Spotted sucker (Minytrema melanops) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10

Existing Protection or Other Status Designations

Conservation ranks determined by the Association of Biodiversity Information are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Global, American and Canadian federal, and state and provincial ranks assigned by NatureServe (2004)
Global G5
USA N5
Canada N1
State
  • Alabama (S5)
  • Arkansas (S4)
  • Florida (S?)
  • Georgia (S5)
  • Illinois (S3)
  • Indiana (S4)
  • Iowa (S3)
  • Kansas (S3)
  • Kentucky (S4S5)
  • Louisiana (S5)
  • Michigan (S3)
  • Minnesota (S?)
  • Mississippi (S5)
  • Missouri (S?)
  • North Carolina (S4)
  • Ohio (S?)
  • Oklahoma (S4)
  • Pennsylvania (S2)
  • South Carolina (S?)
  • Tennessee (S5)
  • Texas (S3)
  • West Virginia (S4)
  • Wisconsin (S5)
Provincial
  • Ontario (S2)

Canada

The spotted sucker was recognized by COSEWIC as a species of Special Concern in Canada in 1983 and was reconfirmed as such in 1994 (Campbell 1994) and again in 2001.) In Ontario, the spotted sucker was listed as Special Concern in 2000. In 1996, the spotted sucker was given an N RANK of N1 and, in 1997, a S RANK of S2.

Under the federal Species at Risk Act limited protection is conferred. Jurisdictions in which the spotted sucker occurs will be responsible for the development of a management plan for this species. The species and/or its habitat may also be protected by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, federal Fisheries Act, Canada Water Act, Ontario Environmental Protection Act, Ontario Environmental Assessment Act, Ontario Planning Act and Ontario Water Resources Act. The spotted sucker is one of nine fish species addressed in the “National Recovery Strategy for Species at Risk in the Sydenham River: An Ecosystem Approach” (Dextrase et al. 2003) and one of 10 fish species addressed in the draft Thames River Aquatic Ecosystem Recovery Strategy (Thames River Recovery Team 2003).

United States

The spotted sucker is globally secure (G5). However, over the past century, population declines have been reported in the northern portion of its range (Becker 1983). It is listed as a species of special concern in Kansas and Pennsylvania. 

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