Fish life history trends indicate increasing flow stochasticity in an unregulated river

Hitt, Nathaniel P.; Rogers, Karli M.; Kelly, Zachary A.; Henesy, Josh; Mullican, John E.

doi:10.1002/ecs2.3026

Cited by 20 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…questioned recently [41]. Our simulation results suggest that irrespective of their fecundity, short-lived fish species are susceptible to age truncation.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 56%

Sustainability management of short-lived freshwater fish in human-altered ecosystems should focus on adult survival

et al. 2020

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Fish populations globally are susceptible to endangerment through exploitation and habitat loss. We present theoretical simulations to explore how reduced adult survival (age truncation) might affect short-lived freshwater fish species in human-altered contemporary environments. Our simulations evaluate two hypothetical "average fish" and five example fish species of age 1 or age 2 maturity. From a population equilibrium baseline representing a natural, unaltered environment we impose systematic reductions in adult survival and quantify how age truncation affects the causes of variation in population growth rate. We estimate the relative contributions to population growth rate arising from simulated temporal variation in age-specific vital rates and population structure. At equilibrium and irrespective of example species, population structure (first adult age class) and survival probability of the first two adult age classes are the most important determinants of population growth. As adult survival decreases, the first reproductive age class becomes increasingly important to variation in population growth. All simulated examples show the same general pattern of change with age truncation as known for exploited, longer-lived fish species in marine and freshwater environments. This implies age truncation is a general potential concern for fish biodiversity across life history strategies and ecosystems. Managers of short-lived, freshwater fishes in contemporary environments often focus on supporting reproduction to ensure population persistence. However, a strong focus on water management to support reproduction may reduce adult survival. Sustainability management needs a focus on mitigating adult mortality in human-altered ecosystems. A watershed spatial extent embracing land and water uses may be necessary to identify and mitigate causes of age truncation in freshwater species. Achieving higher adult survival will require paradigm transformations in society and government about water management priorities.

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“…questioned recently [41]. Our simulation results suggest that irrespective of their fecundity, short-lived fish species are susceptible to age truncation.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 56%

Sustainability management of short-lived freshwater fish in human-altered ecosystems should focus on adult survival

et al. 2020

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“…The ability of Red Shiners to persist through extreme low flows and intermittency is accomplished through resilience mechanisms related to their opportunistic life‐history strategy, characterised by a small body size, early sexual maturity and high demographic resilience (Winemiller, 2005). Fishes with opportunistic life‐history strategies are capable of increasing population sizes during periods of increased flow stochasticity (Fournier et al, 2021; Hitt et al, 2020; Malone et al, 2021). These characteristics, combined with dispersal ability and long spawning season, likely allow Red Shiner to continuously inhabit refuge areas and produce offspring capable of recolonising dried reaches of river in a source‐sink dynamic, rather than serving as areas to which Red Shiners make seasonal migrations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, species with more specialised spawning modes (e.g. adapted to higher or variable flows) and equilibrium or periodic life‐history strategies may decline (Dowling, 2012; Hitt et al, 2020). For example, Rio Grande Silvery Minnow co‐occurs with Red Shiner in the MRG.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movement of Red Shiner during a regulated, intentional surface‐flow recession

Archdeacon

Gonzales

Thomas

2021

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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Understanding how fish respond to drought and streamflow intermittency is important for designing effective conservation actions. Fish could move to refuge areas prior to intermittency, or be trapped in nearby habitats at the onset. We used mechanical pumps to simulate streamflow intermittency in the Rio Grande, New Mexico. We conducted a 5‐week before–after impact‐only experiment. We seined at 10 sites each week to observe changes in Red Shiner Cyprinella lutrensis abundance and distribution in a 35‐km reach. We conducted two surveys prior to any flow reduction. Next, we reduced flows each week to simulate streamflow intermittency and repeated surveys to identify changes in distribution that would suggest large‐scale movement of Red Shiner to refuge areas. During the first survey, we marked Red Shiner with elastomeric tags to observe movement. In a separate effort, we surveyed all isolated pools that formed after flow reductions for tagged Red Shiner. We observed no patterns that suggested large‐scale movement to refuge areas. Instead, numbers remained steady or increased at all sites in surveys 1 through 4 and declined sharply when sites dried. Tagged fish also supported this conclusion: dispersal models estimated 56% remained within ~0.5 km of the tagging location. We suggest Red Shiner is resilient to drought because of their opportunistic life history and potential for rapid recolonisation, rather than resistant to drought through population‐scale movements to refuge areas. Conservation actions to benefit species threatened by drought must consider the mechanisms of persistence, including both behaviour and life‐history strategy, to be effective.

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“…large‐bodied species with delayed maturation and long lifespans) and equilibrium species (i.e. intermediate‐sized species that display parental care) decreased (Hitt et al., 2020). Furthermore, river systems in different climates and/or ecoregions may vary in response to alterations in flow magnitude.…”

Section: Objective Of the Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do natural changes in flow magnitude affect fish abundance and diversity in temperate regions? A systematic review protocol

Birnie‐Gauvin

Rytwinski

Harper

et al. 2021

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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1. Natural flow regimes play important roles in maintaining the ecological integrity and diversity of aquatic ecosystems. Wildlife has adapted over time to the natural dynamics of their environment, including changes in flow regimes. Changes in flow, including changes in magnitude, frequency, duration, timing and rate of change, may affect the physical characteristics of aquatic habitats, access to habitats, food availability, population dynamics and community composition.2. Given the importance of natural flow regimes for fish, it is necessary to understand the extent to which natural flow regimes alter fish abundance and diversity. Here we present a protocol for a systematic review that will estimate how fish abundance and diversity are affected by natural variation (resulting from climatic variability and broad-scale drivers such as climate-induced change) in flow.3. This systematic review will use evidence published before 2016 that was identified in a recent systematic mapping exercise on the broader topic of flow regime change impacts (both natural and anthropogenic) on direct outcomes of freshwater or estuarine fish productivity. An updated English language search will be performed using six bibliographic databases, Google Scholar and networking tools to include commercially published and grey literature that has been published after 2016. Eligibility screening will be conducted at two stages: title and abstract, and full-text. We will include all studies that evaluate the effect of natural changes in flow magnitude on fish abundance (broadly defined to also capture density and biomass metrics) and species diversity (broadly defined to also capture species richness and composition metrics). Any freshwater or estuarine fish species in temperate regions will be considered. 4. Included eligible studies will be assessed for study validity. We will extract information on study characteristics, intervention/comparator details, measured outcomesThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Fish life history trends indicate increasing flow stochasticity in an unregulated river

Cited by 20 publications

References 78 publications

Sustainability management of short-lived freshwater fish in human-altered ecosystems should focus on adult survival

Sustainability management of short-lived freshwater fish in human-altered ecosystems should focus on adult survival

Movement of Red Shiner during a regulated, intentional surface‐flow recession

How do natural changes in flow magnitude affect fish abundance and diversity in temperate regions? A systematic review protocol

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