The Status of Alvord Chub, Siphateles alvordensis, in the Alvord Basin in SE Oregon and NW Nevada

Authors: Paul Scheerer, Brad Bauman

Year: 2013 (xlv)

Abstract

The Alvord chub, Siphateles alvordensis, is endemic to the Alvord Basin, an endorheic basin located in southeastern Oregon and northwestern Nevada. Historically, they were widely distributed; however historical data on the Alvord Basin chubs is limited. In 1948, Hubbs and Miller provided a brief description of the uniqueness of the native Alvord Basin fishes and their isolation, which included documentation of Alvord chub in several unnamed locations in Oregon and Nevada. In 1983, Williams and Bond conducted a comprehensive survey of Alvord chub and described their distribution and relative abundance at locations throughout the Alvord basin. Since then, limited sampling has been conducted by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). Based on this recent sampling, we became concerned that the range of this species may have contracted, thereby warranting a more robust assessment of species status. In 2013, ODFW conducted a robust survey, in cooperation with NDOW, to describe the current distribution and to estimate the abundance of Alvord chub in the Alvord basin. We sampled historical (and other) locations, using a combination of gear types and estimated population abundance at these locations. We also described the current habitat conditions and threats at each location.