Spotted bass, largemouth bass, longear sunfish, Ozark bass, shadow bass, and rock bass are less important, either because of fewer numbers or smaller size. Smallmouth bass, an important game fish, are sensitive to degraded habitat or water chemistry. Darters also comprise a smaller percentage of the communities at sites in agricultural basins. Darters generally are considered to be sensitive to water-chemistry or habitat degradation. The Niangua darter, which is found in only a few tributaries of the Osage River in central Missouri, is a federally listed threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
Darters also are sensitive to degraded habitat or water chemistry.
This Niangua darter is one of seven species of darter found only in the Ozarks. Fish community composition appears to be related to stream size, canopy angle, substrate, and water chemistry. Some of these factors are affected by human activities. However, the procedures used to group sites often do not completely separate sites in agricultural areas from those in forested areas. This indicates that factors related to land use are important in determining community structure, but that other factors also are important.