Use of restored floodplains by fishes of the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico, USA

Nearly 1600 ha of habitat have been restored at 300 floodplain sites of the Middle Rio Grande (MRG), New Mexico, USA, as part of a cooperative effort of the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program to conserve the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow (RGSM). These riverside sites a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecohydrology 2021-03, Vol.14 (2), p.n/a
Main Authors: Valdez, Richard A., Zipper, Stephen A., Kline, Stephen Jason, Haggerty, Grace M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic habitats
Endangered & extinct species
Endangered species
Females
Fish
Fishing nets
Floodplains
Freshwater fishes
habitat
Habitats
Hatching
Larvae
mainstem banklines
Middle Rio Grande
Nursery grounds
pelagophils
Rare species
restored floodplains
Rio Grande silvery minnow
Spawning
Spring
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Summary:Nearly 1600 ha of habitat have been restored at 300 floodplain sites of the Middle Rio Grande (MRG), New Mexico, USA, as part of a cooperative effort of the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program to conserve the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow (RGSM). These riverside sites are designed to inundate during spring run‐off and create ephemeral habitats for other aquatic and riparian species. This study of four restored floodplain sites in May–June 2017 found that of 14 fish species captured with fyke nets, common carp (41%), red shiner (32%), RGSM (16%) and white sucker (9%) dominated total numbers. Adult RGSM included 42% gravid females, 36% ripe males and 22% spent females, suggesting that this endangered species was spawning in and near these floodplains. Larval sampling also showed that restored sites and adjacent mainstem banklines were being used as nursery habitats, where RGSM larvae dominated six and nine species with 80% and 74% of total numbers, respectively. System‐wide proportions of RGSM larvae by phase suggest that larvae leave the floodplains and move to mainstem banklines beginning as late mesolarvae and metalarvae (14–22 days post‐hatch), and most depart by the juvenile stage. Altogether, 15 fish species were encountered in restored floodplain sites in 2017, compared to 16 species reported in concurrent annual mainstem monitoring. This study and others show that most fish species of the MRG move onto restored and natural floodplains equally in spring, and many use these habitats for spawning and as larval nurseries.
ISSN:1936-0584
1936-0592
DOI:10.1002/eco.2262