Status and Distribution of the Chesapeake Logperch Percina bimaculata Haldeman, 1844 in Pennsylvania

Abstract

The Chesapeake Logperch, Percina bimaculata, is a small fish endemic to the upper Chesapeake Bay drainage with a range significantly reduced by water quality and habitat degradation. It was described by Haldeman in 1842 and 1844 from the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania, synonymized with the Logperch (Percina caprodes) by Jordan in 1877, and redescribed by Near in 2008. It is extirpated from the Potomac River drainage and extant in a portion of its historic range within the Susquehanna River drainage of Pennsylvania and Maryland in the United States of America. We reviewed available historic field survey information and defined the likely extent of the historic distribution of P. bimaculata and its change in response to historic environmental perturbations. We performed fisheries surveys during 2004–2023 to fill data gaps and to define the current distribution and abundance in the Susquehanna River drainage within Pennsylvania. Our surveys utilized electrofishing gears, electrified benthic trawls, and seines. Our surveys targeting P. bimaculata on the Susquehanna River and tributaries from York Haven to Holtwood, Pennsylvania, combined with available fisheries surveys conducted by others, confirm it was extirpated from that portion of the drainage. We documented the continued usage of Conowingo Pond, Susquehanna River, and tributaries below Holtwood by populations known to exist in historic field surveys. These populations appear to have been stable since at least the 1960s based on historic data and our current surveys. We documented previously unknown populations in the Octoraro Creek drainage, Octoraro Reservoir, and Muddy Run Pumped Storage Facility. Habitat utilization observations during our surveys indicate that clean sand, gravel, rubble, boulders, and large woody debris are preferred substrates. In the lower Susquehanna River and two tributaries, P. bimaculata has demonstrated a plasticity of habitat usage by continuing to occur in environments converted into impoundments by dams. In these impoundments, shorelines and connections with clean tributaries containing preferred substrates appear to be important given their utilization by P. bimaculata during our surveys. It is our opinion that the Susquehanna River and tributaries above Holtwood once again constitute suitable habitats. Conservation efforts focused on reintroductions, water quality, habitat, and connectivity have the potential to increase the extent of occurrence, abundance, and security of P. bimaculata.