Identifying correlates of success and failure of native freshwater fish reintroductions

Cochran-Biederman, Jennifer L.; Wyman, Katherine E.; French, William E.; Loppnow, Grace L.

doi:10.1111/cobi.12374

Cited by 143 publications

(183 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…; Cochran‐Biederman et al. ). No reproduction was observed in Shinumo Creek, where Humpback Chub translocations were conducted between 2009 and 2014 (Spurgeon et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

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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.

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“…; Cochran‐Biederman et al. ). No reproduction was observed in Shinumo Creek, where Humpback Chub translocations were conducted between 2009 and 2014 (Spurgeon et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

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“…Our findings also have important implications for management and conservation. Stock enhancement, translocations or reintroductions are attractive methods for manipulating density to support endangered populations worldwide (Cochran‐Biederman et al, ; Seddon, Armstrong, & Maloney, ). Here, we demonstrated that different environmental conditions may lead to population‐specific reactions norms to density and by extension to those conservation practices altering density.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population variation in density‐dependent growth, mortality and their trade‐off in a stream fish

Matte

Fraser

Grant

2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Important variation in the shape and strength of density‐dependent growth and mortality is observed across animal populations. Understanding this population variation is critical for predicting density‐dependent relationships in natural populations, but comparisons amongst studies are challenging as studies differ in methodologies and in local environmental conditions. Consequently, it is unclear whether: (a) the shape and strength of density‐dependent growth and mortality are population‐specific; (b) the potential trade‐off between density‐dependent growth and mortality differs amongst populations; and (c) environmental characteristics can be related to population differences in density‐dependent relationships. To elucidate these uncertainties, we manipulated the density (0.3–7 fish/m2) of young‐of‐the‐year brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) simultaneously in three neighbouring populations in a field experiment in Newfoundland, Canada. Within each population, our experiment included both spatial (three sites per stream) and temporal (three consecutive summers) replication. We detected temporally consistent population variation in the shape of density‐dependent growth (negative linear and negative logarithmic), but not for mortality (positive logarithmic). The strength of density‐dependent growth across populations was reduced in sections with a high percentage of boulder substrate, whereas density‐dependent mortality increased with increasing flow, water temperature and more acidic pH. Neighbouring populations exhibited different mortality‐growth trade‐offs: the ratio of mortality‐to‐growth increased linearly with increasing density at different rates across populations (up to 4‐fold differences), but also increased with increasing temperature. Our results are some of the first to demonstrate temporally consistent, population‐specific density‐dependent relationships and trade‐offs at small spatial scales that match the magnitude of interspecific variation observed across the globe. Furthermore, key environmental characteristics explain some of these differences in predictable ways. Such population differences merit further attention in models of density dependence and in science‐based management of animal populations.

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“…Suitable habitat quality and quantity in the recipient stream to meet life history requirements are crucial for the success of reintroduced fish (Cochran‐Biederman et al. ), including Bull Trout (Dunham et al. ; Hayes and Banish ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decision Analysis for the Reintroduction of Bull Trout into the Lower Pend Oreille River, Washington

Benjamin

Brignon

Dunham

2019

N American J Fish Manag

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The decision to reintroduce a species can be difficult owing to conflicting opinions and objectives as well as uncertainty over the outcome. Structured decision making addresses these considerations by identifying realistic fundamental objectives and building achievable management alternatives within a quantitative modeling framework. The process is driven by participation of stakeholders that represent diverse objectives, policy mandates, and opinions regarding decision alternatives. We applied structured decision making to evaluate the reintroduction of Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus into the lower Pend Oreille River in northeastern Washington State. We engaged stakeholders from tribal, municipal, county, state, and federal agencies to specify fundamental objectives, formulate feasible reintroduction decisions, and conceptualize a modeling framework that included biological information and stakeholder assumptions. Stakeholders requested iterative decision sets to determine the optimal recipient streams and release strategies. The optimal decision—based on the fundamental objective of maximizing adult abundance at year 10—was artificial propagation of 4,500 juvenile Bull Trout coupled with translocation of 25 adult migrants to be reintroduced into a tributary and lake system (Sullivan Lake/Harvey Creek) that produced at least 18% more adult fish relative to alternatives. Sensitivity analyses were robust to the identity of the recipient stream (i.e., Sullivan Lake/Harvey Creek was always the optimal recipient stream) but suggested that maximizing the number of artificially produced juveniles released could generate a similar number of adult Bull Trout as the coupled‐release strategy. Results also suggested that ensuring fish passage at Albeni Falls Dam on the main‐stem Pend Oreille River could increase the abundance of adult fish. The process followed for this case study can be adapted to similar decisions regarding reintroduction or other translocations of fish in other systems.

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Identifying correlates of success and failure of native freshwater fish reintroductions

Cited by 143 publications

References 54 publications

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

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

Population variation in density‐dependent growth, mortality and their trade‐off in a stream fish

Decision Analysis for the Reintroduction of Bull Trout into the Lower Pend Oreille River, Washington

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