Native Fish Introductions in Las Cienegas and San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Areas

Authors: Kent R. Mosher, Tiffany Love-Chezem, Anthony T. Robinson

Year: 2016 (xlviii)

Abstract

During 2011 through 2016, Arizona Game and Fish Department, in partnership with Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, completed 37 stockings of endangered native fish into 17 ponds and springs within Las Cienegas and San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Areas. The project involved the creation or renovation of several ponds, installation of livestock and bullfrog exclusion fences, and the introduction of native species into both pond and natural spring systems. Native fish translocated included Gila topminnow Poeciliopsis occidentalis (13 sites), desert pupfish Cyprinodon macularius (8 sites), and Gila chub Gila intermedia (1 site). Sites were monitored annually using minnow traps, dip nets, and seines to determine if populations established. Survey results indicate that Gila topminnow have established populations at 6 locations and desert p upfish at 2 locations. Gila topminnow failed to establish at 3 locations and desert pupfish at 2 locations likely due to limited suitable habitat available, flooding, or negative interactions with other species. Population establishment is still to be determined at several stocking locations. Additional native fish stockings and augmentations will likely occur as managers continue to monitor populations and newly created sites become available.