A Conservation Plan for Native Fishes of the Lower Colorado River

Minckley, W. L.; Marsh, Paul C.; Deacon, James E.; Dowling, Thomas E.; Hedrick, Philip W.; Matthews, William J.; Mueller, Gordon

doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0219:acpfnf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 138 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

147

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Minckley et al (2003) indicate that the wild population of razorback suckers in Lake Mohave alone was near 73,000 during 1980-1993. This estimate probably eclipses the total population of razorback suckers persisting in the wild today.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such habitats are both presently available (but underutilized) and easily created and managed. A plan for the design, creation, and management of predator-free habitats for native fish is presented by Minckley et al (2003) and reiterated in the Big-River Fishes Management Plan (USFWS 2004), but the mechanisms have not been achievable due to inter-and intra-agency conflicts regarding the management and disposition of nonnative sport fishes and native species (see also Clarkson et al 2005). However, implementation of the Multi-Species Conservation Plan, a 50-year, $626-million conservation initiative enacted in April 2005, will presumably alleviate many of these roadblocks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bonytail Gila elegans, humpback chub G. cypha, woundfin Plagopterus argentissimus, Colorado pikeminnow Ptychocheilus lucius, and desert pupfish Cyprinodon macularius are also federally listed as endangered. Flannelmouth sucker Catostomus latipinnis, bluehead sucker C. discobolus, roundtail chub G. robusta, and speckled dace Rhinichthys osculus have no federal protected status at this time, but they are extirpated from most of their historical ranges (Minckley et al 2003). Additional native marine fishes (machete Elops affinis, spotted sleeper Eleotris picta, and striped mullet Mugil cephalus) entered the historical Colorado River from the Sea of Cortez, but dams and reduced river flows have since precluded their presence in all but the southernmost reaches.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Stocking of Endangered Razorback Suckers in the Lower Colorado River Basin over Three Decades: 1974–2004

Schooley

Marsh

2007

N American J Fish Manag

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract.-The razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus was historically widespread and abundant throughout the larger streams of the Colorado River basin, ranging from Sonora, Mexico, to Wyoming. The species was federally listed as endangered in 1991 because it has been extirpated from most of its range. Its decline is attributed to habitat loss and predation by nonnative fishes. Thirty years of federal and state effort have resulted in stocking millions of razorback suckers to the lower Colorado River basin, but only a few individuals have been recaptured because the young are rapidly consumed by introduced predators, resulting in insufficient recruitment to adulthood. Elderly, wild adults of this long-lived species are vanishing, and lower Colorado River basin recovery efforts now focus on replacement of these fish with repatriated (or reintroduced) adults. Stocking success and subsequent survival increases with size at release. When estimates of size-based, first-year survival rates were applied to individual batches of repatriated fish, we observed less than 1% overall first-year survival, and most fish stocked to date are thought to have been consumed soon after release. Overall, stocking has been unsuccessful, long-term survival is unknown, and no new populations have been established.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Stocking of Endangered Razorback Suckers in the Lower Colorado River Basin over Three Decades: 1974–2004

Schooley

Marsh

2007

N American J Fish Manag

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Within that context, sizedependent survival, density-dependent growth, and dependence of growth on the interplay between temperature and food availability as well as other important life history parameters could be viewed as consequences of trophic processes. Habitat and food web approaches are compatible, and if better integrated, they could improve restoration effectiveness and possibly avoid unanticipated consequences of management actions for target species, such as habitat actions that inadvertently facilitate invasion by nonnative predators or competitors and cause unanticipated, often destructive and unwanted, changes in food webs (28,44,45). Despite the long history of research on the Columbia River and many thousands of restoration actions, there is still little information on how food webs (Fig.…”

Section: Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a broader scientific foundation for river restoration: Columbia River food webs

Naiman

Alldredge

Beauchamp

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

121

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Well-functioning food webs are fundamental for sustaining rivers as ecosystems and maintaining associated aquatic and terrestrial communities. The current emphasis on restoring habitat structure-without explicitly considering food webs-has been less successful than hoped in terms of enhancing the status of targeted species and often overlooks important constraints on ecologically effective restoration. We identify three priority food web-related issues that potentially impede successful river restoration: uncertainty about habitat carrying capacity, proliferation of chemicals and contaminants, and emergence of hybrid food webs containing a mixture of native and invasive species. Additionally, there is the need to place these food web considerations in a broad temporal and spatial framework by understanding the consequences of altered nutrient, organic matter (energy), water, and thermal sources and flows, reconnecting critical habitats and their food webs, and restoring for changing environments. As an illustration, we discuss how the Columbia River Basin, site of one of the largest aquatic/riparian restoration programs in the United States, would benefit from implementing a food web perspective. A food web perspective for the Columbia River would complement ongoing approaches and enhance the ability to meet the vision and legal obligations of the US Endangered Species Act, the Northwest Power Act (Fish and Wildlife Program), and federal treaties with Northwest Indian Tribes while meeting fundamental needs for improved river management.

show abstract

“…The informal adaptive management approach of the NFWG was replaced with a formal adaptive management strategy when the LCR-MSCP was signed and became the de facto management doctrine for razorback sucker and other native fish species in the lower Colorado River. The LCR MSCP strategy for the conservation of razorback sucker in the lower Colorado River closely followed the concepts developed by Minckley et al [25]. This paper acknowledged the limited success of the repatriation program, and advocated for a different approach to conserving razorback sucker long term: create self-recruiting populations in offchannel habitats free of nonnative fishes, while maintaining a genetically diverse population of adults in the mainstem Colorado River and its reservoirs.…”

Section: Research Adaptation and Emerging Technologymentioning

confidence: 93%

Adaptive Management of an Imperiled Catostomid in Lake Mohave, Lower Colorado River, USA

Kesner¹,

Wisenall²,

Marsh³

2016

Lake Sciences and Climate Change

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lake Mohave, a man-made reservoir in the lower Colorado River, USA, was once home to the largest wild population of the endemic and endangered razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus, estimated at 60,000 individuals in the late 1980s. Individuals of this population were 25 years or older because recruitment was precluded by the removal of larval production by introduced centrarchid species. A repatriation program was initiated in the 1990s to replace the aging population with young fish by capturing larvae from the reservoir and raising them in hatcheries and protected lakeside backwaters until they were released back into the reservoir. Although more than 200,000 fish have been repatriated to Lake Mohave, the repatriate population has remained at a few thousand fish. The wild population is now functionally extinct. The program has adapted to new threats to the population, political realities, and technological advances. Management shifted in 2006 to the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, which has politicized the process. The aim of this chapter is to describe the initial, informal adaptive management strategy for razorback sucker in Lake Mohave, the transition to a formal program, and the inherent pitfalls that formalization entails.

show abstract

A Conservation Plan for Native Fishes of the Lower Colorado River

Cited by 138 publications

References 19 publications

Stocking of Endangered Razorback Suckers in the Lower Colorado River Basin over Three Decades: 1974–2004

Stocking of Endangered Razorback Suckers in the Lower Colorado River Basin over Three Decades: 1974–2004

Developing a broader scientific foundation for river restoration: Columbia River food webs

Adaptive Management of an Imperiled Catostomid in Lake Mohave, Lower Colorado River, USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About