Go with the Flow: Flow Regime and Fish Populations in Four Arizona Streams

Authors: Larissa Lee, Scott Bonar

Year: 2018

Abstract

The extremities of desert flow regimes create unique environments for fish species throughout Arizona. This work aims to explore the relationship between the distributions of various fish species throughout time and space in four Arizona streams. We used flow statistics generated from USGS gage stations as well as USGS StreamStats estimates of flows in precise non-gaged locations to examine relationships between these flow statistics and the relative abundance of fish species in four Arizona streams. Data on fish distributions comes from an intensive summer field season (2017) as well as a 20-year dataset from a collaboration with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. This research can provide critical information to managers on how flow dynamics interact with different fish species in arid-land rivers.