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Fishes of North America Endangered, Threatened, or of Special Concern: 1989
Abstract
The American Fisheries Society herein provides an update of their now decade-old list of rare North American fishes. The 1989 list adds 139 new taxa to the list developed by Deacon et al. (1979) of 251 fishes and removes 26 for a total of 364 fishes in Canada, United States, and Mexico that warrant protection because of their rarity. The 26 taxa removed from the 1979 list include 16 removed because of better information on their taxonomy or status and 10 because they have become extinct. Not a single fish warranted removal from the list because of successful recovery efforts. In addition, 49 fishes have changed in status but remain on the list: 7 have improved in status, 24 have declined, and 18 have been reclassified because new information revealed that they were either more common or rarer than was earlier believed and, therefore, were incorrectly classified in 1979. Comparison of the 1979 and 1989 lists indicates that recovery efforts have been locally effective for some species, but are clearly lagging behind deterioration of the overall fish fauna. The health of aquatic habitats in North America continues to decay. A major commitment to conservation of entire ecosystems, rather than the inconsistent recovery efforts for individual species, is needed to reverse this trend.
... Rare and endemic species, particularly those with narrow ranges, are often of conservation concern because of vulnerability to imperilment [49,50]. Endemic fishes that occupy watersheds with a high percentage of non-native or invasive species are particularly vulnerable [51]. The New River system of the eastern United States is an example of a watershed with a high percentage of both endemic and non-native species [52][53][54][55]. ...
... The New River drainage, which represents the upper reaches of the ancient Teays River, is delineated by Kanawha Falls, a well-documented zoogeographic barrier to fish distributions [51,60]. Kanawha Falls is located on the Kanawha River approximately 2.3 km downstream of the confluence of the Gauley and New Rivers in West Virginia, and zoogeographers have generally considered the drainage area upstream of Kanawha Falls as the New River system [52,61,62]. ...
Invasive species are often central to conservation efforts, particularly when concerns involve potential impacts on rare, endemic native species. The lower New River drainage of the eastern United States is a watershed that warrants conservation assessment, as the system is naturally depauperate of native fish species and it is nearly saturated with non-native fish species: there are 31 natives, including at least nine endemic taxa, and 63 non-natives. For endemic taxa, we examined temporal distribution shifts (range expansions or contractions) based on percent change in the occupied watershed area. We contrasted these findings with time series analyses on distribution trends of non-native minnows (Leuciscidae) and darters (Percidae) based on growth curve models of the cumulative sum of the total area of occupied 12-digit hydrologic unit codes. We documented range reductions for six of nine endemic taxa. We determined that 11 of 18 non-native minnows and 6 of 8 non-native darters were invasive based on range expansions and associated invasion curve models. The endemic taxa are of conservation concern given the limited distribution ranges and documented population declines. Although among-species comparisons of range shifts do not support causal inference, documentation of changes in distribution ranges of endemic and invasive species is critical to inform conservation efforts.
... Springs, especially in arid and semiarid ecoregions, support biota absent from other waters in those ecoregions (Anderson and Anderson 1995 ), many of which are federally listed as threatened or endangered or recognized as a special conservation concern (Williams et al. 1989, Hershler et al. 2014 ). ...
Connectivity—the flows and exchanges of organisms, materials, and energy within and among watersheds—is a central paradigm in ecosystem science. Changes in those connections have consequences for ecosystem functioning and water quality downstream and upstream. Therefore, connectivity is a cornerstone for federal water protection under the United States Clean Water Act (CWA). In the present article, we review the science of connectivity, explain the history of changes in CWA jurisdiction defining waters of the United States, discuss implications for US water policy, and highlight key steps to align that policy with science. The Sackett v. EPA (2023) Supreme Court decision significantly reduced federal water protection for wetlands and headwaters, disregarding their connectivity with larger, protected waterbodies. To fulfill the goals of the CWA to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of U.S. waters, Congress must amend the act, fully recognizing the multidimensional connectivity of aquatic ecosystems and ultimately incorporating these connections into ecosystem-level policy.
... Etheostoma olmstedi and its close relative Etheostoma nigrum are not considered to be in jeopardy in North America (Miller 1972;Williams et al. 1989). However, the Southern Tessellated Darter, Etheostoma olmstedi maculaticeps, is protected in Florida (Johnson 1987). ...
... The Mountain Sucker was listed as a species of special concern in the State of Washington by (Johnson 1987), but not by Williams et al. (1989). ...
... The Chestnut Lamprey is not listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern in North America (Williams et al. 1989). In Canada, the species is not the object of any legal protection other than the general protection granted under sections 34 to 42 of the Fisheries Act, which pertain to the protection of, and prevention of pollution in, fish habitats. ...
... In the United States, the Flathead Catfish is listed as rare in North Dakota and Michigan by Miller (1972) and of special concern in North Dakota by Johnson (1987). Throughout its overall range in the United States, it is not considered in any jeopardy (Deacon et al. 1979;Williams et al. 1989). ...
... Nonetheless, such streams support diverse and often unique aquatic biotic assemblages (Anderson and Anderson 1995;Dieterich and Anderson 2000;Meyer et al. 2007Hershler et al. 2014. Nonpermanent streams also support important spawning, rearing, and refuge habitat for many fish species (Erman and Hawthorn 1976;Maslin et al. 1996;Ebersole et al. 2006;Colvin et al. 2009), including dozens of federally listed endemic species (Williams et al. 1989). In other words, these nonWOTUS waters are aquatic biodiversity islands in sagebrush and alpine seas (Datry et al. 2014;Sanchez-Montoya et al. 2023). ...
