A laurel dace in a stream is like a canary in a coal mine. During the past year’s summer drought, the Aquarium Conservation Institute and other conservation-minded entities set out to rescue the laurel dace from a stream that had dwindled to a few isolated puddles, said Bernie Kuhajda, an aquatic conservation biologist with the institute. There was a time when the laurel dace, a type of freshwater minnow, inhabited eight streams on Walden’s Ridge around Dayton and Spring City, Kuhajda said. Now, the fish inhabits just two streams. Read more on the conservation efforts with the link in our bio. Photos contributed by the Tennessee Aquarium / Video by Cassandra Castillo #chattanooga #tennessee #nooga #mychatt #timesfreepress #local #community #tennesseeaquarium #aquarium #laureldace #minnow #fish #aquatic #freshwater #waldenridge #extinction #endangered