Spawning Black Buffalo Fish Create Teaching Opportunity

By Myra Badger Public Relations Coordinator, SWCD/NRCS, Hartselle, AL

Brian Brown, Cotaco Creek Coordinator in the Morgan County Soil and Water District office, sparked interest among Dr. Don Collier’s Biology 104 class at Calhoun Community College with a lesson in biological assessment. Explaining how stream water quality can be monitored by assessing the aquatic organisms found in a stream, Brown captivated the students’ attention with practical, real-life stories of water pollution and resulting health issues. Brian also explained well water testing and how a test for e-coli is a good indicator of more possible concerns with drinking water.

This lesson was followed up by a fascinating canoe trip along Swan Creek where the students not only received hands-on experience in determining a stream’s water quality through bioassessment, but were also able to view an exciting find of a large school of spawning Black Buffalo, scientifically known as the lctiobus niger.

Due to the number of fish, a few students were able to catch the fish simply using their hands. With the help of Brian and Dr. Collier, the students dissected a male and a female buffalo for an up-close view of the fish anatomy. Dr. Collier, impressed with this teaching opportunity, stated, “The preserved fish we dissected in the lab were smaller and the features less impressive.” This event prompted the students to ask question after question about their environment. These questions ranged from the survival rate of fish eggs to the evidence of animal activity. The students also acquired bonus points for identifying plant life such as types of trees, ferns, and even abundant patches of poison oak.

This canoe trip, sponsored by the Morgan County Soil and Water Conservation District in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, allowed Brown and Dr. Collier to show the students, by actual hands-on experience, the necessity of conserving streams and the relation of stream quality to the conservation of wildlife and plant life. According to Dr. Collier, “As field trips go, this one is a twenty on a scale of ten! Most field trips are good, but the combination of students, weather, plant life, water, and fish all meshed into a real winner.”  

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