DISPERSAL OF NONNATIVE FISHES AND PARASITES IN THE INTERMITTENT LITTLE COLORADO RIVER, ARIZONA

We sampled nonnative fishes stranded in isolated pools near Grand Falls in the Little Colorado River (LCR), Arizona, after the river ceased flowing (21 June and 12 July 2005) to evaluate whether nonnative fishes can invade the perennial, lower 21 km of the LCR from upriver sources. The encroachment...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Southwestern naturalist 2007-03, Vol.52 (1), p.130-137
Main Authors: Stone, Dennis M, Van Haverbeke, David R, Ward, David L, Hunt, Teresa A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ameiurus melas
Bothriocephalus acheilognathi
Canyons
Creeks
Cyprinella lutrensis
Cyprinus carpio
Dams
Fish
Freshwater
Freshwater ecology
Freshwater fishes
Fundulus zebrinus
Gila cypha
Headwaters
Parasites
Pimephales promelas
Tapeworms
Watersheds
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Summary:We sampled nonnative fishes stranded in isolated pools near Grand Falls in the Little Colorado River (LCR), Arizona, after the river ceased flowing (21 June and 12 July 2005) to evaluate whether nonnative fishes can invade the perennial, lower 21 km of the LCR from upriver sources. The encroachment of nonnative fishes could jeopardize resident populations of endangered humpback chub, Gila cypha, and other native fishes in the lower LCR. We captured red shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis; common carp, Cyprinus carpio; fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas; black bullhead, Ameiurus melas; and plains killifish, Fundulus zebrinus, all of which have been captured >132 km downriver in the lower LCR and >127 km upriver in the closest perennial sources. Moreover, we detected Asian tapeworm, Bothriocephalus acheilognathi, in 9 of 30 common carp examined. Our findings suggest that nonnative fishes, including those hosting parasites, can invade the lower LCR from upriver sources >250 km away during freshets and provide a mechanism for the dispersal of invasive aquatic species in intermittent river systems.
ISSN:0038-4909
1943-6262
DOI:10.1894/0038-4909(2007)52[130:DONFAP]2.0.CO;2