Photo of Redsided shiners, speckled dace and Tui chub

Written by Pete Baki, ODFW/ODOT Fish Passage Liaison

The native fish in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge have been isolated since the Pleistocene or around 11,000 to 13,000 years ago when glacial lakes subsided in the now closed basin. This provides a significant amount of time for the native fish isolated in these waterways and springs to adapt to the habitat conditions of the area.

I spent five days taking underwater photos and collecting genetic samples from several places within the Malheur Refuge. The genetic samples are being sent to Oregon State University in the hopes that funding will come along to look at the genetics of these species and see how unique the fish are in this closed basin to their cousins in other basins. This is furthering the similar work completed in a March visit. Coming later in the year allowed me to sample Stinking Lake as access is difficult as best in the spring. 

Photography in this area can be challenging in the basin as soft substrates are kicked up easily, making visibility poor and making it difficult to get good shots of the fish. Despite this I was able to get some pictures of native fish in the area.

It is our hope that funding will become available soon to run genetics on these interesting fish. The samples collected will further understanding of the genetics. Systematics, and evolutionary relationships of these interesting fish. I appreciate greatly the assistance of Alexis Martinez of the USFWS in generous help in completing this work.