Advancing conservation, avoiding extinction: an update from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on west Texas fishes

Authors: Maritza Mallek

Year: 2024

Abstract

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Austin Ecological Services Field Office has agency-wide lead responsibility for recovery of six west Texas fishes listed as Threatened or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. These species are the Big Bend gambusia (Gambusia gaigei), the Clear Creek gambusia (Gambusia heterochir), the Comanche Springs pupfish (Cyprinodon elegans), the Devils River minnow (Dionda diaboli), the Leon Springs pupfish (Cyprinodon bovinus), and the Pecos gambusia (Gambusia nobilis). All of these fishes are associated with spring-fed systems—wetlands, streams, or both. Declining groundwater levels and spring flows resulting in decreased surface habitat is the single most important threat to all six species. Hybridization and competition with congeners are important secondary threats. This talk will provide an update on conservation efforts (ongoing research, funding, projects, salvage efforts, captive populations, and Service reports) for each species and identify the major challenges to recovery. These efforts are made possible through support and hard work from a diverse set of conservation partners, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, several universities, The Nature Conservancy, the Fort Worth and San Antonio Zoos, Big Bend National Park, Balmorhea State Park, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fisheries and Aquatic Conservation program, and private landowners. I will also briefly touch on two species under review for potential listing under the Act: the Pecos pupfish (Cyprinodon pecosensis) and the Rio Grande shiner (Notropis jemezanus).