Ginny Adams and Reid Adams, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, received a $6,000 grant titled Distribution and Population Status of Spring Cavefish in Missouri.
The grant is funded through the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Spring Cavefish are small (3 inch) fish that live in caves and springs of Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky. They belong to the Northern American cavefish family, which includes the Ozark cavefish and southern cavefish found in northern Arkansas. In Missouri there is only one known population of spring cavefish and it is listed as state endangered.
Researchers have been studying this population since 2000 to document status and potential threats to their habitat. Continued funding will allow researchers to provide crucial data to the state of Missouri on population status and water quality in the known population and to determine if additional populations can be located in the state.
This research will provide hands-on training to students from biology and environmental science. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in field work and also to assist data analysis and interpretation in the laboratory.
