7 species still at risk in San Marcos River
The year 2021 wasn’t a good one for the San Marcos gambusia, the tiny fish that called the San Marcos River home but was declared extinct in September by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
But a handful of endangered species still hanging around are at risk of going the way of the gambusia. That’s unless humans act quickly to protect habitats and keep them alive and thriving.
Seven different plant and animal species are listed as threatened or endangered in the San Marcos region of the Edwards Aquifer, Spring Lake and the upper four miles of the river, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The animals are listed as endangered because their numbers are declining and their habitats are increasingly disappearing. The gambusia, for instance, went extinct because of human activities that polluted and weakened the groundwater, which ultimately weakened the habitat and likely put the nails in the tiny fish’s coffin.
“The upper San Marcos River is one of the most biologically diverse aquatic ecosystems known in the southwestern United States and has a number of endemic species that are isolated to the upper 4.5 miles of the river,” says the website for the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University in San Marcos.
Human activities are cited as the factors in all these endangered listings. As Central Texas’ population booms, more houses and commercial businesses are pumping water from the Edwards Aquifer, which means less water for the fish, beetles, amphibians and plants that call the San Marcos home.
From tiny beetles to blind amphibians to beautiful grass, here are the seven endangered species in the San Marcos River:
Comal Springs dryopid beetle
The Comal Springs dryopid beetle is a tiny, little thing — averaging just 3 millimeters long, according to the Edwards Aquifer Alliance. Its eyes don’t work, and its skin is translucent.
The beetle’s habitat is dependent upon a steady flow of water from the springs that feed the river, and as development soars in Central Texas, overextraction from the aquifer is the slippery bug’s No. 1 threat.
Peck’s cave amphipod
The Peck’s cave amphipod is slightly larger than its dryopid beetle brethren — it can grow to about half an inch, it has five pairs of legs and two sets of antennae. It’s a shy bug, living mainly at the bottom of the river among the dead leaves and heavy rocks. It eats anything dry that it can find.
The main habitat threats to the Peck’s cave amphipod are pollution, drought and over-extraction of the spring-fed aquifer.
Fountain darter
The fountain darter fish is even smaller than the now-extinct gambusia, growing to be just about a centimeter long. The little fish thrives in clean, quiet spring waters, which means pollution is its number one threat.
Even though the darter is a fish, it’s a terrible swimmer — it doesn’t have a swim bladder allowing it to float, so it scoots along the bottom of the river, riding the flow of the water.
San Marcos salamander
The San Marcos salamander is the master of disguise — its slimy, reddish-brown amphibian skin perfectly matches the moss and algae at the bottom of Spring Lake that it calls home. They’re also neat freaks. They hate muddy water and much prefer clean, spring-fed water, which is why river pollution is such a large threat to the little lizard’s habitat.
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the “growth of cities has led to higher water use by people and increased problems with water pollution and silt accumulation,” which poses a direct threat to the amphibian’s survival.
Comal Springs riffle beetle
The riffle beetle lives in the water but can’t swim, and has wings but can’t fly. It also doesn’t have gills, which makes living in the
water an interesting choice – to breathe, it traps a pocket of air under its belly, almost like a diver’s oxygen tank, and sucks air out from it when it needs to breathe.
The beetle has a lifespan of about two years.
Texas blind salamander
The Texas blind salamander is true to its name — it has no eyes, can’t see and lives in caves deep underneath the Edwards Aquifer. Instead of eyes, it has two small black dots right underneath the surface of its translucent white skin.
Since they live in caves, the salamanders don’t have a lot of predatory competition.
According to the National Wildlife Federation, the salamanders are almost never seen on the surface of the water. The only way they make it that far is if their water source pushes them up to the top. Other than that, they live, breathe and die in their caves.
Texas wild rice
It’s not rice, but Texas wild rice is a type of underwater grass that is just as beautiful to look at as it is critical to maintain aquatic populations in the San Marcos River.
The grass can grow to be up to 10 feet tall and exists solely within about a mile and a half range of the river. It’s a breeding, hiding and feeding ground for dozens of fish, beetles and other water species, both endangered and not. The velvety, bright green grass can be seen under the clear surface of the water and also acts as a natural filter that helps clear pollution in the river.