There are few words in the English language that convey hopelessness and finality quite like “extinction”.
To many people, however, “going the way of the Dodo” is something that happens to species in the Amazon Rainforest or the Serengeti, not the wooded ridges and valleys of Southern Appalachia.
Yet right now, a beautiful minnow found in Chattanooga’s backyard — and literally nowhere else on Earth — is a fin’s-width away from disappearing. From invasive predators and a plague of parasites to streams withered away by extreme drought, the critically endangered Laurel Dace is in about as bad a position as it’s possible to be.
In the face of such challenges, extinction might seem an inevitability for the Laurel Dace, but there’s a world of difference and a sea of hope separating a species on the brink from one that’s past the point of no return.
“You can’t work in conservation and be successful without a healthy dose of optimism,” says Dr. Anna George, the Tennessee Aquarium’s vice president of conservation science and education. “Things seem dire right now for the Laurel Dace, but there’s always a chance.
“So long as some of us are willing to act, it is not yet too late to save this species.”
On Giving Tuesday (Dec. 3), the Aquarium is turning to the public for help safeguarding this embattled minnow with the launch of the Race for the Laurel Dace. Contributing to this campaign, in whatever amount, will empower individuals to meaningfully support the Aquarium’s effort to prevent the Laurel Dace’s extinction.
First listed as endangered in 2011 and now found in just two streams on Walden Ridge, scientists consider the Laurel Dace to be one of North America’s 10 most-endangered fish species. Thanks to timely intervention by humans earlier this year, it’s already survived one extinction-level event in 2024.
In the midst of a dangerously prolonged drought, a team from the Aquarium traveled north of Chattanooga in July to rescue what Laurel Dace they could from rapidly disappearing streams near Spring City, Tennessee. That emergency relocation and several others over the next two months saw about 300 fish — the majority of all Laurel Dace left on earth — safely moved into human care, with most held at the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute.
Spared from almost certain extinction, these two- to three-inch individuals now exist in a state of limbo. They’re healthy and thriving in the care of Aquarium biologists and at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facility in Kentucky, but their prospects in the wild remain dire thanks to the ongoing drought, invasive predators and other threats to their survival.
While the Laurel Dace remain in human care, scientists are taking the first steps on the species’ long road to recovery. Biologists are studying the parasite present in the streams that are the species’ last bastions in the wild. Scientists also are conducting genetic research to prepare for the creation of an “ark population” of Laurel Dace hatched and raised in human care as a safeguard against extinction in the wild.
Donations to the Race for the Laurel Dace will fund this research and pay for additional equipment and Aquarium staff time needed to care for the fish.
With a gold body, red lips, highlighter-yellow fins and crimson belly, the Laurel Dace is a stunning example of the unparalleled diversity of aquatic life in the Southeast.
Ensuring the continued existence of the Laurel Dace is about more than saving a single beautiful species, though. It’s a rare opportunity to turn the tide of inevitability and safeguard the Southeast’s natural heritage, says Vice President and Chief Development Officer Melanie King.
“Every small fish saved today is a step toward preserving the delicate balance of our freshwater ecosystems,” King says. “It’s not often we have these moments to make a real difference for conservation, but right now, the Tennessee Aquarium has an actionable plan that can save the Laurel Dace.
“Gifts of all sizes are very welcome, and we hope our community and beyond will help us win the race for the Laurel Dace.”
To make a contribution to the Race for the Laurel Dace, visit tnaqua.org/donate/race-for-the-laurel-dace/ or email contributions@tnaqua.org.