Abstract: Our survey of fishes was the first to quantify the fish community and habitat conditions in the upper Moreau River Basin. A total of 6299 fishes of 19 species was collected with seines and trap nets in 1995 to 1996 on the main river, whereas 21 species were found in a concomitant study on tributaries. Our data plus that from a 1979 study of the lower river yielded a total of 38 species of fishes in the Moreau River. Five species were found exclusively in the headwaters; twelve were found only in the confluence area near Lake Oahe. Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and four centrarchids have been introduced. We added the following species to the ichthyofaunal list for the basin: emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides), white bass (Morone chrysops), Iowa darter (Etheostoma exile), brassy minnow (Hybognathus hankinsoni), creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), and brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans). All species found in a cursory 1952 study have persisted over the past 44 years. Cyprinids made up about 78% of the total catch in the main river. The channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) was the dominant game species. For the fishes of the main river, catch-per-unit-effort values for seining were highest (greater than 2 fish/m) for the sand shiner (Notropis stramineus); five species had values ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 fish/m, whereas values for 12 other species were usually less than 0.1 fish/m. Mean relative weight values by length category for channel catfish were 103 ± 1 (substock lengths), 81 ± 1 (stock to quality lengths), and 92 ± 3 (quality to preferred lengths); for river carpsucker (Carpiodes carpio) were 88 ± 2, (substock lengths), 84 ± 1 (stock to quality lengths), 78 ± 1 (quality to preferred lengths), and 80 ± 2 (preferred to memorable lengths); and for white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) were 78 ± 4 (substock lengths), 81 ± 3 (stock to quality lengths), 71 ± 2 (quality to preferred lengths), and 67 ± 2 (preferred to memorable lengths). River discharge (range 0.18 to 3.1 m³/s), other physical characteristics (width, depth, and gradient), and water quality characteristics (dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and total dissolved solids) were similar at the time the fish were collected both years. Our fish community data are the first available for the upper basin of the Moreau River and with our physical habitat data may allow future surveyors to discern trends in the health of the watershed and fish community.

Key words: condition, distribution, fish, relative abundance, river, South Dakota.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Study Site
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Acknowledgments
• Literature Cited
• Appendix

Tables and Figures

• Table 1 -- Number of fish collected from the mainstem in 1995-96, and species collected from the mainstem in 1952, in the confluence with Lake Oahe, and in nine headwater streams.
• Table 2 -- Moreau River fish sampling station numbers and station length, mean width, mean depth, mean bankfull width, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, total dissolved solids, gradient, and discharge in 1995 and 1996.
• Table 3 -- Fish density by station in 1995 and 1996 from seining riffles and runs in the Moreau River, South Dakota. Density expressed as fish per meter of stream seined.

• Figure 1 -- Map of the Moreau River fish sampling sites on the main river and on Battle Creek, Four-mile Creek, Alkali Creek, South Fork, Sand Creek, North Fork, Rabbit Creek, Thunder Butte Creek, and Deep Creek.
• Figure 2 -- Mean monthly hydrographs for the Moreau River near Faith, South Dakota for 1943 to present, for 1995, and for 1996.
• Figure 3 -- Actual and predicted relative weights for channel catfish, white sucker, and river carpsucker collected in seines and trap nets from the Moreau River, South Dakota in 1995 and 1996.
• Figure 4 -- Percentage of three size categories of substrate at 11 stations on the upper Moreau river in South Dakota in 1995.

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