Declining streamflow induces collapse and replacement of native fish in the American Southwest

Ruhí, Albert; Olden, Julian D.; Sabo, John L.

doi:10.1002/fee.1424

Cited by 77 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Long distances between perennial tributaries may create barriers to range expansion and recolonization within the Little Colorado River network. The pattern of local and regional species losses of non‐native species is unusual compared to other more perennial systems in the Colorado River Basin (Ruhí, Olden, & Sabo, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Dynamic contributions of intermittent and perennial streams to fish beta diversity in dryland rivers

Rogosch

Olden

2019

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim To determine the role of flow intermittence and species origin in shaping freshwater fish beta diversity across dryland riverscapes. Location Verde and Little Colorado River basins, United States. Methods Fish beta diversity was investigated in two large rivers with marked differences in basin‐wide flow intermittence. Local site (continually flowing perennial vs. periodically flowing intermittent) and species (native vs. non‐native) contributions to beta diversity were compared within each basin and over multiple decades (1987–2013) in relation to changing hydrologic conditions. Metacommunity dynamics were quantified using changes in alpha‐ (local), beta‐ and gamma‐ (regional) diversity through time. Results Beta‐diversity patterns varied in relation to basin‐wide intermittence. Intermittent sites were most influential to beta diversity where basin‐wide intermittence was lower (Verde River), whereas perennial sites were most influential where basin‐wide intermittence was higher (Little Colorado River). In intermittent sites, native fish species contributions to beta diversity tended to be higher than non‐native species contributions. The relative contributions of perennial and intermittent sites to β‐diversity within each basin were invariant to annual flow regimes, whether atypically lower or higher than average flows, but somewhat related to intra‐annual flow variation. Native species contributions to β‐diversity increased in years with high flow conditions in the Verde River. Over time, beta diversity decreased in the lower intermittence Verde River, indicating taxonomic homogenization, but remained relatively unchanged in the Little Colorado River. Main Conclusions Investigations of beta‐diversity components over time are considered pivotal for conservation prioritization and planning. We found that both intermittent and perennial streams play complementary roles in supporting fish beta diversity, and that their relative contributions increase as basin wide availability of the habitat type decreases. Moreover, contributions of intermittent streams to overall beta diversity were relatively consistent through time and supported native fish diversity. Despite weakening policy protections of intermittent streams, these habitats are critical for supporting local species persistence and regional biodiversity.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Dynamic contributions of intermittent and perennial streams to fish beta diversity in dryland rivers

Rogosch

Olden

2019

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our findings help to fill previous knowledge gaps by demonstrating that recruitment during low flows is not a universal principle even among fishes that might be expected to recruit based on life history attributes alone. Outside of the Great Plains, there is emerging evidence that reduced water availability directly threatens fishes (Poff & Zimmerman, 2010;Xenopoulos et al, 2005), including arid and semiarid river systems in Australia (Baumgartner, Wooden, Conallin, Robinson, & Thiem, 2017;Humphries et al, 1999), Spain (Bernardo, Ilhéu, Matono, & Costa, 2003;Sánchez-Hernández & Nunn, 2016), South America (Fabré, Castello, Isaac, & Batista, 2017), and the United States (Ruhí, Olden, & Sabo, 2016). For some species, such as peppered chub that is now missing from >95% of its historical range and is relegated to a single population isolated between two reservoirs (Pennock et al, 2017), conservation actions must happen soon to avoid extinction.…”

Section: Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme drought causes fish recruitment failure in a fragmented Great Plains riverscape

Perkin

Starks²,

Pennock

et al. 2019

Ecohydrology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dryland stream fishes are adapted to highly connected habitats with unpredictable hydrologic conditions, including frequent low flows and sometimes extreme drought.The low flow recruitment hypothesis predicts that some fishes spawn in main channel habitats during low flows when water temperatures and prey densities are high.However, extreme low flows during drought periods might be disruptive even among fishes whose life histories otherwise benefit from lower flows. We studied recruitment dynamics of six fishes (family Cyprinidae) at 15 sites in a fragmented Great Plains riverscape in Kansas, USA, during 2 years of extreme drought. We tracked the chronology of gonadal development and age 0 recruitment to test the hypothesis that recruitment by fishes that broadcast spawn planktonic ova would be less successful compared with fishes that spawn demersal or adhesive ova. We found all six taxa were reproductively active but recruitment was evident for only four.The two species for which recruitment was not evident, peppered chub (Macrhybopsis tetranema) and silver chub (Macrhybopsis storeriana), are confirmed or suspected pelagic-broadcast spawning fishes that have declined in other fragmented and dewatered Great Plains riverscapes. Our data highlight the potential for extreme low flows within isolated stream fragments to cause complete or near-complete recruitment failure for pelagic-broadcast spawning fishes, especially those with small population sizes. Failed recruitment during extreme drought may be related to spawning mode, ova characteristics, or both. Our work informs management of fish diversity in drought-prone riverscapes by establishing mechanistic linkages among extreme drought, fish recruitment, and assemblage structure.

show abstract

“…; Ruhí et al. ). Declining streamflow, which is exacerbated by the ongoing and projected effects of climate change (McHugh et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

Establishment of a Reproducing Population of Endangered Humpback Chub through Translocations to a Colorado River Tributary in Grand Canyon, Arizona

Healy

Smith

Schelly

et al. 2020

N American J Fish Manag

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Translocations, defined herein as the human‐assisted movement of individuals from a source population to other waters within their historical range, are prevalent in recovery plans for endangered fishes. Many translocations fail to establish new populations, however, and outcomes are often poorly documented. Endangered Humpback Chub Gila cypha persist as a self‐sustaining population in Grand Canyon, Arizona, despite threats from introduced nonnative competitors and predators and modified flow, thermal, and sediment regimes due to river regulation. In the decades following the completion of Glen Canyon Dam, the Grand Canyon population has been primarily sustained through reproduction in a single Colorado River tributary, the Little Colorado River (LCR). To establish population redundancy and aid in recovery, we annually translocated between 243 and 509 juvenile Humpback Chub from the LCR to Havasu Creek, a smaller Colorado River tributary in Grand Canyon National Park. Juvenile Humpback Chub were collected from the wild and reared in a hatchery for 8–12 months prior to the translocations. Through biannual mark–recapture sampling in Havasu Creek, we estimated annual abundance for all of the translocated cohorts and found that apparent survival and growth rates met or exceeded the demographic rates that are published for the LCR. We observed reproductively mature adults each year in May, beginning in 2012, and untagged juvenile Humpback Chub beginning in the following year and every year thereafter, with results that indicated successful reproduction. Beginning in 2016, we noted recruitment to maturity of fish that were produced in situ and the population's abundance increased through 2018, indicating potential for the establishment of a self‐sustaining population. As an example of the successful translocation of an endangered species that demonstrates the potential importance of tributaries in the recovery of large‐river fishes, our study may help to inform future recovery planning.

show abstract

Declining streamflow induces collapse and replacement of native fish in the American Southwest

Cited by 77 publications

References 35 publications

Dynamic contributions of intermittent and perennial streams to fish beta diversity in dryland rivers

Dynamic contributions of intermittent and perennial streams to fish beta diversity in dryland rivers

Extreme drought causes fish recruitment failure in a fragmented Great Plains riverscape

Establishment of a Reproducing Population of Endangered Humpback Chub through Translocations to a Colorado River Tributary in Grand Canyon, Arizona

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About