Waccamaw Drainage Fishes 5 



canals are normally 3 to 5 m wide and 1 to 2 m deep. 



Upper Juniper Creek is generally narrow (6 to 8 m) and shallow, 

 and flows year-round. The channel widens to approximately 25 m 

 downstream and becomes sluggish. Before reaching the river it again 

 narrows and flow increases. Much of this stream is characterized by 

 sand bottom and patches of dense aquatic vegetation. The wide, slug- 

 gish areas are generally richer in organic debris, and sphagnum moss, 

 Sphagnum sp., grows in dense mats along the shoreline. Juniper Creek 

 flows west approximately 35 km to its junction with the Waccamaw 

 River. 



Seven Creeks 



The headwaters of Seven Creeks are formed by Toms Fork, Mill 

 Branch, and Juniper, Brissett, Gum, Beaver Dam, and Monie swamps. 

 This predominantly muck-bottom stream flows approximately 16 km 

 southeast until reaching the Waccamaw River 13 km above the North 

 Carolina/ South Carolina state line. Areas sampled were clogged with a 

 tangle of old tree stumps, roots, and waterlogged branches. Aquatic 

 vegetation was present but not dense. 



Many smaller tributaries not discussed also flow into the Wac- 

 camaw River. During our survey, no South Carolina tributaries were 

 sampled. Kingston Lake Swamp forms the largest of the Waccamaw 

 River tributaries above the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW). 

 Several small streams and canals connect the Waccamaw and Pee Dee 

 rivers before their confluence at Winyah Bay. 



METHODS 



From January 1979 through February 1981 a total of 827 collec- 

 tions was made from 75 stations within the Waccamaw River drainage 

 (Table 1). Stations la through m, 2a,b,c, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were sampled 

 monthly during this period. The remaining stations were sampled on an 

 irregular basis, sometimes only once. Six of the mid-lake stations in 

 Lake Waccamaw are treated as one throughout this paper (Station li). 



Most collections were made with seines varying in size from 3 m X 

 1.2 m to 15.2 m X 1.8 m, typically with 3 mm mesh. Offshore stations in 

 Lake Waccamaw (and one Waccamaw River station) were sampled with 

 a small otter trawl measuring 2.8 m X 1.3 m at the mouth and lined 

 with 3 mm mesh. Dip nets of various sizes were also used. A representa- 

 tive sample of fishes was usually field preserved in 10% formalin and 

 later stored in 70% ethanol. Large or extremely common species were 

 occasionally returned to the water (some were photographed before 

 release) and records are based on field identifications. Museum speci- 

 mens and literature records were verified where possible. 



Nomenclature follows that used by Robins et al. (1980). Most spec- 

 imens are housed in the University of North Carolina at Wilmington 

 Fish Collection (UNCW). 



