A status and conservation update for the Desert Pupfish

Authors: Doug Duncan, Sharon Keeney, Martha Roman

Year: 2019

Abstract

The Desert Pupfish, Cyprinodon macularius, was listed as endangered in 1986 due to the well-known and extensively documented threats of habitat loss and the spread of exotic and nonnative fishes. Even though the Desert Pupfish was split into three species by Echelle et al. in 2000 (C. eremus) and Minckley et al. in 2002 (C. arcuatus), under the U.S. Endangered Species Act it is still considered one species. The 1993 Recovery Plan was recently amended to add criteria for delisting the species, through drought, climate change, border activities, and increasing human populations still threaten streams and springs and nonnative and exotic species are still introduced and distributed across the landscape. The status of the species continues to improve in Arizona due to the actions of the Arizona Game and Fish Department and its partners. However, the natural population inhabiting the Salton Sink in California continues to experience declines. The populations in Mexico appear to be mostly static, except for Rio Sonoyta