FAUNAL COMPARISONS OF DIFFERENT STREAMS
The faunas of Elk River, Big Caney River, and Grouse Creek were generally similar. These streams and most of their tributaries originate in the same hilly area of eastern Cowley County and western Elk and Chautauqua counties; their similarities and differences have been pointed out.
The following species were taken in all of these streams:
Lepisosteus osseus
Dorosoma cepedianum
Ictiobus bubalus
Moxostoma erythrurum
Minytrema melanops
Cyprinus carpio
Campostoma anomalum
Notropis boops
Notropis lutrensis
Notropis umbratilis
Notropis volucellus
Pimephales notatus
Pimephales tenellus
Fundulus notatus
Gambusia affinis
Ictalurus melas
Ictalurus punctatus
Etheostoma spectabile
Percina caprodes
Micropterus salmoides
Pomoxis annularis
Lepomis cyanellus
Lepomis humilis
Lepomis megalotis
Lepomis macrochirus
Labidesthes sicculus
No species was found in Elk River to the exclusion of Big Caney and Grouse Creek. Fish taken exclusively in Grouse Creek were Ictiobus cyprinella at station G-2 and Notropis percobromus at station G-1. The following species were taken only in Big Caney River: Ictiobus niger, Notropis rubellus, Phenacobius mirabilis, Pimephales vigilax, and Pomoxis nigromaculatus.
Notropis buchanani and Pimephales promelas were taken in Grouse Creek and Elk River, but not in Big Caney River, although the watershed of Big Caney lies largely between these two streams. Three species, Notropis camurus, Micropterus punctulatus, and Aplodinotus grunniens, were found in Elk River and Big Caney but not in Grouse Creek. Ictalurus natalis, Pylodictis olivaris, and Percina phoxocephala were taken in Big Caney River and Grouse Creek but not in Elk River. Percina copelandi was taken by Cross on Elk River in 1954 and 1955 (K. U. 3464 and K. U. 3197).
Forty species were taken in Big Caney River, 35 in Grouse Creek and 31 in Elk River. Collections were made from only six stations on Elk River as compared with 18 from Big Caney and 17 from Grouse Creek.
Twenty-four species were taken in the Walnut River system, only one of which (Notemigonus crysoleucas) was taken exclusively there.
In the Arkansas River 18 species were found, four of which did not occur elsewhere. These were Hybopsis aestivalis, Notropis blennius, N. girardi, and Fundulus kansae.
Table 5 lists the number of stations in each of the streams surveyed from which each species was taken.