Rapid decline of California’s native inland fishes: A status assessment

Moyle, Peter B.; Katz, Jacob V. E.; Quiñones, Rebecca M.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.06.002

Cited by 136 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

127

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Streams and rivers from Mediterranean-climate regions show the same trends evident in the global pattern of freshwater-biodiversity loss [126,127] that present alarming declines over the last decades, especially in mollusk and fish populations [128][129][130][131]. We suspect that the same is true for many macroinvertebrate species but the data on these taxa at the species level is generally lacking.…”

Section: Conservation Management In Mediterranean Regionsmentioning

confidence: 91%

High Variability Is a Defining Component of Mediterranean-Climate Rivers and Their Biota

Cid

Bonada

Carlson

et al. 2017

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Variability in flow as a result of seasonal precipitation patterns is a defining element of streams and rivers in Mediterranean-climate regions of the world and strongly influences the biota of these unique systems. Mediterranean-climate areas include the Mediterranean Basin and parts of Australia, California, Chile, and South Africa. Mediterranean streams and rivers can experience wet winters and consequent floods to severe droughts, when intermittency in otherwise perennial systems can occur. Inter-annual variation in precipitation can include multi-year droughts or consecutive wet years. Spatial variation in patterns of precipitation (rain vs. snow) combined with topographic variability lead to spatial variability in hydrologic patterns that influence populations and communities. Mediterranean streams and rivers are global biodiversity hotspots and are particularly vulnerable to human impacts. Biomonitoring, conservation efforts, and management responses to climate change require approaches that account for spatial and temporal variability (including both intra-and inter-annual). The importance of long-term data sets for understanding and managing these systems highlights the need for sustained and coordinated research efforts in Mediterranean-climate streams and rivers.

show abstract

Section: Conservation Management In Mediterranean Regionsmentioning

confidence: 91%

High Variability Is a Defining Component of Mediterranean-Climate Rivers and Their Biota

Cid

Bonada

Carlson

et al. 2017

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…anthropogenic causes of decline) to native fishes in SFBA as in Moyle et al (2011). Threats to each species were rated as critical, high, medium, low, or none, based on available gray and primary literature, and authors' expert opinion.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The threats considered were major dams, agriculture, grazing, rural residential development, urbanization, instream mining, hard-rock mining, transportation, logging, wildfire, estuarine alteration, recreation, harvest, hatcheries, and alien species (Table 3). Full descriptions of threats considered, and the rubric used to develop overall threat ratings, are available in Moyle et al (2011).We also reviewed all available gray and primary literature and used expert opinion to rate species' baseline, climate change, and overall vulnerabilities to extinction or extirpation in the next 100 years. Ratings were calculated as in Moyle et al (2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change Vulnerability of Freshwater Fishes in the San Francisco Bay Area

Quiñones

Moyle²

2014

SFEWS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change is expected to progressively shift the freshwater environments of the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA) to states that favor alien fishes over native species. Native species likely will have more limited distributions and some may be extirpated. Stream-dependent species may decline as portions of streams dry or become warmer due to lower flows and increased air temperatures. However, factors other than climate change may pose a more immediate threat to native fishes. Comparison of regional vs. statewide vulnerability (baseline and climate change) scores suggests that a higher proportion (56% vs. 50%) of SFBA native species, as compared to the state's entire fish fauna, are vulnerable to existing anthropogenic threats that result in habitat degradation. In comparison, a smaller proportion of SFBA native species are vulnerable to predicted climate change effects (67% vs. 82%). In the SFBA, adverse effects from climate change likely come second to estuarine alteration, agriculture, and dams. However, the relative effect of climate change on species likely will grow in an increasingly warmer and drier California. Maintaining representative assemblages of native fishes may require providing flow regimes downstream from dams that reflect more natural hydrographs, extensive riparian, stream, and estuarine habitat restoration, and other management actions, such as modification of hatchery operations. KEY WORDSvulnerability assessment, native fishes, alien species INTRODUCTIONIn a recent paper, we suggested that a majority of California's native inland (largely freshwater) fishes will be hastened to extinction by climate change effects on already deteriorating populations (Moyle et al. 2013). We also presented a methodology to systematically evaluate vulnerability to extinction or extirpation as a result of baseline conditions (i.e., existing anthropogenic threats) and to new conditions created by climate change (e.g., warmer temperatures, altered stream flows). But climate change is not affecting California uniformly. Regions within the state will experience alterations to temperature and hydrologic patterns in different ways (e.g., Cayan et al. 2008), depending, for example, on their proximity to the ocean or median elevation. Existing threats to freshwater fishes (as defined in Moyle 2002) also differ among regions of the state. Consequently, vulnerability of species to extinction or extirpation must be assessed at regional scales in order to increase the efficacy of conservation actions. Here, we rate baseline, climate change, and overall vulnerabilities (as in Moyle et al. 2013) Freshwater fishes in SFBA represent a regional fish fauna that has been well-studied (Moyle 2002;Leidy 2007;Cloern and Jassby 2012). The extant SFBA inland fish fauna is comprised of about equal parts native (25) and alien (23) species (Tables 1 and 2). The status of pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum (O. keta) salmon in the area is uncertain and so they were not included in our analysis. The aquatic ecosystems of wh...

show abstract

“…Despite management actions that in some instances appear heroic, fish species continue to decline in abundance in the Delta (Moyle et al 2011;MacNalley et al 2010). Moyle et al (2016) describe three scenarios for the imperiled Delta Smelt that may also apply to other declining species: (1) extinction; (2) establishment of intensively managed remnant populations in circumscribed habitats, such as flooded islands or upstream reservoirs; and (3) development of a semi-natural, although area-restricted, refuge for Delta Smelt by creating an arc of suitable habitat from Yolo Bypass, through the Cache-Lindsay Slough complex and the lower Sacramento River and into Suisun Bay and Marsh.…”

Section: The Situation For Native Species Is Dirementioning

confidence: 99%