El libro Los Ojos de Yucatán. Una ventana al mundo subterráneo es resultado del trabajo colaborativo de la Facultad de Química de la UNAM y el Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME). El libro incluye valiosa información de la naturaleza geológica de la península de Yucatán, con énfasis en sus cenotes y cuevas. Sus primeros capítulos incluyen una explicación detallada de las características geológicas de la península de Yucatán, su hidrología y el origen de sus cenotes. Los cenotes y cuevas son presentados como socioecosistemas importantes, dado su atractivo turístico y por ser el hábitat de numerosas especies, algunas de ellas únicas en su tipo. El libro incluye también registros sobre la contaminación del acuífero de la península de Yucatán, proporcionando evidencia de la cuantificación de contaminantes, tanto legendarios como emergentes, y sus efectos en las especies, incluyendo al hombre. En sus capítulos se resalta la fragilidad de estos ecosistemas y la importancia de tener una normativa federal y estatal para su protección. Se incluye también una descripción detallada de la importancia de los cenotes desde el punto de vista antropológico y su misticismo para los mayas, en los cuales los cenotes son sagrados y son la entrada al inframundo. Este libro constituye una lectura obligada para toda persona interesada en conocer el origen y la naturaleza de las cuevas y cenotes de Yucatán, lo especial de su biodiversidad, su vulnerabilidad a la contaminación y otros estresores, e incluye también información encaminada a la protección y uso sostenible de los mismos.
Objective
Although piscicides are an important tool for native fish management, our understanding of native fish population dynamics posttreatment (i.e., in putatively vacant habitat) is limited.
Methods
Here, we describe long‐term trends in size and abundance of Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii in Lower Boulder Lake and Boulder Creek (Montana).
Result
No significant differences were found before and after treatment with rotenone in mean length and population density in Boulder Creek. Posttreatment genetic samples from Boulder Lake and upper Boulder Creek consisted entirely of the Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi used to refound the population. Middle and lower Boulder Creek genetic samples contained 99.4% and 98.4% Westslope Cutthroat Trout, indicating that some nonnative (Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri hybrid) fish survived the treatment. Population demographics showed robust recovery posttreatment; however, genetic results revealed the limitations of a one‐time treatment—that is, an incomplete fish kill.
Conclusion
We demonstrate that Cutthroat Trout populations achieve recovery after rotenone treatment in the long term, but one‐time rotenone treatments on large drainages often fail to totally eradicate populations. Therefore, managers should plan on multiple treatments and utilize environmental DNA to help achieve total removal of target species.
Biodiversity is responsible for important ecological processes like productivity and ecosystem stability, and rare species are a major component of biodiversity. Rarity increases a species' vulnerability to disturbances and also makes them difficult to study. Globally, species of freshwater systems are some of the most threatened, and evaluation of rare freshwater species and their habitats is needed to help preserve natural flexibility and ecological function. We conducted an analysis of full fish communities of the upper St. Lawrence River and its major US tributaries, with the goals of determining species locations and abundances, associated environmental conditions, the distribution of distinct fish assemblages across the landscape (with emphasis on communities supporting rare species), and potential threats. From 2009 to 2015, the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT) worked together using standardized methods to collect community samples within 4 different aquatic realms (shallow and deep lentic, and small and large lotic systems) and determine species-specific fish abundances, frequencies of occurrence, and associated habitat signatures and spatial distributions. Distinct fish assemblages and associated habitat conditions were objectively identified by multivariate and hypothesis-testing methods. We used a geographic information system (GIS) to spatially associate habitat, biotic, and landscape attributes within each stream reach throughout the study area, facilitating quantification of distribution patterns. Comparisons with historical data provided estimates of loss or gain of threatened and endangered species (T&E) colonies. We developed a disturbance index to highlight potential threats to aquatic species. More than 140,000 fishes of 87 species were collected from a total of 1140 sample sites, covering 278 stream reaches, including the endangered Notropis anogenus (Pugnose Shiner), and threatened Hiodon tergisus (Mooneye), Etheostoma pellucidum (Eastern Sand Darter), and Acipenser fulvescens (Lake Sturgeon). We identified 50 distinct fish assemblages differing in species composition, abundance, and/or diversity, but only 13 of those assemblages included a T&E species. The rareness, extent, and patchiness of fish assemblages created a mosaic of fish communities across the landscape, from headwaters to the mainstem of the St. Lawrence River. Comparisons with historic surveys (1978–2008) showed a stable number of T&E species colonies or an increase for some species. The geographic distribution of multimetric disturbance index values showed where combinations of disturbances to fish habitats might affect rare fish species and aquatic communities in the region. The species–habitat associations and fish assemblage distributions can be used for evaluation of species, communities, or habitats that may need protection or restoration.
Lampetra macrostoma n.sp. has a parasitic habit and very large disc. Other characters distinguishing the species are described. The recently metamorphosed form readily survives in freshwater and probably is non-anadromous even though it can survive in salt water. The new species has been discovered in 2 lakes on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where it attacks large numbers of resident salmonids.-from Author
Crenichthys baileyi (Gilbert) is endemic to a series of isolated springs along the approximately 325 km pluvial White River system of southeastern Nevada. The preference of Crenichthys for spring habitats and the drying of the pluvial White River have resulted in isolation of various populations in the remaining spring habitats. Geographic isolation coupled with the environmental diversity that prevails among the spring habitats caused considerable morphological divergence among several spring populations. Taxonomic analyses indicate that several populations are distinct, and are herein described as new subspecies. Five subspecies of the formerly monotypic C. baileyi are described. One population of C. baileyi has been extirpated and others are endangered by loss of habitat through introductions of exotic fish species and physical alterations.