Fish, humans & streams in Southern Appalachia

What will the Southern Appalachians look like in 50 years? If the population continues to grow in the coming years like many scientists predict, then probably much different. Located in the southeastern United States, the Southern Appalachian Mountains are some of the oldest in the world. There are many rivers and streams that run through this region, which provide lots of services to the humans that live there. Humans use these rivers and streams for making electricity (with dams), watering crops, withdrawing water for household and municipal uses, fishing and swimming, and many other things. Some scientists expect the human population in the region to double in the next 50 years, which could put a lot of stress on these resources and potentially harm the ecosystems they support. There might be less water in streams and rivers, and the remaining water might be polluted. This is bad news for humans, and even worse news for the creatures that live in the streams and rivers and need clean water to survive.

The Southern Appalachians are home to very many fish species. In fact, this region contains more freshwater fish species than almost anywhere else. Many of these fish species live only in Southern Appalachian streams and rivers and nowhere else in the world. These species aren't often noticed by humans, probably because they aren't caught by anglers or easily seen from the shore. However, these species are really important for streams and the other creatures that live in them. Some of these fish species build nests of pebbles and rocks that are utilized by other species, and some help rare freshwater mussels reproduce. Many of these species are also brilliantly colored. Imagine bright coral reef fish, but in mountain streams and rivers. These southern stream fish are rare, beautiful and definitely worth protecting. 

Because both humans and fish species depend on healthy streams and rivers for many purposes, there is an urgent need to understand how both use streams. Understanding which aspects of streams are important for fish habitat (like amount of food, protection from predators or water temperature) can help us protect them. Likewise, understanding how human use of streams and the surrounding landscape affects fish habitat quality and quantity can help us design conservation strategies to protect freshwater ecosystems from degradation.

This landscape is complicated. There are lots of humans with many different uses of streams and lots of fish with nowhere else to go. The Southern Appalachians will almost certainly look different in 50 years. We must understand how humans, fish, and streams fit together in the southern Appalachians if fish and humans are to coexist in the future.