fish sampling.
- New records suggest the need to evaluate if Iowa Darters routinely inhabit the headwater streams of northern Illinois.
- Species distribution models were created to guide future sampling.
- Models indicated that many of the potential locations for E. exile are headwater streams not previously sampled.
photo by J Tiemann
Going forward, the goal of our study is to:
- assess whether populations of E. exile are common in headwaters of northern Illinois and
- determine the local habitat needs of this species within headwaters where they are found.
For more information:
Sherwood, J.L., A.J. Stites, M.J. Dreslik, J.S. Tiemann. 2018. Predicting the Range of a regionally threatened, benthic fish using species distribution models and field surveys. Journal of Fish Biology. doi:10.1111/jfb.13819