Shorthead Redhorse

The Shorthead Redhorse (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) is a wide-ranging species in North America that needs to be monitored throughout its range. The Shorthead Redhorse is native to central and eastern North America. However, its range has expanded to include areas like the Hudson estuary and Grayson County, Texas. It inhabits small to large rivers and lakes, and lives in the benthic zone. Shorthead Redhorse feed on benthic invertebrates and can consume plant material from the benthic environment that it inhabits. When it spawns, Shorthead Redhorse move into more shallow streams and spawn over gravel or rocky shoals. They will also spawn in springs with swift moving water. The Shorthead Redhorse is important to humans because it is a game fish. It is also important to anglers because of its role in the ecosystem; it is prey for larger game fish such as northern pike and muskellunge. Humans are a huge factor affecting these fish. Dams can be a problem for the Shorthead Redhorse just as they are for bigger game fish such as trout and salmon. Dams that are built upstream make it impossible for Shorthead Redhorse to swim up to more shallow water to breed. Shorthead Redhorse are intolerant to chemicals in the water, either from domestic sewage or from industrial waste like the insecticide chlordane. Other chemicals, such as those found in birth control, bioaccumulate in these fish as they do in others, leading to harmful health effects. Monitoring the life cycles of this species is an important strategy in tracking their populations. By doing long-term studies on population distribution and reproduction of the Shorthead Redhorse, it will be possible to trace the expanse of their range southward, and to know which specific chemicals harming them are not being adequately removed from wastewater.