Nearly 100 biologists from 28 partnering organizations surveyed 123 sites across 10 watersheds in the Upper Cumberland River Basin during the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s (TWRA) second annual Benthic Blitz. Led by TWRA biologists Brittany Bajo-Walker and Parker Hildreth, the collaborative effort targeted bottom-dwelling organisms like mussels, crayfish, snails, and fish to address critical data gaps and monitor aquatic wildlife diversity.

Teams documented approximately 9,668 individual animals spanning more than 74 benthic species, including 46 fish, 15 crayfish, and seven mussel varieties. Notably, the survey recorded 14 species of Greatest Conservation Need, two of which carry federal endangered status. Among the key findings was a new, robust population of the extremely rare Littlewing Pearlymussel (Pegias fabula), a species previously known to survive in only two river systems, offering significant recovery potential.

Bajo-Walker emphasized that the large-scale survey provides essential data to shape informed conservation and management strategies across the Biodiversity Division, highlighting the vital ecological roles played by cryptic aquatic species.