Aquatic Invasive Species in the Río Bravo / Laguna Madre Ecological Region
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BACKGROUND PAPER 2011-02 Aquatic Invasive Species in the Río Bravo / Laguna Madre Ecological Region ! By Roberto Mendoza, Nelson Arreaga, Juanita Hernández, Verónica Segovia, Ivonne Jasso, and Daniela Pérez Cover: Aerial view of the Laguna Madre estuary, a unique hypersaline ecosystem, and the most important wetland in North America. Photo: Patricio Robles Gil This background paper was prepared by Roberto Mendoza, Nelson Arreaga, Juanita Hernández, Verónica Segovia, Ivonne Jasso and Daniela Pérez, from the Faculty of Biological Science of the National Autonomous University of Nuevo León, for the Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The information contained herein is the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the CEC, or the governments of Canada, Mexico or the United States of America. The material herein may be reproduced without seeking permission, provided that it is accurately reproduced, is not used for commercial purposes, and includes an acknowledgement of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. Except where otherwise noted, this work is protected under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works License. © Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2011 Publication Details Publication type: Background paper Publication date: October 2011 Original language: English Review and quality assurance procedures: Final Party review: 17 Frebruary – 17 March 2011 QA10.26 Disponible en español For more information: Commission for Environmental Cooperation 393, rue St-Jacques ouest Bureau 200 Montreal (Quebec) Canada H2Y 1N9 t 514.350.4300 f 514.350.4372 [email protected] / www.cec.org Contents Figures .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 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Executive Summary .........................................................................................1 Introduction ....................................................................................................3 Background of the Study ......................................................................................4 Importance of Region 11......................................................................................5 Laguna Madre................................................................................................15 Geography..........................................................................................................15 Origin, Development, and Geology ....................................................................17 Population ..........................................................................................................17 Climate ...............................................................................................................17 Water Cycles.......................................................................................................18 Hydrography.......................................................................................................18 Circulation and Currents ....................................................................................19 Hurricanes ..........................................................................................................21 Tamaulipan Biotic Province................................................................................22 Ranching Heritage ..............................................................................................22 The Ecosystem...............................................................................................23 Seagrass Meadows.............................................................................................23 Wind-Tidal Flats..................................................................................................25 Barrier Islands.....................................................................................................25 Birds....................................................................................................................27 Fish and Fisheries ...............................................................................................28 Conservation Issues............................................................................................29 Threats ..........................................................................................................32 Indirect Target Destruction ................................................................................32 Nutrification ................................................................................................32 Light Attenuation ........................................................................................33 Altered Water Chemistry (particularly salinity)...........................................33 Altered Freshwater Hydrologic Regime.......................................................33 Altered Salt Water Flow Regime .................................................................33 Altered Sediment Regime............................................................................34 Direct Target Destruction...................................................................................34 Incompatible Coastal Development ............................................................34 Dredging......................................................................................................34 Inappropriate Recreational Use ..................................................................36 Invasive species ...........................................................................................36 Overfishing ..................................................................................................36 Inflow of Toxicants, Contaminants, and Pollutants.....................................36 Global Warming ..........................................................................................38 ii Rio Bravo/Rio Grande....................................................................................39 River and Basin Division .....................................................................................41 Ecoregions and Weather ....................................................................................41 Biodiversity.........................................................................................................43 Impacts...............................................................................................................46 Chemical Pollution.......................................................................................46 Microorganisms ..........................................................................................50 Invasive Species (Biological Pollution).........................................................52 Impoundments ............................................................................................55 Water over-extraction.................................................................................62 Salinization..................................................................................................65 Cumulative Impacts............................................................................................67 Climate Change Impacts.....................................................................................70 Invasive Species in the Río Bravo/Laguna Madre Ecoregion.........................73 Pathways ............................................................................................................74 Unintentional Pathways..............................................................................76 Intentional Pathways ..................................................................................80 Regional and National Initiatives........................................................................81 Methodology.................................................................................................84 Exotic and Invasive species in the LM/RBD Ecological Region ...........................84 Ecological Niche Modeling .................................................................................84 Occurrence Records.....................................................................................84 Modeling Methods ......................................................................................85 Environmental Variables and Model Building .............................................87 Pathway Analysis................................................................................................88 Species Invasiveness Evaluation.........................................................................96 Results ...........................................................................................................98 Total Species.......................................................................................................98 Plants..................................................................................................................98 Fishes................................................................................................................103 Amphibians and Reptiles..................................................................................107 Invertebrates....................................................................................................109